I don't know where you're located, but there is a guy here in Mi who makes glass counters. He infuses them with minerals or something which create all kinds of patterns and color. There was a gorgeous one with purple. Sadly for me, they were like triple the price of quartz and I didn't want to spend that much money. But definitely something to look into if your budget is big.

I saw the glass counters online - almost list Murano glass so beautiful - def would be a feature that would wow - right now, I am trying to wow on a budget. LOL!

It's the kind of kitchen that can wow. It won't be for everyone, there is a large contingent of boring beigers that will shoot it down in a heartbeat. I can vision it and think it would be great. Also sounds like it would easily be reversible. I say, be fearless.

ingeorgia -thank you - I feel like it's a "fun" thing, and is easily reversible if I am just being drunk and disorderly. ;-)

Like this look with the recycled glass - but I really want something that is more durable than any of the man made products (with the exception of a Dekton..)

The wrap idea is totally for resale. And completely the right choice. A Merc AMG GT in silver or black(resale) gets wrapped in bright blue or green for fun.

Hey, if your design involves "things you love" then I bet it will look great. After all, it's your space so creating it with pieces you love should work! It's nice to see stuff that is unexpected. I say GO FOR IT!

This kitchen is larger than most restaurants. You must have staff.

My first thought also was to do a glass countertop. At least on the seating area.

You know me, I'm all about color and having fun with it. I say go for it. I can just see it working fabulously with the bold color choices and art.

If you pick 3 bold colors, try and do a 60/30/10 rule in terms of how you use them in each room. That doesn't mean each room has to have the same pink as 60% but that each room is predominantly one color with 30% of a secondary color and 10% of a third color. Then of course you can throw in touches of other colors too.

And I LOVE the idea of the fridge and freezer decals. Sounds like the right pop of fun.

Glass Countertops

There are also some fabulous purple quartzite slabs. Do a search.

Ya'll know I want the artistic / custom glass top right? Anyone need a kidney?

Beverly - no staff - but spend a lot of time in the kitchen, as do our friends and wanted to create a space that would work for us in how we live and entertain.

Actually - thinking about it - the dogs think that WE are staff... does that count?

Actually because of the layout I pictured this as a formal almost ceremonial space with a bookmatched stone counter up front.

you know, it just occurred to me that the company who did my glass sheet backsplash actually specializes in doing glass panels with designs, artwork, etc which are removable/replaceable. I think they just pop in and out. I know that their stuff is available all around the country, I'm in metro detroit, and they did a just plain metallic silver painted backsplash for me which looks beautiful. But they brought some samples of other stuff they have done and it's beautiful. Take a look maybe at their website. Imagio is the name of the company. That could add something bright and cool which would be totally removable if you got tired of it or wanted to sell, etc.

May not look so great with black but I thought this was a nice quartz (bookmatched here)

^^^ that was more my original thought - symmetrical, maybe book matched marble. But frankly, I can't take the marble or any variant thereof, anymore. I wanted it, badly, but knew I would not accept the etching (and knew my cooking would "promote" the etching) so I reluctantly gave up. Fast forward to now, I am book matched marbled out. It's in many kitchens, and I walked into the Cosentino open house the other night and while the stoneworks and tile work was done to an amazing standard, I felt assaulted by 50 shades of grey. (and not in a pleasurable way!)

Anyway - during the sub slab insulation phase, I realized what a great feel that a really light colored floor had and instead of polishing the concrete, I made the decision to do a PalmBeach-esque white floor and then decided to go a little crazy with color.

I like your idea above (and love the color!), but the design currently has ZERO backsplash - so that area to be a color focal isn't available. The "appliance wall" has all walls / cabs and the center section where the cooktop is, is a passthrough / open to the pantry, straight through to the 9' wide window that is shown over the counter in the pantry area.

Thank you so much for your insights, all! Totally appreciated!

That's not meant to be a backsplash It's a super flat rendition of counters with perspective on the pure vertical. Like an 18th c. Japanese woodblock

So it would really be like this. I was reading some counter on each side at first.

