Regarding the DW in the peninsula. I am specifically looking for the sink NOT in the peninsula but diagonal from it. This requires a small pivot on behalf of the person loading it. It seems awkward but I know some people have this type of layout. Your thoughts and pictures are greatly appreciated.

In this picture it seems that the DW is too far from the sink, but this something I was also considering.

I'll see if I can find a picture but we had the DW in our peninsula in our last house. I think the key is having the sink close to the DW in the pic you have above it's too far away to be useful you'll be walking and dripping all over your floors. We had a tiny kitchen where there really was no other choice and it worked fine for us.

Kim, that placement seems odd to meet too (found this pic doing a google search). I would have switched the DW with the bank of drawers. Nonetheless, the DW within the peninsula may also be my only choice and lucky for me (insert sarcasm) my kitchen is quite small so there will be fewer drips. If you find a picture, that would be great.

Think about unloading it too. That layout wouldn't be too bad with silverware going in the peninsula and dishes in the cabinet to the right of the sink. The newer dish tabs work better when dishes aren't rinsed, so if you could break yourself of that habit, you'd have fewer drips. I find it hard not to rinse but I run a load every other day and don't like the dishes sitting dirty that long.

Where is the cooktop in that kitchen? That's what makes it a very poor layout.

I'm not sure how inspiring these are but here's my teeny tiny kitchen with DW in penninsula! It was fine because when open I could easily move dishes from sink to DW.

The fixture should be centered on table. Has nothing to do with window

@Kim, thank you. That helps. Did you ever find reaching into the upper difficult? I may store my dishes across from the proposed banquette nook. Unloading won't be as easy but setting the table will be.

@smm5525, that is what I told my husband but he is a symmetry kind of guy. We have already had enough discussions about the sink not needing to be centered. I may not win every debate and will have to pick my battles. But the more pictures I can find to persuade him, the better! I am sure there will be another thread about the un-centered sink (although I have found several already on that topic).

Post pics of the space. Perhaps you can do recessed lights with supplemental wall sconces

@smm. Good idea about the sconces. I will post some pics later this week but I have nothing firm on paper yet with a layout. I was pursuing a completely different renovation, but the budget just didn't mesh with my expectations (familiar story I assume). I am back on earth now and hope to have a much more realistic approach soon.

Here are some inspiration pics

We stored our dishes in that cabinet right above the penninsula and yes
it was a hard reach, even with the DW closed I found it to be a pain to
reach the whole cabinet (especially when you are holding multiple heavy dishes). You could always have it go right down to the
counter though that would be an easier reach. Kind of like this
style no idea what they're called. Although I'd do the cabinet closer I think (without the space where the toaster
is):

Dishes are stored in upper cabinet and utensils in drawer on sink run. Lighting for peninsula is angled from a type of track lighting that begins above the table on the other side of the peninsula. We had to be creative as lighting changes were not in our budget.

I should also add that when house was built the "kd". Who most definitely didn't know about these forums, wanted the dishwasher to go directly next to the sink, which meant the door opened along the peninsula directly blocking access to the left upper cabinets and the peninsula itself. I asked them to move it onto the peninsula and over one set of cabinets. That made for easy emptying of both sink and dw

@mobuddy89 before we renovated our kitchen had the DW in peninsula and sink on wall at right angle. Similar to what you posted above. I really hated that. It was one of the things I was anxious to change in our new kitchen.

However, if the distance is smaller than that picture it might be ok. Hopefully you can post the layout and maybe someone will have a good idea for you.

On the off-center light and a DH that needs symmetry, you have my sympathy. We actually could not install the light over the sink perfectly centered because we have a support beam right where the light would go. I really wanted a recessed can, and the only way we can do that is to have it off center. It bugged us both initially, but my SO more than me. I think we are both used to it now. He still talks about changing it somehow but we don't have a good solution.

We don't have a banquette, and I'm not sure I'm visualizing what you are asking. Is there a way you can have two lights? One for the sink and one for the table?

I made my double door cabinet 26" wide instead of 30", moving that third cabinet off the peninsula as much as possible. I also hinged it on the left--there's no point in having a cabinet open in your face in that corner. If you have less space like kim k, I'd do a large single cabinet and open shelves to fill the space to the left of it. I couldn't access that last cabinet so I made it a display cabinet. I can get the cookbooks out from the bottom pretty easily.

They should have done this set-up in your first photo. Those cabinets over the peninsula open in the wrong direction.

Sorry, I'm a terrible visualizer. Something a bit like these?

An Artisan Kitchen at a Briarcliff Hilltop · More Info

Beach Cottage Renovation · More Info

I just realized, our eating area pendant is centered on the table and, like the table, is a bit off centered to our two windows because of beams. Huh.

