detail update: we currently have 1 toddler and plan on growing to at least a family of 4 in this house and hopefully stay until the kids are grown. we like having family/friends over for dinners, drinks, games etc. Revised plan has a 12x18 covered patio with gas bbq in between the family rm windows.

You have 3 living areas and no designated dining?

I would put a sink in that island moreso than the pantry - as you are pretty spread out without a second prep sink. Kitchen forum will get you more precise feedback from the wizards.

jannicone- sorry there is a note in the middle somewhere that the "living room" will be used as a dining room. the family room is the family room and the den will be a playroom. the architect didn't change any of the labels.

is it ok to copy and paste it to the other forum? do I delete this one?

Sure...copy and paste this info on the Kitchens Forum. Here's the "Layout Help" FAQ for the Kitchens Forum:

.

How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include

thanks for the clarification!!!!

Tight busy passage at bottom of the stair will feel like a renovation. Winders are a nuisance and gain little space. Too much space between counters and island IMO. Try 42"except at ranges where 48" to needed. Add no more than a few inches if a lot of people will be in the work area on a regular basis.

Kitchen:

I love a big pantry, but I wouldn't waste a corner on a pantry. You want your pantry to be towards the interior of the house, where windows don't matter. Is the breakfast nook enough dinner seating? I'm tempted to say that I'd lose the island seating (because it will be cramped once you add stools to that area), but I wonder if you may need the seating.

I agree with the above posters that you don't want to place your refrigerator on the side opposite the island. That'll constantly be a headache.

Other downstairs thoughts:

- The garage is going to dominate the front of your house.

- Your laundry area is small and far from the bedrooms. I'd move it upstairs and use that space to make a larger, more comfortable half-bath.

- The master bath is very wide -- and that empty space in the middle serves no purpose, but it'll be expensive to tile. I'd also reconsider those two sinks being on the faaaaar reaches of the counter -- you don't want to hit your elbow on the wall while you're using them. I'd flip the shower and the toilet so you could have a window over the toilet -- and I'd lose the toilet closet.

- The kids' vanity doesn't seem to be large enough to support two sinks, and kids will never use them together anyway -- but the kids will appreciate drawer storage.

I agree that the half-bath makes a pinch-point in the foyer. Besides, every time you come down the stairs you are looking at a bathroom lol! Can you move it to the nook at the front of the house, between garage and foyer? Then the door to the garage can move a little further back, which is good. As it currently is, you enter the garage right into the side of a car. That's a traffic jam right there.

Also, the kitchen-dining room view. If you are at the dining room table, especially at the front of the house, and look towards the hostess, you have a straight view of the range. I think that you a planning on a sideboard or something on the walk behind the stairs, but if you move the door over there, it's harder to see into the kitchen; what you do see is further away; and from more areas of the kitchen you will be able to see the dining room and out the gorgeous bay window.

Kind of like this:

oops, I notice that moving the powder room puts it in full view of the breakfast nook. So in the second picture I moved the door to the right, so at least it opens to the sink, not the commode. And, if you put the bench/drop zone across from the stairs, that will block the view, too.

Can you do a wood or wood-look garage door, to recede visually a bit?

You know, once you put a table in the nook, you won't be able to open the door. Can the door go in the Family Room?

If you want seating, I would consider doing a peninsula instead of an island. People are going to be sitting in an aisle which can be convenient. I had a similar nook in my previous home and it wasn't very useful as a dining space so it may be better to have a counter into the book where people could sit.

Ah, I didn't realize you were so far along. I was thinking that it wouldn't be a big deal because the plumbing is already near the front for the washing machine above (which reminds me, would you consider a sink up there? And, where will the dryer vent to? If it's to the outside front, consider reconfiguring the laundry so it's closer to the outside wall.)

bpathome- ya, I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could still move walls. But it would set us back from getting the permits submitted, extra engineering fees, etc.

I didn't do a sink in the laundry because I don't really soak or hand wash anything (I'd rather have the counter space)..or figured when I upgrade our washer/dryer I would get the type with the built in wash basin for those rare occasions :)

I really have no idea where the dryer vent will be, isn't it usually on the side of the house? That's where our current one is and the laundry room is smack in the middle of the townhouse upstairs, is it under the floor and out to the side? Is a shorter duct safer?

A shorter dryer duct is safer. More force to expel linty air, less duct for lint to get stuck onto, and easier to clean. Overaccumulation of lint in a dryer duct can cause a fire.

bpathome- I'll ask my builder about the duct. If anything, I could flip it to the opposite wall and scoot the pocket door over. Still takes about 10' of duct off if its going to the side.