Must politely disagree with davidr. I had recessed lighting in my large basement rec/family room in my previous home and it did a wonderful job keeping the room well lit. I think your plan looks pretty good, but it would be enhanced to also have lamps on side tables that would give you lower light when someone is just sitting and reading, or when you have a fire going and want softer, lower light. You can achieve this with wall sconces, too, but lamps give you more flexiblity and I prefer to leave the walls for art. The one thought I had on your layout is that it is not so good for people sitting and talking to each other as you are all awfully far away from each other! Perhaps moving the TV to the wall opposite the windows and the sofa to the TV spot and then bring the sofas inward off the walls a bit to create a cozier feel. The chairs could then also be moved around to face the TV if needed.

Well, I don't know that this works perfectly, but it gets at least somewhat of everything you want. Perhaps that is enough?The family entrance to the home is in the side. Enter there, and you'll pass the 5' x 5' half bath (with a window!) and a closet and hooks on the back of the pantry and/or on the long stairwell wall. Not the most elaborate mudroom or half bath ever, but it's more than you have now. If you would like to trade traffic flow for a bigger closet, you could always close off the entrance to dining/kitchen areas from the mudroom. (If you're carrying groceries, you'd probably enter the house through the deck doors anyway.) Like this: In addition to the half bath and mudroom, this plan also gains you a big kitchen with an island that is not a corridor kitchen. Moreover, though you cannot see the entire living room from the island, you can see the entire dining room and about half of the living room: Note that, though the living room does not change in size, it has a new traffic pattern running into it from the new hallway. This will shift any natural living room furniture layouts to the right. Does that leave you enough room for a decent furniture layout?

