Wine River granite would look nice with the dark cherry cabinets.

What about an off-white island with stools to match the hickory hardwood instead of changing the flooring?

I think I need to change anyway because I have to rip out the other island:{ I like the idea of the off white island. I need to coordinate countertops too as I am only doing the island at this time. Thank you so much.

You don't think contrasting countertops could be effective? I think I was unclear initially, I want to put a dishwasher in the new rectangular island right next to the sink;}

This is the hickory flooring. I appreciate the help!

I didn't realize that you were planning on moving the dishwasher now. That is probably the most crucial change needed. Enjoy your likely increase in sanity! You have so much light colored floor that the dark centers don't bother me. Are you OK with the fridge on the other side of the room?

Perricelli, I think we are all still getting a sense of your massive kitchen. LOL

Originally, I thought the "island" was the table in the center of the room. The island you want to replace is the two level bar area to the left, correct? You might want to hire a designer to come into your kitchen to find the best ways to utilize such a large space. I feel the island should be closer to the rest of your kitchen, and the area where you have the bar now could be another "room" with a table and chairs. Or the island could function as a gathering place in the center of the room.

I am ripping out the existing island with the sink and dishwasher. Building a new island closer in like the rest of the kitchen as "Kim" suggested. It is ridiculous in size. lol. Could use roller skates. I did have a designer do a sketch for the island. Just need help with color and plan. I really want to immediately increase the functionality. The space is too big.

Kitchen is 19x18. The current space between the existing island and the stove top side is 8 feet.

Roller skates...hahaha. Can you post a pic of the island area?

lissam yes the dishwasher is my biggest issue! it's driving me crazy. I have 3 sons. So it's a busy place. The fridge doesn't bother me so much. I am trying to figure out my order of priorities and how to proceed without doing the entire thing at once. That's not in my budget. The cabinets are custom cherry, while not my favorite. They aren't the biggest issue.

Kim, the left photo with dishwasher is what I am considering the island. The space in the center is where I want the new one. MUCHHHHH closer to the stove top and with a dishwasher directly next to the sink:}

Yes, I see it. Was wondering if we could get a view of that whole area to see how best to use it. I understand if you're not interested in our opinions on the rest of the kitchen. Just thinking there will be a roller rink left over without the island in that corner! ; )

The bar stools are left over. We moved in a year ago. And didn't realize how big of an issue that kitchen will be. Ignore all of my other stuff. We haven't done much yet except begin to paint. The wall were yellow.

Totally not what I was expecting. Didn't know the kitchen was open to the living space. And, I see why you want to extend the hardwood floors into the kitchen.

You said Phase 2 would be working on the exterior of the room. What exactly does that mean? Are you planning to replace the cabinetry?

Not sure. Feel guilty because they are solid cherry. And yes, I mean all of the outside cabinetry and countertops. My immediate concern is sink/dishwasher space.

Well, they are beautiful. If they work with the other spaces, I'd live with them. It won't be long and white kitchens will be out of style. LOL

For the island, I would probably put the sink across from the cook top, but not directly across or people might bump into each other. Of course, you want the dishwasher next to the sink (to the left of the sink away from traffic areas) and across from cabinets that will store your dishes and silverware.

Can we see your island design?

She came up with an L shaped island and I am not a fan. I think I need the biggest island that I can put. Otherwise, the space on the other side will be a problem. Risking a "helicopter pad" feel. So I am open to suggestions. This is a tough one. That is why I posted it. So many good people on here and the designer I hired wasn't sure either.

How about something modern with a stool for each of the boys?

That last photo is really helpful. How long is the cabinet run with the cooktop? Personally, I agree with Kim that a long, wide island with the sink and dishwasher that ran parallel to the cooktop counter run, and then matching the flooring (which presumably will have to be damaged anyway to put in plumbing), would make this a functional and attractive kitchen that you might not need to make any other immediate changes to.

Hopefully someone here can do a mock-up of that. Is the pillar structural? If you bring the new island run 48" (or even a little wider, 52" maybe? if you have 3 big sons :) ) away from the cooktop run, presumably that will open up the living space a lot as well.

I kind of like the shape of this island...straight on one side for the cooks and curved on the other side for seating. The curve gives more counter space, takes up more floor space and allows the people sitting on the ends to see each other better (if the curve is rounded enough).

The run of cabinets by the wall is 13feet long. We are worried about the small wall by the opening where the existing island is, which is less than 3 feet. The living space will be wide open if we do the island there. That is one of the concerns. First we need the design of it then the color scheme that will be phased it, adding a bit of challenge. We have a crawl space so accessing the plumbing is not a big deal.

What an odd layout! Can you post a floorplan? I'm having a hard time seeing how everything fits together, although that last photo showing the view from the living room helps a lot. I think part of the confusion is that what you are referring to as an island (with the stools and your dishwasher) is actually a peninsula, if I am interpreting the photos correctly.

Do you like the fact that your kitchen is open to the living room?

