Agree with herbflavor on plan #2, but with a bigger clean-up sink. I don't think you need a prep sink with this plan--which will leave more space on the island. I have a 5x3 island without a prep sink, and I use it a lot--for rolling dough, staging baking sheets, cooling pans from the oven, etc. Even though the DW and dish storage are farther from the DR, someone can be unloading the DW or gathering dishes to set the table, without entering your prep and cooking space. And there's a table in the FR--do you eat meals there?

I'm not a fan of widows flanking cooktop - keeping greasy film off windows that are hard to access over countertop makes me cringe.

Good Morning!!! Herb, Mama Goose, and Anglophilia, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Mamagoose, i'm SOOOOO relieved to hear your thoughts about the prep sink! I've never had one before, so it's kind of hard for me to imagine how it will "fit" into our routine. Are you concerned with the distance between main sink and fridge? Also, sink will be either 30" or 36" single bowl. Without a prep sink, I may go back to my original plan of a 45" stages sink. With just one sink, where would you put garbage? I'm thinking underneath sink and then also a pullout on the island somewhere for recycling?

If I keep the island sink-free, thoughts on turning it 90 degrees so it's longer but with overhang on the left for seating (like in option 4)? I can still keep a 4-5 foot frontage to stove, but would like it to be longer with seating into the aisle to keep chairs from impinging on family room. To answer your question, i'd like that table in the FR to disappear and keep the FR mainly for lounging/tv. We may put in a tiny cafe-type table somewhere in there, but that's TBD.

Option 2 is great. Instead of the prep sink in the island, what about a bar sized sink in the coffee area? I have a small bar sink in my kitchen and use it as a prep sink when we have a crowd in.

I like 2 with some changes based on what you said.

1. Put in the larger sink and center it over the window to the left. Put the DW next to the sink. Trash to the right.

2. I agree with Mama you don't need the prep sink on the island.

3. I prefer the island turned facing the window. It creates more of a barrier between you and guests.

4. I separated your fridge and your pantry because with them together, it would mean no landing area for pantry items.

Thank you, Annette! That's an great idea regarding a coffee station sink! Definitely something to add to the list of considerations. I think it would be so cool and useful to have during gatherings and help give a little extra function to "the other side of the kitchen"! Definitely going on my wish list!

CPArtist, Thank you! I like shifting the sink down a little for trash and also rotating the island. It's a relief to know I may not necessarily "need" a prep sink on the island. (DH has been lobbying for one, though, but once he sees what a 36" sink looks like, he may be too starry-eyed to remember)

For pantry landing space, I was thinking I can get a pull-out shelf thingy in the pantry (assuming I go with a cabinet line where I can do that), or use the perimeter cabinet next to the stove and have to pivot one step. This may have to be one of the concessions we make, as I really don't want to break up the coffee station counter into 2 smaller chunks.

It sounds like thus far, 2 is winning with a few small tweaks!

I like option 1 and option 4.

Don't like option 2 at all because with prep sink, there's not enough counter space where you need it, and without prep sink, fridge is too far from sink and backtracking is required to go to stove.

Option 1 - love that you can go from fridge to sink to stove. If your fridge has water in it, no need for sink at coffee station.

Option 4 - Love love love the cleanup in that location, convenient from dining room and island eating areas. Love fridge to sink to stove order on working side of kitchen. For coffee station, I would reduce the size of the pantry to 27 or 30" (seems like rollout trays would be kind of unstable or disorganized being so wide? Not sure) and put your coffee maker on the counter to the left of the cleanup sink. I'm assuming coffee time is different from cleanup time.Coffee area will be convenient to water and fridge (for cream).

I like CP's or #3 (although probably only with 2 sinks, I would go crazy if I had to clean 3 sinks). The horizontal island in #2 seems too short to house a sink - I prefer it rotated.

Ok, so re: trash to the right of the sink... I mocked it up and i'll be lucky if I can get a 12" cabinet there, but looks closer to 9" =/ We generate quite a bit of garbage and recycling and was hoping to at least get an 18", but that means the sink will be partially under the cabinets to the left of the window which will bother me to no end. Thoughts on a garbage pullout under the non-disposal side of the sink, and then a supplemental pullout on the island?

Here's a version that does just that, and keeps a MONDO sized island (roughly 5' by 6'). Too big? we are both tall so should be ok accessing the middle for wiping down. I also shrank the pantry by 6 inches but will probably go back to 36...

This gives a 43 inch aisle stove side, and a 44" aisle sink side, but of course shrinking the island by a few inches in either direction can widen them if needed. Here shows an 18 inch overhang but I'll be going down to 15, I think.

OPTION 5:

Ohh, and looks like I have a few more replies! Let's see...

Emilyam819, totally agree with your thoughts on option 1. It seems so efficient without all the back and forth and backtracking. By the time i add in a prep sink and all the other things to make up for the fact that the stove is b/w sink and fridge, perhaps it is worth the extra cost of the window? Interesting thought regarding coffee station. I hadn't considered that! DH insists on using filtered water for coffee, though, which we usually get from the fridge. So, something else to consider/add if we are gonna be filling coffee pots next to the cleanup sink. This one is actually growing on me, if I was to be completely honest =)

Editing to add: When you say coffee will be convenient to fridge for cream in #4... the fridge is over in the opposite side of the kitchen though... unless you added in a mini fridge I don't know about? (don't laugh... i've considered it ;-). Or am I misunderstanding?

lharpie, yes, I absolutely, positively refuse to do 3 sinks, LOL. I really do like the idea of the fridge so close to the action, but still easily accessible to the Family Room. With option 3, would you go with cleanup sink and island sink? or cleanup sink and coffee station sink? Cleanup and island seem so close together that they almost seem kind of redundant and just clutter the space up, What do you think?

What is the length of the kitchen?

Get rid of the upper cabinets to the left of the sink and then you don't have the problem of the sink under cabinets and you can have the trash next to the sink.

You don't want trash across from your prep area. Then every time you have to dump trash from prepping, it means making sure you can scoop it up in a tidy way to get it into the trash can. I like my trash right at my prep space so I can sweep it into the garbage.

Length of the kitchen is 19'6 but the left edge of the doorway on the bottom has to be no less than 40" to the corner, so cabinets and pantries on that left wall have a chance to be deeper than your standard 24" (it's why I show everything pulled out a few inches). As drawn, the stove wall is 11'2" doorway to corner, if that helps.

Re: trash, that's why I was planning something under the prep sink as well (inspired by what Scrappy did under her stages, although i'm not sure if I will be going with stages as well). All prep trash would go in can under the sink, but other incidental trash, trash from any island prepping, and recycling would go to pullout in island. I hear what you're saying, though. What if, instead, it went somewhere on the stove wall?

You could do that too.

Do you have a floor plan of the entire ground floor of this house as it is now? It's hard to follow your description of small existing rooms and how they'll change without seeing the current layout. Also, it's just easier to consider alterations when you can see the starting point.

Here is perhaps a happy medium? Axe the corner susan and instead replace it with one of those newfangled LeMans pullouts. This puts the can right at the corner (instead of 12 inches out) and makes sweeping in a little bit easier from the stove wall:

Double bonus is the sink is nicely centered under the left half of the window, and I get to keep my upper cabinets! Win-win?

Hi Jillius! Here's the current floorplan:

Yes, very much so. And to recap, you'd like to end up with the following three spaces, right?

- kitchen that works for two cooks with seating and a coffee station

- TV room

- formal dining