When we purchased my previous home, there was no dishwasher and no place for one. We added a DW to the existing peninsula. The dishwasher was across from the utensil and dinnerware storage, and diagonally across from the sink. It worked amazingly well, once I trained the residents to leave their dishes in the DW, or on the counter above.

With the DW there, it kept people out of the kitchen as I put things away after a meal. It was convenient to dish storage, yet allowed me to be at the sink while someone else put the clean dishes away. My new home has the DW mashed in the corner between the sink and the range, and I hate it.

Thank you everyone! I will be posting pictures/layout later this week in another thread. Unfortunately, very little will change. But I can live with it!

@emmie, that is what I was thinking and your picture really helps.

@mayflowers, is that your kitchen? It is gorgeous! If it is, I need to go and find your reveal!

@mabel, if that was your old kitchen in a previous home, how welcoming and warm!

@lisa, having a spouse with symmetry issues is hard. I don't think I am going to win the sink battle. For the most part, it makes me chuckle.

FYI....After 8 years the moisture from my dishwasher damaged the finish on the L of cabinets next to it. In my remodel, one requirement is that the dishwasher has to be in a straight run of cabinets with no L anywhere near it.

@rantontoo,, sorry that happened to you, that stinks. Luckily, we did not have that issue thank goodness, my cabinets are 19 years old, only the countertop is new.

@mobuddy, we used a track lighting system on malleable rails that we could configure ourselves .I think the brand was George Kovacs. The transformer is offset over the table? And DH put gentle curves in the rail system and curving the end in such a way as to shine two of the "spotlights" onto the peninsula. This solved our lighting dilemma and keep our wallet happy.

I had this set-up in a rental house years and years ago ... though the dishwasher was closer to the corner (imagine the drawer unit flip-flopped with the dishwasher). Admittedly, I was just out of college and was simply thrilled to have a dishwasher ... but I never once considered it a problem.

I don't think the dishwasher is a problem here; rather, the thing to question is, do you have drawers under your peninsula? In this set-up, you'd be okay: you have drawers for your silverware -- you could easily move silverware from the dishwasher to the drawer ... and you could pass silverware over to the eating area. Ditto for prep items such as knives, etc. I would NOT want this layout with the dishwasher only /no drawers.

I think a small kitchen is fine -- as long as you have a big adjacent pantry. In this picture, I think the question becomes, does the dishwasher open without hitting the adjacent cabinet hardware ... and does the open dishwasher door prevent you from putting things away in the cabinets?

The fixture should be centered on table. Has nothing to do with window

I think both matter. The light fixture should be centered on BOTH the table AND the window. It'd drive me crazy otherwise.

emmie2:

Your dishwasher looks much farther away from the corner of the L than mine; my dishwasher is only 4 inches from the corner.

Ahh, now I know what you meant by L. Yes that cabinet is the dreaded blind corner cabinet and it's approx 22 inches away from the sink run. Unpacking that was an adventure when the granite was being installed. Found quite a few things I'd thought I'd lost

I have my dishwasher away from the sink. It was the only option for my space and it's worked out fine. It's just a pivot away. Wall cabinet on the left opens from the other side of the peninsula.The dishes are in a drawer bank by the slider. The bank next to the dishwasher has silverware, Tupperware and bowls for prep and cleanup.

@lurkerlisa, thanks! Could you possibly tell me the dimensions of your space? Do you have a reveal that I can look at other pictures of the layout? Pretty cabinets, by the way!

Edited to add: Found your reveal and are going through it. Size is similar to my current one. How are you liking it a year later?

It is amazing! With our size constraints, I think we made the most of the space. Two people can actually work in there. Prep person by the dishwasher and cook person by the stove and both people can access the sink. The drawer bank on the left of the sink has cutting boards, knives and ziplocks. It is so functional!

@lurker, I just read through your reveal. It is absolutely gorgeous. Love the red backsplash. If I read it correctly, your husband is a chef. Now, if a chef can work in a smaller home kitchen without problem, I can too! My kitchen is just about the same size, but we may be able to push out a wall about 2 feet in the working section but not the nook area. Yours is an inspiration for me! And glad to hear the DW placement can work.

Thank you. If you are thinking of doing a back painted glass back splash, be sure to do plugmold for the outlets and think about switch placement. It costs $$$ for every outlet/switch plate they have to cut. It you'd like to see more - search "glass splash back" (that's what the rest of the world calls it - lol) Pushing out will allow you more Drawers! Luck you - drawers are the BOMB! My husband is not a chef, but he'd be flattered- he's just a really good home cook. Supposedly, chefs like smaller, well designed spaces - less steps. Let me know if you have any other questions!