Gut reaction - sounds fabulous, from the visual perspective. Sometimes though I question whether one is designing for the forum (i.e, the money shot) or for oneself (function). Best solution is when one can achieve both. Various thoughts in no particular order. I cannot see this as a functional layout with that island. Am I way off base or is it really 20 feet wide? Mine is only a 7 foot square or so, but it can take a lonnnng time to clean after a meal (and serve and set the table...). I suggest (if you haven't already) posting to solicit feedback on very large islands. What is on the island? I see three rectangles - is that a sink and two trashes? How does your town recycle? We separate paper, plastic and trash - you might want to add a third bin (or double up on one of your pull outs). Consider adding a built in (inset) compost bin, if that fits in with your lifestyle. (Definite cool factor!) Seating on an island is better with the 90 degree angle as you show but can even be better with a curved edge (but then, pictures don't look as good). Is microwave a drawer or an upper? I do love your color ideas and think visually this would be amazing as you show it.

Ya'll know I want the artistic / custom glass top right? Anyone need a kidney?

I would do the glass just on the seating area of the island.

I see a large kitchen but not a functional one. It looks like someone made a list of "things" they want with no thought to how they be used and someone took that list and said let's lay it out perfectly symmetrical.

Thoughts:
Whoever designed this does not really cook. Way too much symmetry that doesn't take how people work in their kitchens into consideration. Four ovens, all the same size regardless of function, Are they below the counter? If so that's a lot of unnecessary stooping for a kitchen of this size. Are they wall ovens? Then why side by side? Why not stack the micro and an oven and the stem oven and an oven? Fridge and freezer at the ends? 11 feet from them to the cooktop. No landing space if the ovens next to them are on the wall.

I think you are lucky to have the space and I am all for bold bright and quirky but you need someone to assist you with a layout that will make the kitchen as functional as it is nice to look at.

I suggest the book Kitchen Design With Cooking In Mind by Donald Silvers. Even if you don't use any of the ideas you will begin to understand the importance of function over form. Get past the live and entertain part and think about the things you reach for and the sequence of events that take place when you cook.

I don't think this kitchen is dysfunctional, considering it places form first. It's a long galley. It's big, it requires more walking at 20 feet, and turning because the work space and set down space are opposite each other. It's just not functionalist and it's not tight and efficient. But I don't think that means you can't cook in it.

I would make the following changes, which preserve the symmetry, but separate prep and clean up a bit more and allow direct lateral set down space for the primary ovens. All door swings should open toward the cooktop, none opening toward each other, and I moved the primary ovens inboard so the set down space is directly lateral to each on the counter next to the cooktop.

And here's one that by stacking the ovens with either the steam oven or the microwave on each side, would allow for set down space in between the fridge and ovens on each side. Not as flush, but still symmetrical: blue equals counter

And here is something I would do if I had a back area that was not in a traffic pattern.

I would create an area for someone to assist in cooking and prep from the back. If you make things that need to be stirred for long periods of time or do prep things that do not require a sink, there could be a spot for someone to reach the cooktop from the back position (albeit it's further from the edge) or prep. We did something like this for a kitchen where when they were producing Vietnamese food like different rolls and buns a few of the siblings could sit or stand on the far side of the counter (which was outside the kitchen) and work, but not be in the primary triangle for cooking.

And then finally you could tighten the entire thing up, stack the microwave and steam ovens over or under the other ovens, pull in the fridges from their 30 foot boundaries and refine the entire shape as well, since this seems like it's custom and well into the six figures anyway. And a prep sink somewhere near the cooktop, maybe with a cover.

Something other than white shaker cabinets and subway tile! Good!

Thoughts on style first:

- I like your overall theme of bold, modern, leaning towards industrial materials.

- I'll be the first to admit that color is my personal weakness; I am not good at putting together nice color schemes; still, here are my thoughts: I love the idea of amethyst leading the way. It's bold and unexpected, but amethyst is a color to which most people react positively. I love recycled glass and would love to see an amethyst-version of the blue counter shown above! I wouldn't have any concerns about a man made material not being strong enough, and with a man made countertop I don't think you'll have to have a seam, which will matter on an island that size. What I don't love is the idea of black and white cabinets ... with so much going on, I think two-tone cabinets are too much.

- You say you don't want to feel pressure for the countertop to be "different", but I think in this design, the counter is king. In this layout, the countertop is very, very prominent; it's so large and is the thing you see first, and it is the single item that must be perfect. Whatever you choose, I think this is your splurge item.

- The idea of "just chill" and "deep freeze" wraps fall flat with me. Seems almost juvenile compared to the rest of the plan.

- Yes to picking up the bold colors for barstools and mixer. And linens.

- Final thought on style: What's connected to this kitchen? A dining area? A family room? Whatever color(s) you use in the kitchen have to continue into that connected area.