OK! Here is the floor plan.

That is very helpful! I assume the posts at either end of the island/peninsula are load bearing? Would you prefer to keep the kitchen open to the LR, or enclose it? You have a huge space so plenty of room for a large, wide island down the middle of the room even if you enclose it. I ask because enclosing it could allow you to hide those posts and widen your flooring options, etc.

The living room isn't so large. Closing it in would close off a lot of natural light as well. I think we need to leave it open. And you are correct, the columns are load bearing.

A couple more questions - where do all the doorways lead? It looks as though the doorway under the Cucina sign leads to the dining room, the one on the fridge side to stairs, the oven side to a hallway of some type and the 8' path between the long cabinet run and peninsula to the living room, correct? Which are the main foot traffic paths?

The one next to the oven goes to garage/laundry. You are correct about the rest. Main paths from garage entry to the staircase hallway and living room. The wide open space is where the table is.

A banquette to separate the kitchen from the living room...your's would be large enough to connect the two columns.

Or a large-scale half wall peninsula with swivel stools on the kitchen side...

Oh, and the living room side of the half-wall could be used for storage.

I love Kim's idea of a half-wall banquette to connect those two pillars. If you can widen the opening that leads to the stairs and get the fridge out of that passageway, I think your traffic flow would improve tremendously. You have room for at least a 4'x8' island, even leaving a 48" aisle - you'd have a ton of storage, not to mention another potential spot for a wall oven, microwave drawer, etc. Here's a very rough sketch of where things could go:

Nice rendering! I also found a link to a kitchen design for a home that looks similar, perricelli. The island is 9'8" x 4'3" with a 2 1/2" thick marble counter. And if you're not interested in the banquette, I think the open space would be fine. Just lay a rug down as in this kitchen:

There are more photos if you want to check it out:

https://www.houzz.com/projects/21395/classic-coastal-colonial-renovation-the-anti-mcmansion-westfield-nj

Love this. Can't widen opening because of the electrical is in there. Also, the half wall is a GREAT idea could not be in a straight line with the other wall because it would make the living room too small. Love the pantry idea and I desperately need it. Also love the refrigerator idea. There is another oven there now. But so much more functionality with the fridge there. The open space at the end of the kitchen now is our current kitchen table, so I think that may be too many tables. Keep the ideas coming. And thank you so much.

Can we get a picture of the space between the kitchen and living room? Pillar to pillar, down the hall I suppose.

Also, you can have the electrical components re-routed to the other side of the doorway especially if you redesign that corner with a pantry. Eliminating that wall and your current bar would essentially expand your living room. It's all in how you look at it. : )

Ah, I see what you're saying - the L shape of the current peninsula creates a corner that actually belongs to the living room, not the kitchen, and you want to preserve that. Given that, I might be inclined to flip your kitchen the other way, although I worry that would create terrible traffic flow between the garage entrance and stairs. Can you post a floorplan that shows the entire floor and how all the rooms connect?

Save your money until you can do a total renovation. I had a similar situation with a dark kitchen (cherry cabinets and only one window), a barrier island, and outdated laminate counter tops and sheet vinyl flooring. I thought of doing a small reno--changing the hardware, counter tops, etc. but in the end I waited and did a total gut job. It was a very good decision--the electrical, structural and plumbing problems that I was not aware of were taken care of. In addition I added more windows, replaced all the cabinets (donated the cherry cabinets to a relative), countertops, replaced the island with a peninsula with seating, and added all new appliances to replace the ones that were failing. New wood flooring, lighting totally changed the way I use the kitchen. Sometimes the things you DON'T do are the best!

I don't think the value of the house would increase enough to invest too much $$ on a total renovation. My biggest issue is the dishwasher around the corner. It's incredibly difficult. And with three boys, it's in constant use. The fact that it is so inconvenient makes it difficult to load.

Do you use the current seating area on the living room side of the island/peninsula? Do you want to include seating in the new plan? In the kitchen or in the living room? If you flip the banquette seating, you basically keep your current footprint but narrow the kitchen to a more comfortable width. You'd have to narrow the new island to about 3' to allow for enough aisle width on either side, but it's definitely doable. If you didn't want that corner to be banquette seating, it could just be cabinets on a pony wall or you could do a pass-through, etc.

Totally new idea...transform the columns into something architecturally interesting or functional to fill the space in a purposeful way. You could angle them in a way that doesn't look random but is helping to delineate areas. They're like see-thru walls!

I would prefer the three pillars below without the box shelves.

This one is just an idea totally out of the box as a way to connect the two pillars.

Whats a pony wall?

A pony wall is a half or short wall - in this case, you'd probably want it counter height.

I love the color of your cabinets. Have you thought about using light granite countertops to open them up? Delicatus White granite would look beautiful in your kitchen space.

We love the idea of doing a white island and using the Wine River Granite. It would look stunning.

Michelle, do you think white island with the cherry cabinets?