I don't think 3' is enough room between the sink and the island. You have two sinks though so that might ease the usual congestion around the sink. How much room do you have between your sink and whatever is behind it now? You can do a test by setting an object, chair, card table, etc behind your sink and see if it works for you to have something that close.

damiarain: We use the nook just for group milling, and often flip the counter stools that live at the kitchen peninsula over to the counter on the pony wall... this works well for parties or TV viewing or casual just-us dinners... or laying out a buffet or appetizers. But I've always thought it was a waste of space... it's not a very big area though... not big enough for furniture other than stools. But the pony wall and the multiple entrances really break up the space. We were not planning on changing kitchen layout. It works well, just needs a serious cosmetic facelift... too beige & faux-Tuscan. I prefer contemporary and clean lines. Also the travertine floor tiles are super cold in the winter. So we'll install hardwood floors that match the rest of the 1st floor. I'm trying to talk my husband into painting the cabinetry (which we'll keep) but so far he loves the wood look. The bay windows are 22" from the ground on the inside. We can't extend the FR to include some of living room. These rooms are on opposite sides of the kitchen so not contiguous at all. Did you mean the nook area? The FR is sunken because of the dropped ceiling. so it's hard to integrate with / extend into anything else. The LR is a wonderful room in the front of the house with great light... somewhat of a large formal LR which is less practical these days but it's a very sweet space that looks out onto the view. We always try to move guests into that room but everyone congregates in the kitchen/nook area! Swapping the FR and DR is an interesting idea though I think the DR is too small for a FR... it's narrow, opens up to the LR and is dark. You couldn't watch TV in there, as no wall is far enough away for viewing... my husband LOVES his TV;) But it would likely make a really nice kitchen.

I want to tell you 1 key tip for lighting, don't put the cart before the horse. You MUST put your furniture in the space, right now you can't "see" the space, and that is what is making it so hard. once things are in the space, and the rooms shrink, you will have a much better idea of not only what will look pretty but will actually function for you. also, things like the size of the table are very important when scaling. Lastly matching or not, doesn't matter, farmhouse is not about matchy matchy, its eclectic. if you stay within that wheelhouse they will coordinate by default.

Yeah, I know it’s a tall order to come up with something that accomplishes what I want but I figured I'd see if others on Houzz had some ideas. Both sectionals that I'm considering are pretty spacious. The first one is 144” x 79” and the other is 120” x 110.” msteezzy - here’s a picture of the space you asked about.