Thoughts on function:

- Oh, my, this is a big kitchen. Too big. Put it in perspective: The back counter is 25' plus it looks like maybe 7-9' walking space on both ends ... the whole thing is about the width of a 3-car garage ... more than half the width of a basketball court ... almost the length of my family room AND breakfast room AND kitchen combined. A kitchen this big will be expensive to build, it will take a great effort to keep clean, and everything is too spread out for convenience. Bigger isn't better; aim for right-sized.

- Do I understand correctly that you'll have a big "passthrough" through to the pantry? That's both cool and functional. Going back to style briefly ... I'd be tempted to use the boldest color in the pantry (so it would "show through) and let that color be "picked up" in the countertop on the island. That seems like an appropriate use of color to me -- plenty to be fun, but not completely overwhelming.

- Still on the topic of the "passthrough" to the pantry ... with these rooms so closely connected, I'd move some of the ovens to the pantry. It'd be super easy to pass things through the window. But the bigger question is, WHY so many ovens? It looks like serious overkill.

- I'd move the freezer, which isn't accessed nearly as much as the refrigerator, into the pantry.

- I see you have "water supply" noted on the left side ... is it also on the right? You'll need water for the ice maker in the refrigerator too. And possibly a pot filler?

- What I'd move OUT of the pantry is the charging station. It's just too far away for good function. I'd incorporate it into the very large desk to the left of the kitchen OR to the end of the island.

- Why is the desk so large? It looks like a clutter catcher.

- Are those three small sinks positioned together in the island? I don't see any point in that. You're looking at a lot of expense plus three separate plumb lines ... yet none of the sinks are big enough to wash a really big pot or sheet pan ... and you'd never have things in "the right sink" with the garbage disposal ... and it'd be hard to reach the back end of the two sideways sinks. Really, three sinks together just make no sense. Instead, look into one really big nice sink. With the industrial size of this kitchen, I'd say look at The Galley, but lots of other high-function sinks exist. Try CreateGoodSinks.com. You can get sinks up to something like 8' wide.

- Bouncing off the sink thoughts ... the pantry you've designed is sort of an old-fashioned scullery, functioning as an offshoot of the kitchen. I think you need a sink in this area as well.

- With this layout, realistically you're going to do most of your cooking and prep on the island ... then turn around to put things into the oven /onto the cooktop (lots of opportunity for dropping on the floor). So your "main kitchen" is actually the island, a galley kitchen ... and you're going to be walking around the "appliance midway" to reach the pantry.

- Where's your mixer going to live?

- Do you bake? If so, do you have an area picked out to consolidate all your baking things?

- Do you have cookbooks? If so, where are they going to be stored?

- Where are you storing your small appliances? In this kitchen, I don't think anything can be left out on the counter.

- Do you have a coffee station somewhere? In the pantry? On the desk? If so, is it convenient to water?

- Where are you storing your dishware?

- I see your refrigerator ... do you have glassware storage nearby?

- With your prep space on the island, do you have a good spot to store knives and cutting boards?

- Where's your space to set out a bowl of fruit, a cake dome,etc.?

Finally, (or maybe not finally since I will probably think of something else) just to put this into perspective, the green outline is my current kitchen and the pink area is the proposed maximum additional space I can get

Thanks for the thoughts. The oven door swings can be changed because we could swap a right oven for a left oven (appliances purchased already). and the new thoughts about the openings facing the landing space is a good one. The ovens are Gaggenau and, as shown, have a side swing door that is better for getting closer to the food and not have to reach over a hot drop down door. (functional / aging in place). The ovens are all placed at counter height - including the micro and the steam oven. I won't put ovens below the counter height for safety reasons and my (not too bright) dogs and that negates stacking them. So that kinda requires "things in a row" and a certain width.

Thanks much for taking the time to show the options - I will address the door swings to take better advantage of the landing zone by the cooktop!

We made changes to the kitchen already based on the feedback, we went through the entire kitchen process here - including the space mapping. No kitchen is perfect, this one needed to reflect the loft aesthetic of the home, and the requirements of our family dynamic.

The plumbing is in the slab for the 3 center sinks so we're not changing that. We decided on the center sinks because we had 2, I felt that I needed a prep sink but didn't want to put it in the pantry or near the cooktop, and since we always keep a sink full of soapy water, we would be sharing the sink between prep and clean up and crossing zones. I might have separated them, but then I didn't want to get a prep sink too close to the eating area. So while the 3 sinks is weird (I always figured the prep needed to be "away" from the mains..), it works functionally.

