Had gorgeous Carrara marble in our last house for several years with our two year old, lived normally with them and didn’t baby them, and they still looked dreamy and gorgeous when we sold the house. Everyone loved the counters. So did I. You’ll even run your hand down them and they feel velvety soft, cool, expensive even though they’re not, and just downright perfect.

@yourchigirl, while I would like nothing more than to rip out the built in pantry, there is ducting and electrical running in the partition wall by the mud room door and electrical in the wall by the stove. I am capable of tearing those out, but it is not in the budget for this project. I could hold off on the entire project and save money to be able to include it in the budget, but then I would want to install a 48" built-in fridge along that wall, which adds another $11K to the project. I have no doubt it would look amazing but that is more project creep than I want to deal with. On another front, I've pretty much convinced myself that an induction cooktop is going to replace the electric cooktop instead of propane. I am still considering the placement of the cooktop along the wall vs. the island. I know the prevailing sentiment by the KD pros here is that a cooktop does not belong on the island and every time I am using it I am conscious of their advice. However, I'm not yet convinced that the way we use the kitchen island and cooktop works for us and the extra time and $$ required to relocate the cooktop is worth it. I would like to focus more on having the right storage for the appropriate tools in the best locations. I am working on defining my task areas based on a couple layouts and will walk through them with the Minister of War and Finance (Wife) when I'm done with them.

There are pros and cons to both layouts. I will say that the setup in your neighbor's is generally better, with a few tweaks. Whether the island truly fits, I can't say without dimensions. To summarize your thoughts...is the following correct? You currently have two table spaces -- a Dining Room elsewhere and a small "nook" area (the other side of the peninsula in your current Kitchen where the two stools and sliding doors are) You are talking about moving into the small "nook" space and will still have a separate Dining Room You have both a Family Room (in front of the Kitchen) and a Living Room elsewhere So, all you would be losing would be the small "nook" area, which it doesn't look like you're really using anyway...correct? What's good about your neighbor's layout... The sink and range are along the same wall so you can easily move things along the counter from one place to the next...as we age, it can become more important as picking things up, especially heavy things like pots of water, can become more difficult (arthritis, etc.). Tweak...the DW should be on the other side of the sink so it's not an obstacle between the range and sink. It looks like there is quite a bit more prep space between the sink and range What might not be good... Is the aisle b/w the island and sink wall 48"? It should be wide enough to accommodate a walker or wheelchair. Ditto between the refrigerator and the island? No one wants to think about the need for either, but you never know. I had an accident a few years ago that necessitated a knee replacement. I had to use a walker for a couple of weeks (it took that long for my muscles to "kick back in" and be able to do straight-leg raises -- apparently, the younger you are, the longer the recovery time...counter-intuitive, but my PT therapist said it's so!) It not only gave me a taste of what it may be like years down the line, but it also made me realize what does/does not work when you are disabled, even temporarily. Fortunately, my Kitchen is wide open, so I had no problems navigating it.

Divide and conquer with two seating areas. Have a cozy seating area with 2 armchairs and ottoman/poufs at an angle to the fireplace. Have your TV and console on another wall and arrange a seating area with your couches in and L or parallel, and a round coffee table. I don't show it but you could place a console behind the sofa as suggested. I was drafting my mock-up and didn't see that zones had already been suggested but we are on the same page.