I went through the same exercise a year ago and chose the 36" Wolf cooktop, a Wolf single oven with a Wolf convection/microwave on top. I have been using them for four months and am very satisfied. I chose the cooktop because (1) Wolf has a good reputation for quality and service, (2) I liked the layout of the burners, the placement of the knobs on top and the backlit indicators that a burner was on, and (3) the appearance of the grates which are very solid. I was also influenced by the fact that we are using propane and Wolf makes both an LP and a NG version, rather than having the system retrofit by an installer, which is true for some brands. I cook a fair amount but don't need all the burners to be high BTUs as they are on the range tops. I purchased a separate All Clad griddle which straddles two burners nicely. Previously I had cooked only on electric stoves. The one thing I notice with the cooktop is the need to be careful not to turn the burners too high or the flames come up the sides of the pot and cause scorching. It may be that the Thermador star design is better in this regard as the Wolf burners appear to heat the edges of the pot faster than the interior of the bottom. However, the simmer is fantastic. It never needs to be adjusted. The ovens were a more difficult choice for me. I went with the Wolf in large part because of appearance. My ovens are placed next to the Sub Zero fridge and everything matches nicely. The regular single convection oven is a good size. It bakes and roasts well; the broiler is nothing special. I have put three trays of cookies in at once and they all cooked perfectly. You do have to remove the racks for cleaning. Some GE ovens are attractive because the racks can stay in. I notice that there is much more spattering of grease in a convection oven than my older conventional one. Therefore I remove unused racks when roasting meat or poultry. The controls look complicated but are actually fairly intuitive once you go through them once. All in all an excellent choice but I am not sure the performance is any better than less expensive ovens. I was unsure about the convection microwave. It is, as Wolf readily acknowledges, a Sharp or Panasonic product with an expensive trim kit. The exterior is black plastic and not up to the standard of the regular oven. However, the microwave works well. It has about 100 watts less power than a regular microwave but that does not seem to make a huge difference. I was surprised that I use the small convection oven as much as I do. I use it for warming bread or leftovers and cooking small pieces of fish or chicken. It heats up quickly and is probably much more energy efficient than using the large oven for these tasks. It worked well for baking a single pie crust but I use the larger oven for cakes. I also use the convection oven for warming plates or holding side dishes as I did not get a warming drawer. Hope this helps. Wolf was a good choice for me but I am sure there are other options.

Thank you so, so much! Buehl - I will read up tonight. Thank you so much for sharing the links (and apologies that I didn't see them before!). Thank you for the note about a prep station. If I put 42 inches of cabinets between the sink and range, I can have 18 inches on the other side of the range. To do this, I'd have to move either the dishwasher or the trash into the island. The aisles are supposed to be 46 inches from the edge of the countertop to countertop but the design software isn't letting me be that precise. A drawing of the first floor is attached. I am moving the kitchen toward the front door 24 inches to have a bigger kitchen. And what they have labeled "dining room" will be more of a library and our dining room will be what is now labeled "family room" along the same side as the kitchen. Practigal - yes, the full length cabinet over the sink is an error. That Ikea software can be so finicky! It will be a 20 incher, not 40. I have been reading about the hood widths. With Ikea's not-at-all-custom sizes, it's a little tricky. I'll continue to consider this though. The island in the drawings is just the bases. The actual countertop will have an overhang to create a seating area. Trash and recycling is in a 24 inch lower cabinet. Currently it is between the sink and range but to create more work space there, it will be moving to either the island behind the sink or where the dishwasher currently is (and the dishwasher would be in the island). Small appliances (stand mixer, blender, Soda Stream and coffee maker) will be on the countertop next to the fridge (towards the corner). The others that I use far less frequently will be in lower cabinets. The fridge will be a countertop depth french door with freezer on the bottom. I put the ikea one in the design as a placeholder. I spoke with the folks at Ikea and there's no issue stacking cabinets. I will have the doors separate as Ikea's boxes can't accommodate a single 60 inch door in lieu of a 20 inch over 40 inch door. I will read up, alter the design and post a revised version in the next day or two. Thank you so much!

Of all the options I've seen so far, I like Lyfia's ideas the best. Personally, I'd not want the Cleanup or Cooking Zone in the island, but given the unusual shape of your Kitchen, it's probably not possible. Note that you will have to move some plumbing even though you said you didn't want to. However, by not allowing plumbing (and, I assume the cooktop - gas, I think) to be moved, you can't fix some of the functional issues I see with the original layout and that you've pointed out. I will say that I would rather not have the cooktop in front of the window, but if you've been OK with it up until now, I guess it works for you. But, please add a decent hood over it! Be careful of your window treatments - it looks like you have gas, which means fire! If you're willing to change the pantry a bit, you could get more room b/w the ovens and cooktop. I would try for at least 18", if you can. Most 30" ovens can be in a 31" or so wide cabinet, so keep that in mind. For the MW, I'd make it a MW drawer and consider facing it to the left in Lyfia's latest idea - that puts it so someone MWing won't be in the way of someone trying to prepare a meal.

I like the look of taking the tile all the way to the ceiling. I like the idea of the scones, but not sure you will have room above the windows. Recessed cans in the ceiling may be the most functional. Looking at your plan, is that the only sink, or a prep sink? The cabinet is not going to allow for a standard size kitchen sink if it's the only one.