And yes, there are a lot of wants here. Honestly - we all do that in a new build, and it's my money. We're pretty much at end of job on changes at this point, as the cabinets have also been purchased based on the prior input. (which was hugely helpful, btw)

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

It would be super easy to split up the sinks plumbing wise, on top of the slab, if it comes to that, since it's a matter of a few feet of separation

You guys are awesome!

mrspete - I'll try to address your feedback.

• I agree on the island counter, but still worry I won't find "the right" thing that will be a focal. I was hoping some of the weird / bold colors would take a little pressure of the island top to be that "wow-y"
• I love the idea to make sure that the color is in the pantry too - noted.
• :-( on my decals. ha ha - maybe I am just a goofball.
• Ovens - blame husband. "Anything with doing is worth overdoing". I fairly frequently need two ovens and not knowing how we'd use the steam oven, we added it instead of forgoing one of the larger ovens.
• Agree on the charging station - I'll move to the desk. The desk is large because I often work from home and need a reasonable amount of storage. Also - putting something smaller there would be out of scale. I expect my clutter to be in the laundry room (to the right of the plan shown)
• Scullery / pantry - yes - that's a passthrough. No sink though. I struggled with it - but the plumbing is already in. (thoughts on sinks above...)
• The fridge and freezer need to stay - for symmetry if nothing else. Both are 36" subzero and the fridge won't need a water line because there's no ice in it. The freezer will, and so will the steam oven (which is why it's noted, because it's unusual - everyone plans for a water line to the fridge/ freezer. I am not a pot filler person since most of what I cook then needs to be drained which does not get solved with the filler....
• I did map out my storage plan. Because of the overall design of the house, true "storage" is lacking. So the pantry will end up housing bulky things like soda, beer, paper towels, TP, etc. And the kitchen will house what is in my butler's pantry today. And possibly weirder stuff for the "pantry" too - since I have storage also in my current garage that might end up in there too (space light bulbs, spare light fixtures, extension cords, trash bags, cleaning supplies, etc.
• The plan is / was to have an appliance garage under the micro for counter appliances. the micro is the only thing I can raise and still function. Not 100% sure how this will get executed, but can still consider a micro drawer instead since they get a lot of love here and are probably better for aging in place.
• I know it will be a lot to clean. I have a lot of broken up counter space today, so as long as I can keep most of this CLEAR, it's something I am willing to do. I also agree that it needs to remain fairly clear. Island will have some fruit, etc. I would think cakes / baked goods would be in pantry - perhaps on rear counter (then at least I'd have to get my steps in to get a cookie!)
• Also agree on the zone between the island and appliance wall being the dropsy area. I'll have to focus clean up efforts there. Or - furry garbage disposal units will spend a lot of time there, since they do assist in kitchen cleanup today

palimpsest - thanks for the compressed alternative - if we were not as far along in design I would consider the pyramid approach but I just don't think that I can compress the ovens like that and then I'd have weird space in the angled areas that don't really serve a purpose. And Yikes on the kitchen overlay. Honestly- we spend so much time in the house under construction, it's "shrunk" around us. But your pic provides perspective. Overall the house is not "huge" by today's standards and when we discussed with the architect how we lived, we intentionally focused the space on our most used areas. We don't have a lot of separate rooms, but the rooms we value take a lot of square footage.

Again - thank you both so much for taking this time to provide feedback and input. Appreciated.

I can never quite decide whether I like these countertop materials or not. In your kitchen I feel like the center cooktop area would be the most natural focus for it bracketed by plain tops, but I don't know about heat resistance even though these are natural stone, or petrified wood.

Actually for the 9x6 central counter, maybe you could do Pyrolave, which is enameled Lava stone. It's completely heat resistant to normal kitchen temperatures, it's a fired product.
There is a core collection of 24 colors but they produce other colors that are kept in their library. 54 sq feet would be about $14,000

http://www.pyrolave.com/en/the-magic-of-colour/

Like you - my jury is still out. I saw this small sample at the Cosentino open house (hidden in the greige assault). While I love the look of it as a standalone, when it goes on a counter it just looks "weird". And not good weird.

I did look up some purple quartzite and some of the ones that were more striated may show promise (and then wrap my hood in purple....) but I guess I just can't get over the shapes on these counters.

I looked at pics on Houzz last night and none of the ones featured (even when they were backlit) said "OMG you have to have this!" I feel like it might feel more at home in a bathroom (and I have no idea why I feel that way! LOL)

There's also an American company Lavarte, that makes enameled lava stone countertops and they have purple. I think they are less expensive.

Hope your construction is going well so far!