For a 36" wide cooktop, the island needs to be at least 7' long: 24" + 36" + 24" = 84" = 7' Regarding the questions, if you read the Layout Help FAQ you will understand what I'm asking and why. For example: Do you entertain? If so, formally or informally? How often? Something to keep in mind: With small children, your needs will be different than an empty-nester couple. However, the basics remain the same - assuming you cook. (This is not a facetious comment - some people do not cook and just want their Kitchen to be a "show kitchen", not a working kitchen.) Basics: Working in the Kitchen... To begin and to understand the rest of the design information, Kitchen work studies have shown the following breakdown of time/work in the kitchen: 70% or more of your time and work in the kitchen is spent prepping - preparing a meal or snack 20% or less is spent cleaning up - and that includes not just sink work (hand washing a few items), but also non-sink work such as loading the DW (if you don't pre-rinse your dishes), unloading the DW, clearing the counters & table, wiping down the counters & table, and sweeping up at the end of the day. 10% is spent cooking - stirring, adding ingredients, actually watching food cook Based on the above, it makes the most sense to have the Prep Zone in the best spot - whether for the view or for visiting, whichever you prefer. Work Zones... There are three primary work zones: Prep Zone -- This is the zone where food prep takes place. Food prep can be anything from making a sandwich to preparing a multi-course meal. It includes cleaning/rinsing food, cutting, mixing, processing, etc. For many people, especially those with small kitchens, their Prep Zone is also their Baking Center for rolling out dough, etc. 70% or more of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent prepping. It's the most often used zone in your kitchen – and you spend the most time in this zone. (That's why it makes the most sense to put the Prep Zone in the most pleasant spot in your kitchen.) Cooking Zone -- This is the zone where you take the food you've already prepped and apply heat...cooktop, oven, MW. Only 10% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent actually cooking – including stirring, adding ingredients, and watching food cook. This is the least used Zone, relatively speaking. Think about it, you usually don't spend the entire time standing in front of your oven or cooktop watching food cook. Sure, there are some things that do have to be stirred constantly, but most things do not. Even if they do, you usually still spend more time prepping before you begin cooking. Cleanup Zone -- This is the zone where the dirty dishes and general cleanup are handled! Clearing the table, wiping down counters, loading the DW, unloading the DW, etc. 20% or less of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent cleaning up. OK, now we know what the primary zones are. So, how do we design a kitchen keeping them in mind? . Prep Zone -- works best when it contains a water source and is next to or across an aisle no more than 48" wide or so from the range/cooktop and Cooking Zone. Trash & recycle bins should also be in the Prep Zone since far more recycling and trash are generated while prepping and cooking than while cleaning up. This zone should contain at least 36" of clear workspace, 42" is much better. Cooking Zone -- works best when next to/across from the Prep Zone (see Prep Zone). It's also nice to have a water source nearby as well as trash & recycling nearby. This is the zone that should be the most protected from traffic. Food is cooked here by applying heat and, if you have gas, flame. You are not only working with hot food but if you have to move around with the hot food (e.g., draining a pot of boiling pasta water), you do not want to be dodging traffic. If you have small children, this becomes even more important! Cleanup Zone -- works best when separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This can be on the opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a water source and the DW. When the Prep and Cleanup Zones share a sink, the DW should be on the Cleanup Zone side of the sink, not the Prep Zone side. Keep in mind that you need at least 36" of space for the Cleanup Zone, and it should not be shared with the Prep or Cooking Zone workspaces. This is where dishes are stacked when you need to clear the sink for prepping or when your sink is overflowing with dirty dishes. It's also where you stage the dirty dishes b/f scraping them and putting them in the DW. Something to keep in mind -- it's usually not a good idea to put the Cleanup Zone where the dirty dishes can be seen by everyone in the rest of the house - e.g., on an island or peninsula where they are front & center for all to see. Even if you raise the counter behind the sink, dirty dishes are only hidden from those people whose eyes are below the counter's height - i.e., below 42" off the floor. In addition, if you have seating at the counter, it's not very pleasant to sit there with dirty dishes "in your face". . A few more things to keep in mind: Refrigerator -- The refrigerator works best on the periphery of the kitchen so it's easily accessed by people working in the kitchen as well as "outsiders" looking for a snack without the "outsiders" getting underfoot of those working in the kitchen. It should also be near the Prep & Cooking Zones inside the kitchen and, if possible, near the main meal location(s) for ease of access during mealtime. Microwave (MW) -- The MW also works best on the periphery of the kitchen so it's easily accessed by people working in the kitchen as well as "outsiders" looking for a snack without the "outsiders" getting underfoot of those working in the kitchen. If possible, it should be somewhat close to the refrigerator and a water source – but not at the expense of getting in the way of prepping and cooking a meal. Zone-crossing - avoid! -- When planning zones, etc., try to minimize zone-crossing. For example, if you can avoid it, don't put the refrigerator such that you have to cross through the Cleanup Zone to go b/w the refrigerator and the Prep or Cooking Zone. Barrier Island -- The island should not be a barrier b/w key items in the Kitchen. This means you should not have to run around the island to go to/from: -- Water source and Prep Zone (a prep sink helps with this when there's an island or if the kitchen is particularly large - the layout, though, is the key derminant of the need for a prep sink) -- Refrigerator and Prep Zone -- Refrigerator and Cooking Zone -- Prep Zone and Cooking Zone -- Water source and Cooking Zone Protection...Of all the zones, the Cooking Zone should be the most protected from through-traffic as well as general-kitchen traffic. The Cooking Zone contains the range/cooktop where you will be dealing with fire (if gas), hot foods, etc. You do not want to have to cross a busy aisle when taking a pot of boiling water from the range/cooktop to the sink for emptying...or anything else hot, for that matter! Dish Storage -- Dish storageworks best when it's near the DW and near the serving/eating locations (island, DR, Nook, etc.)

You can look for families of lights... You will have pendants, flush mounts and wall lights all coordinated.... And you can keep the soffits if they style nicely like these: Or tear them out and put lighting on top of them if you don't want the taller cabinets to go to the ceiling with crown: Are you working with a kitchen designer? They should be able to put the plans into their design program so you can see the space 3 D. This is important - there are a few changes I would make to the plan... I would strongly urge you to get a full 36" lazy susan in the corner. I have seen the 33" ones and they are not great. Most garbage units are 21" wide ( there are a few 24s) - you don't need t balance the lower cabinets when you turn a corner on each side of the stove - just balance the uppers - the island blocks that visual anyway. Your wall cabinet all the way left of the hood and the pantry right of the ref. will need to have a filler next to them or an odd overlay on the door or extended style - the contractor needs some forgiveness to install level. Even though you are doing a counter depth ref. you should do panels on each side. or the pantries need to be 27" deep.... Just some suggestions! Good luck! Looks great so far!