I did not want to spend a lot of money on my garage, so I bought a nice USED kitchen from someone doing a remodel on their kitchen. Love all those cabinets for storage and counter tops for a work area. I hired two laborers to move the units... and had a carpenter install all the cabinets and counter tops in the garage with a new Formica sort of wood-look top. I might change out the doors later for a wood look. My laundry room shares a garage wall and I had a plumber connect a pipe into the garage and install the kitchen sink that came with the kitchen. :) Nice to have running water in the garage for my garden clean up... washing out my old pots or paint brushes I don't want to wash inside my home. I put rubber mats in the old stainless steel sink too. With all the counter space, I can do a lot of different things. It is fun to go to garage sales or thrift stores looking for the perfect old stool or high chair for the garage. :) A friend bought two of those big metal garage cabinets at Sam's (I forget the price) and installed in their garage to take care of a lot of things like tools. They also bought those big heavy garage mats at Sam's for one area of their garage if that is your taste. I have always done the "install old kitchen units" in my garages over the years, as most of these can be fixed up with cheap wood looking Formica tops from Home Depot or inexpensive new cabinet doors. Those old kitchen counters are a lot stronger than any of these units sold by companies. It will cost under $500. if you find the right kitchen to put in. One time I got a unit for free to haul away. No one realizes my garage storage was once a kitchen. They think I had the upper and lower cabinets built in etc. I use hooks on the wall for certain things and I have this medium size brown antique barrel where I put things like rakes and other long handled items upside down. We have 95 degree humid summers here but no really cold weather. I think kitchens are built for all kinds of weather. Anyway... that is what I do in a garage for storage and counter space.

Thank you for all responses/advice. Very helpful/useful. Excavation is supposed to start this week (that's how early we are in the build, no dirt has been dug yet). Cabinets have not been ordered yet (but need to decide/order soon). I do not like the idea of having the kitchen in the front of the house (where the dining room currently is), irregardless if a wall separates it from the entry foyer. What is most important to me is an open concept between the kitchen and great room. Moving the kitchen to the front of the house is not an option. Additionally, I do like the idea of having a more "formal" dining room, rather than a common eating area shared with the great room. I spent anywhere from 1-3 hours in the kitchen daily between cooking/near the stove, prepping, and washing dishes by the sink. I want to see the great room and converse with whomever is in there. Having said that, I don't like any plans with spending majority of time staring/looking at the staircase, either regular staircase or stairs down to the basement. I've asked before - can't move the porch or add bay windows to the front of the house. :)

What about something like this? I cut and paste within the context of a two stall plan with a one bedroom apartment along the back. The apartment was a bit convoluted, but left the entry bath and storage as is. I am assuming this was to give visitor access to the bathroom without going through the bedroom. And the kitchen was on the exterior back which buried the LR in the middle so I juggled that. I also think this is two small for a two car garage, I would want it several feet wider and deeper. I feel like this sort of reiterates your house, this also could be mostly glass along the lake view

I was also thinking green for the awnings. I like a deep green, like the walls in the bathroom photo inset below. The closest match I could find was SW Secret Garden. I like the contrast with the pale gray, and the way it relates to all the foliage surrounding the house. I wishg I had Celery’s skills for a better visual.