Green Designs came up with a great plan, as usual. It's very similar to my new kitchen. The aisle between my 9' island with prep sink and the rangetop wall is about 42" counter to counter. Its perfect. I've had much larger aisles and hated them. In fact, that's one of the reasons I reno'd my old kitchen. I'm the sole cook in my kitchen 99% of the time, and I would never, ever, ever give up my prep sink. Ever. I love having a large prep zone with a dedicated water source that I don't have to share with the cleanup zone. I'm usually the one who does the dishes too, but when DH occasionally does that when I'm cooking, he can do it out of my way. This kitchen is my first experience with separate prep and cleanup sinks, but it has changed my cooking habits and way of looking at things in the kitchen. You will not use the sink on the perimeter to prep the way you laid out the space. It's not convenient for daily prep. It is a great place for a cleanup sink. Being over on the side like that, your dirty dishes won't show much. Mine don't. Between the giant single basin cleanup sink and the perimeter location, the few dirty dishes waiting on the counter for the DW don't both my OCDness very much. And as you can see, my kitchen is open or at least semi-open to all the other rooms in the house and to the front door. I much prefer an island being all one height rather than bi-level. Your first inspiration pic island is one height. At one level, you can spread out for large baking/cooking projects and for school, sewing or crafting projects. A large kitchen doesn't have to have wasted space. It just needs to be laid out correctly so you have the right amount of space in the right zones. I agree with everything Holly said. I think you could have a great kitchen here!

My prep sink is in a corner cabinet in the "U" that houses the Prep & Cooking Zones, so I can't discuss the island first-hand. However, I can say that our 15-3/4" square (interior dimensions) sink is as small as I would go - I sometimes wish it were bigger - more like 18" square would have been better. If you can fit a 21" sink base with an 18" to 19" wide sink in it, I think you will be happier. With an island over 5' wide, I think you will have plenty of space for at least an 18" sink base with as big a sink as can fit (a 16" wide sink should definitely fit). I would even consider a 6" or 9" cabinet b/w the end of the island and the sink to give you a little room on the side of the sink next to the end - less likely to knock something off onto the floor as well as a bit of landing space. (You could store cutting boards in a 6" cabinet.) 5'8" = 68" 1.5" overhang + 6" cabinet + 18" cabinet + 41" cabinet + 1.5" overhang That gives you 42" to 45" of workspace on one side or the sink and 8" to 9" on the other side (assuming an undermount sink & counting the counter overhangs). BTW...you say your island is 36" deep - is that at the shallowest ends or the deeper center (the curve)? In general, a 36" deep island with standard 24" deep base cabinets + decorative door panel on the back of the cabinets leaves you with only a 9.5" overhang - far too shallow for real seating. If that's just the ends and the center is deeper at the top of the curve, I hope it goes to 41.5" deep in the center there is at least one seat with the minimum recommended overhang (15"). 41.5" = 1.5" overhang + 24" deep cabinet + 1" decorative end panel + 15" overhang

I have a similar layout, and I chose this sink: The Franke GNX11016 I, too, put mine on the corner of the island to access from both sides, with a corner placement of the faucet. I really wanted it symmetrical. I love this sink! The sink is symmetrical, with a corner drain placement, nice and deep, big enough for my largest stock pots and colanders, but not so large as to hog tons of counter or cabinet space. (Note, put tip out on the false drawer front for a handy place to hide a sponge, drain stopper, etc. This is really handy on the island where you don't want to put a bowl/holder with that stuff on the "back" of the sink . . . which works nicely on a perimeter sink.) I bought mine on Amazon (or somewhere like that) for about $350, but here is a link at AJ Madison since they have great spec details. (But terrible customer service. I bought one thing there, and I'll NEVER buy from them again!) http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/GNX11016.html Hope this helps! Also, I think your layout looks lovely! You're going to have such a great kitchen!

thanks all! some really valuable feedback! Our main kitchen sink is going to be an undercount rectangle about 30" long. that sink as well as the prep sink will both have disposals and the prep sink, which is closest to the range is definitely off center to allow for maximum prep space. i never really considered a round sink because I felt the edges had to flow - haven't settled on main sink yet but its between a franke and a Blanco right now bc they both offer very sharp edges with a non zero radius edge vs a more rounded look, which i don't particularly like. I will certainly post when i have made my decisions!