What if you make the seating counter concrete, and waterfall the left side to the floor? (To break up the glossy a bit.) You could embed some color if you like, or use colorful slabs on the back two counters.

The refrigerator wraps sound fun, are those easy to change out?

Hi Ya, Oaktown.

My entire house is concrete. The one thing I need less of is grey flat concrete. (Which is why I changed to a white epoxy floor from polished concrete...)

I live the lava stone idea but then I saw the price - even at the low end ($250/sq ft), it would be a $20K island counter!

Maybe consider a stainless top with a blackened or oxidized steel end panel?

[There's so much more to concrete than grey flat concrete ;-) There's an outfit near SF that does some amazing things. I have seen some of their counter work -- colors, embedded with various items, etc. it is really cool. If you have some free time for browsing here's a link to photos. Maybe there are artisans in your neck of the woods too?]

https://www.houzz.co.nz/pro/chengdesign/cheng-design

I think the overlay of someone else's kitchen over this plan is a good visual. Something that just struck me: the passthrough is literally as wide as a single garage door.

I like the bold countertops shared above ... but I wouldn't do the whole island with something so strong. Maybe just the eating area.

I didnt realize you are already in the building phase.

- The idea of "just chill" and "deep freeze" wraps fall flat with me. Seems almost juvenile compared to the rest of the plan.

It's a "pop art" type of statement using a utilitarian appliance to make the statement. I love it. If done well, there's nothing juvenile about it.

I dunno, I think the formality of the plan precludes anything pop-arty.

This Kitchen is Mark Rothko, not Andy Warhol; Donald Judd, not Jeff Koons.

This kitchen is Stonehenge: light breaks across the center of the cooktop and the hood makes a shadow at a specific spot in the house once a year.

here's the problem - with the minimalist, there is also a strong love of bold colors and pop art / Andy Warhol (for example - this is my most treasured commissioned painting:

While there is a brutalist stoicism to the house, we also have a bright orange door, will have a bright blue pool, vibrant green grass, bold color furniture, etc. so I don't want to have something that is so serious it can't capture how we live our lives - and that's not all that seriously.... ;-)

My feeling about this is that the house has a brutalist stoicism and the kitchen is the house. It's not something you pick up and move around.

The Guggenheim and the old Whitney have had lots of different contents, but the buildings remain the same. The contents can be anything. But the kitchen structure is not really a content.

You might put this in your house

But I am not sure you would wallpaper a room in the house with this:

Feel free to disagree, but my personal feeling is that you can put anything you want inside a house. But there are certain things that you shouldn't attach to certain houses.

Thanks and I get it. I can always start in the Stonehenge-y feel and add color if I want, or whimsy, etc - starting with accessories and adding if it needs it, or I feel too drab.

I think you do get it, innately, not because of something I said.

I don't think stoicism or rigidity precludes color. The counter or a block of the cabinets could be purple...the minimalists worked in color, after all .

But I think what you don't want is extraneous ornament.

To go back to the Pop Art idea, ...I think if it was really Pop Art, the Dishwasher would look like a box of Brillo Pads or something. To me, words like "Just Chill" --I think this is extraneous ornament, and it also reminds me too much of "Friends Gather Here" on a plaque or something. Bob Venturi would probably love the idea of wrapping a film around everything, but Venturi isn't a modernist.

This thread has really made me think about the Concetto countertops and why I don't quite like them...because I want to like them on some level. But I think it is because they aren't quite real. If you did a purple Pyrolave countertop, the color would be the shape and the object, and the shape and the object would be the color. All of a piece.

But the Concetto material is kind of aspic of sorts with bits and pieces of real semiprecious stone kinda blobbed together in resin . It's like expensive head cheese. If it were all one piece, like a big slab of marble that is a solid object in and of itself, that would be different.

I dunno, I think the formality of the plan precludes anything pop-arty.

Yes, that's kind of what I meant. The pop-art doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the plan.

We had friends put in concrete countertops...they look awesome and have a great color vibe...I would have had no idea they were concrete if I had not heard all about the pouring of them!

Love the bold colors. Caesarstone has some wonderfully vibrant quartz. Looks like some of the pictures above but they are quartz. http://www.concettous.com. From their website: "Highly heat, stain and scratch resistant, Concetto offers high quality and low maintenance. Created with dimensions of 119 x 55.5 inches (Net) and a thickness of 3/4 inch (141.5 x 302 cm and a thickness of 20 mm), each unique Concetto piece is made from completely natural stone that enhances its unique shadings and inherent patterns."