Hi Buehl, Thanks so much! I hadn't seen that link before. Unfortunately, I do not have access to a scanner, so I had to take a picture of old plans. It doesnt look great, but hope it helps. I tried adding a few lines of text to label things. The kitchen is 16' 7" x 14' 11". The kitchen opens to a dining/hearth room with fireplace. That space also bleeds into a large great room. Down the "hall", the GR is on left and office on right. Past the office is the front door, stairs down to lower level, and then finally the master area. I am open to ANY suggestions. This is planned as the "forever home" and I want to get it right. It is just me and my husband, with our adult daughter visiting occasionally. We may have a few family members come for family gatherings at times. Mostly, it is just me in the kitchen. The "prep sink" is mostly so my husband can get water, fill the coffee pot or rinse a glass without getting in my way (this happens often lol) and I also liked that it was fairly close to the range, in case I need water for cooking or to use a strainer. Im not worried at all about traffic. My big thing is wanting to fit the 48" bluestar, but also keep my 30" deep drawers flanking it on both sides (for my heavy pots, etc). I also want to be sure I have drawers for cooking utensils, knives, eating utensils, etc well planned and near cooking area. I really am considering removing blind corner pull outs and putting in just drawers for these items. Please see the layout pictures at the beginning of my post for the most recent cabs & layout. Here is the picture from our old plans: Thank you so much!!

No, I think extending that wall would really cramp circulation space. If I've got it measured correctly there's only 4.5 ft between the edge of the counter and that post as it is. I think it would be unacceptably awkward to make traffic go around the end of that wall if it were extended. (Also, we wanted 1 freestanding post somewhere in the design of our home, but that's just a silly personal choice, not a requirement for any real reason.) Also, I think the interior views re better to be able to come into the house and see through to the stairs. That range wall is an interior wall, and can move, or be mostly removed. (Obviously the post, however, can not). The other side of that wall is the main front entry. The closets/bench will not be built as drawn. (The upper closet will go, and probably the lower closet will be a bit larger) I want a closet in the entry, and I need at least a little of that lower closet, because I have to hide some HVAC ductwork to the upstairs in a couple of places, and that's one of them.

Here's my layout - very, very similar to Sena's. It provides three separate Prep Zones, all with approximately 60" of workspace and access to water. The primary Prep Zone is in the island with the Prep Sink and across from the cooktop. The two secondary Prep Zones are on either side of the cleanup sink. If someone is also cleaning up, then the secondary Prep Zone on the DW side will not be available until cleanup or unloading the DW is complete - but the one on the non-DW side is still available for use. Dish storage is on the Pantry side of the kitchen with 15" deep uppers as well as base cabinets. This location puts the dishes close to the DW for ease of unloading as well as on the side of the kitchen opposite the Cooking Zone and two of the Prep Zones, including the primary Prep Zone. This will keep those setting the table out of these zones and out from under foot of those working in the kitchen. The refrigerator is on the periphery for the same reason - it is easily accessible from the kitchen and the Dining Room and the rest of the house. Snackers and someone setting the table will not get in the way. There is a 6' long built-in pantry with 12" deep shelves on three sides. 12-inch deep shelves ares deep enough for the majority of items but not so deep that things get lost. 12" seems to be the ideal depth. You can get away with 15", but any deeper and things start to get lost! There are several advantages of a built-in pantry over a pantry cabinet: Much less expensive More storage space - no lost space due to cabinet walls & roll out tray shelf (ROTS) hardware and you can utilize the entire space - floor to ceiling More useful storage - no deep shelves over your shoulders that are almost impossible to see b/c even w/ROTS you still cannot see the middle of the shelves. You can see everything at one glance - no opening ROTS after ROTS looking for something Tray storage (cooking racks, cookie sheets, roasting pans, long platters, etc.) is above the MW oven in the oven stack. The trash pullout is in the island in the primary Prep Zone and near the Cooking Zone - both zones in which you generate the most trash & recyclables. It's also near the Cleanup Zone and the secondary Prep Zones. Note that the trash pullout is needed more in the primary Prep Zone & Cooking Zone than in the Cleanup Zone - but ideally it should also be near the Cleanup Zone. The island has seating for 5 - with one seat on the short end of the island. Having seats on two sides is more conducive to conversation. The cabinets on the sink run are 3" deeper than standard. This gives you more storage space as well as 3" more workspace depth. The base cabinets are 27" deep - if you can get them and they're in your budget. If not, then pull the base cabinets out 3" from the wall when they're installed. I did put in upper cabinets on the two side walls to give you more dish/prep tool/cooking tool storage space. The uppers on the Pantry side are 15" deep so even 12" wide dinner plates will fit. The uppers on the cooktop wall are 12" deep. They could be 15" deep as well, if desired. If you do not put upper cabinets on the walls, then you will need to create dish storage elsewhere. I don't recommend open shelves for anything other than items you use every single day. It only takes a couple of days for dust to start settling on items - requiring you to wash the items b/f using them and to frequently dust just to keep items looking clean. On the cooktop side, dishes on the open shelves will not only collect dust, but any stray grease, etc., will also settle on them. The hood is 6" wider than the cooktop - this is the minimum recommended. In addition, it should be 24" deep and the fan should be at least 600cfms. If you do plan to grill inside, then I recommend going even wider and a getting a more powerful fan (at least 900cfms). If all you do is boil water - then you can make do with a hood the width of the cooktop as long as you have upper cabinets flanking the hood. (If you do only boil water, then I question the need for a 48" cooktop.) The window is 10' wide to give you a lot of natural light and to open up the space. Normally, I would recommend a window to the counter, however, in this case I think it should be raised a few inches above the counter. It appears your kitchen is in the front of the house, so you don't want to make it easy for people to look in and see your dirty dishes or Prep Zones or Cooking Zone. Raising the window and putting in window treatments that can be partially closed when needed will help keep your kitchen condition private. (This is one of the reasons you don't normally put a kitchen in the front of the house.) Finally, I put in a 30" wide x 15" deep utility cabinet for a broom, dustpan, Swifter, etc. Here it is! Layout #1 . Layout #1 Zone Map .

Having landing space behind the fridge on an island is convenient if one has a French door fridge. I have a single door fridge, but I find the island convenient if I am laying out multiple items--packages of carrots, celery, and meat for soup. Todd, I was thinking about your 'stadium seating' at the island. Since you have a long back wall, you could put the fridge on that wall, then have two seats on the short side of the island, which would also allow you to make the aisles a little wider, and would be more conducive to conversation. Downside is that the fridge will be more visible from the dining room. I moved the hall opening back, if that is feasible.