Oh, this! ^^^^^^ That looks lovely. I don't think it needs to be centered. That looks great. As an alternative, you could build a hood that covers that entire short wall and then just place the working parts (fan, ducts) over the range. That may look better or worse but something you might play with. A lot of the kitchens revealed here have lack of symmetry because they achieve better function without it. Or they find a creative way to balance the lack of symmetry as you have with your utensil crock. A tall, narrow painting would look good there as well if you decide to go with a simpler backsplash although that might be too-too much on the wall if you go with a decorative tile-insert. I'm a window person. Even if the view is questionable, I'd go for bigger windows. The more natural light, the better, imho. Maybe install some kind of trellis to hide the hot-tubbers? For the first time in my life, I have no uppers and my seasonings/oils/sauces are in drawers next to my range. I just bought a couple of cheap spice inserts at the hardware store and a few cheap drawer organizers (plastic boxes) at The Dollar Store. Oh, I love it so much. I can open the drawers and find everything I need at a glance rather than digging through the upper cabinet. As I said, my fridge placement doesn't bother me either due to the pit-stop at the prep area. I hope you find the same with your mock cooking sessions. I like this plan so much better than how it originally started. I hope you feel good about what you've achieved.

I'm not a layout pro and it sounds like you have a solution you like. Just wanted to follow up on the tall family comment you made: my family is tall too, and when we did a kitchen renovation (and updated all our bathrooms at the same time) we raised all our counters to 39". It is SO much more comfortable for us to work in the kitchen! (And wash our faces too. No more bathroom sinks practically at knee height.) Added bonus: the taller base cabinets give us more storage space. So if you're lucky enough to do custom cabinets, I hope you consider taller base cabs. Even without custom, you can consider taller toe kicks to lift things up a bit. Even an inch or two might make a difference in your comfort.

Don't just focus on clearing the table and loading/unloading dishes. In reality, those tasks, together with clearing the counters, wiping down counters & table, sweeping up, etc., only comprise 20% of the work done and time spent in the Kitchen. Preparing a meal (prepping) accounts for 70% and cooking the remaining 10%. So, 80% of the work done/time spent in the Kitchen is not cleaning up. [Assuming you don't just reheat pre-packaged food or do mostly carryout -- don't laugh, there are some people who are like that for various reasons. It's their choice. However, if you cook at all, then the 70/10/20 still stands.] Instead, focus on overall Kitchen workflow and what will make that 80% of your time/work more pleasant. For starters: Kitchen workflow is Refrigerator/Pantry --> Sink --> Prep Counterspace --> Range/Cooktop See this thread for a humorous discussion: Looking for layout help? Memorize this first. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first . As others have noted, your island is a "barrier island", meaning it's blocking access to the refrigerator from the sink. Since you only have one sink in the Kitchen, that means the cleanup sink is also your prep sink -- and that's the one that's being blocked. Even moving the refrigerator to the left won't help, the island is still a barrier. You will be running back & forth around that island constantly. I suppose it would help you reach your 10,000 steps for the day, but I don't usually want to be exercising while I'm cooking! . If you only want two sinks, then move the one on the outside of the Kitchen to the island on the refrigerator side. If you put it on the outside end, it will still be available for other tasks like filling a coffeemaker or tea kettle. Trying to use that sink on the outside of the Kitchen as a prep sink is not going to happen -- it's much too far away. And, wouldn't it be better if non-cooks washed their hands in the Powder Room rather than in a Kitchen sink? . Where's your microwave? . Is your refrigerator going to be a true built-in, fully integrated refrigerator? I'm asking because if it isn't, then the doors will need to extend out past all counters, walls, etc., to allow the doors to open fully. If it is not a true built-in/fully integrated refrigerator, then based on the depth of the adjacent wall, I'm guessing you will need no more than 9" b/w the refrigerator and wall. You will have to do one of the following to gain those 9": Extend the alcove to the right 9" (put in a 9" wide pullout Utility cabinet for broom, mop, etc.) Pull the refrigerator out so the doors are beyond the wall; probably move the refrigerator so the back of the refrigerator is even with the back of the ovens. Shorten the alcove wall 6" to 9" so the doors stick out past the wall.

On the ice maker question: Our family business is packaged ice. We make ice by the ton everyday but my hubby was always forgetting to bring home a bag! He refuses to eat “white refrigerator ice” so we have one of these ice makers. It fits in about a 15 inch cabinet space and we had our cabinet maker make a face for the door. We love it and use it all day every day (family of 7) and empty it frequently during the summer.. However, it has had probably 4 or 5 issues over the 5 years we have had it. My hubby is handy and has fixed it each time but it requires troubleshooting and ordering parts, and maintenance, etc. It IS loud but was only noticeable to us at night when we were going to sleep since our bedroom is on the first floor, about 20 feet or so from the kitchen. But like @AnnKH said above, you might be better off buying a few big bags at the store -- support your local ice company! :-) And get a small chest freezer to store them in.