I have to leave now, but with young kids I wouldn't do gas. I'd do induction. Look in the appliance forum for info on induction. Most who have had gas and switched prefer induction and the advantage is no burnt on spills to clean up and most importantly the cooktop stays cool, so if small hands touch the cooktop, they won't get burnt.

Also consumer reports is not the best in terms of figuring out what is best.

As for the issue of no windows? Please do yourself a favor and put windows in! White cabinets will not make up for the lack of natural light.

This is what I'd do. Make it an L with a 34" island/table

Another option:

You really want to maximize the space between the sink and the range... it's the prime prep space in the kitchen. With your plan, move the dishwasher and sink to the left, and the range downward.

What is the idea or purpose of diagonal corner?

Sorry I had to run upstairs. My thinking was that you could have a 42" aisle on the cooking side, a 39" wide island, and a 39" aisle behind those sitting at the island.

This would give you plenty of prep space. I'd put a MW drawer on the island opposite the fridge and you can store your dishes in the drawers on that side so it's easy to turn from the dw to the drawers. The island could work as a second prep space for a "helper".

These are wonderful thoughts, thank you all so much, and please keep them coming! Love the idea of putting more space between sink and range - will definitely do that! Induction cooktop - wow, this is a paradigm shift for me. I have zero experience with them, will have to look into it. My kids are pretty good about learning the "rules" of the house, which includes no fingers on the range, whether range is on or off. But I do like the idea of easier clean up, although I'd have to see if it would outweigh the higher cost with induction and possibly new cookware.

mama goose - thank you for those great thoughts and the (may I say, much better) layout. I was reluctant to lose the upper cabinet space by putting in windows on either side of range, but it sure looks pretty! Then would spices and cooking oils go in bottom cabinets? My kids would be tempted by those. Do you think it would look awkward (asymmetrical) to put in 1 window on one side of the range, and an upper cabinet on the other side?

Under the peninsula was going to go open shelving for dishes (so kids can reach them to set the table).

I think I got enamored with the idea of a big corner pantry early on in planning, but a reach in pantry like your layout looks like a much better use of the overall kitchen space.

cpartist - thank you for your alternate layout and thoughts! I hadn't considered that kind of layout - can you tell I'm a newbie at this? I like the extra workspace of the island and the extra seating. The fridge back would be visible to the dining room, via the pass through...wondering if that would still work or if another placement for fridge?

If you want windows just for light (not for view) you could add high, wide but shallow windows on the outside wall, even above wall cabinets (although above cabinets would be hard to clean). There were 2 or 3 people a few years ago who put windows in the space between the counter and the wall cabinets which looked great -- I think one of them used glass block, another used a horizontal sliding window.

You're welcome. I was thinking that the upper cabinet to the right of the sink would be good for storing dishes, and easy to unload from the DW, but if you're keeping dishes on the peninsula, then the upper could be used for oils and spices--at least until the kids are old enough not to be curious (and then they grow up, start cooking, move back home, and the kitchen is always a mess--ask me how I know ;).

I would make the windows symmetric, and use as many drawer bases as possible to maximize storage. The MW can be incorporated into the pantry, in a cabinet, or drawer, so the upper beside the fridge can be used as kid-free storage, too.

I love my island, so I like cpartist's plan with the island, too. You could still have open shelves for dishes across from the DW. As for the fridge, if you opt for windows beside the range, the pass-through could be made narrower without sacrificing light--to cover the back of the fridge. We actually made our pass-through narrower by a few inches, to make room for an extra upper cabinet.

Good kitchen planning info:

GW discussions--dishes in drawers

GW discussions--all drawer bases

New to Kitchens? Read me first.

NKBA guidelines

raee_gw has a great idea, especially if more upper cabinets are needed.

One more thing--the blank wall in cpartist's plan would be a good
spot for stud bay storage for canned goods and small boxes. If you use
the stud space, and add a few inches, shelves could be 4-6" deep,
perfect for a single layer of cans. I have a shallow pantry like that in
my kitchen, and it holds an amazing amount of stuff. Of course, the
kids would have access, but that's why baby locks are sold--oh, I
remember the baby lock days. :)

My pantry in progress, before doors:

At first, I thought this was mine--but it's not!

Not mine, but similar:

Spices in upper cabinets:

The fridge back would be visible to the dining room, via the pass through...wondering if that would still work or if another placement for fridge?

You're quite welcome.

Can you move the pass through over a bit? Like below? I put the MW in the island too. I also moved the DW over closer to the fridge and moved the sink closer. This would give you room on each side of the sink to use as a pass through.

The advantage to this layout is now your fridge is on the outside corner plus it's nearer the sink so when you take things out of the fridge to prep, you don't have to carry them across the room.

Is the pass through wall a load bearing wall?

Love the idea of the narrow pantry cabinets across from the island!

Also don't know if you saw this, but instead of a backsplash on my one wall, I'm doing a window like this. I'll probably make it stained glass in a geometric pattern to match my house style. You could do something like that on either side of the cooktop instead of a regular backsplash. Match the type of glass to the style of the house.

I like cpartist's L-shape.

I didn't read through: if you want a standard depth fridge not to stick out, pull the sink wall cabinets deeper, to be flushed w/ the fridge ?enclave?, so now the fridge doesn't look like it's sticking out.

Hanna, I had to look up your thread to add a pic of a kitchen with windows similar to cpartist's drawing, but on each side of a cooktop.

katieleabrown's lovely new kitchen: