Thought I would bring this thread up to date. Here's where we're at (at the moment). On Monday the support wall for the peninsula goes in so that electrical and plumbing rough-ins can finish. A few things we are looking to do, based in large part from helpful comments on other threads. counter height peninsula with seating for 4, including 1 at the end. 18" overhang provided. prep sink (15" wide or so) in the middle of the peninsula. This will divide the space into 2 prep areas, each about 4' wide. And for holidays we can make pies etc with our teenage kids on the same surface, using it from both sides. When we're working at that peninsula we'll be looking out over the family room to a vaulted ceiling with sky views. Fridge is 6 1/2' from the closest prep area at the end of the peninsula. The kitchen naturally is pretty dark because it is in the middle of the house. We'll put a solatube in the center to bring natural light in. We're probably going with a 36" range to provide more space on top for dueling pots and pans. We stir fry a lot so we'll get one with a center wok ring. This is a good central location and allows for a third prep area to the right of it between the range and clean-up. This is also a location where we can vent through the roof. We have plumbing for the pot filler and are 50/50 on whether or not to put one in. It would be handy for pasta, which we make probably 2 x week. Cleanup area is out of the way and near dish storage. Dining room is on opposite side of the wall from the cleanup area, so about as close as we can be to dining room, dishwashwer, and casual dining (peninsula). Interior designer (who doesn't cook) had wanted us to put the fridge at the end of one of the U's, but this would have reduced the cleanup area and cabinet space. Also visually from the family room I prefer seeing the fridge from the side, with cabinets around it. He wanted to do this so we wouldn't see the fridge from the living room at all. If this were a huge deal, we could get a paneled refrig, but we'd rather not. If the fridge were put there it would actually be a bit farther (by a foot or so) from the main prep area, but it would be closer to clean-up which would be somewhat better for food storage. Still thinking about micro / speed oven (probably on wall near fridge somewhere) and refrigerator drawers (probably not--will need all the drawers we an get in the peninsula). Comments still welcome. This is still mostly virtual but it becomes more reality every day. Will post some actual photos soon.

Yes, the wall with the sink on it is an indentation. The family room was formerly a sun porch, which the previous owners enclosed. When they did that it created this small alcove. I had thought about bumping it out, but then thought that would be really expensive. The air conditioning unit and the main electrical connection are in the alcove, sadly. Maybe I'll get some estimates for it, though, since you think construction itself might not be so pricey..That would be the ideal solution. I believe the wall between the DR and the kitchen is not load-bearing, so yes, the doorway could potentially be moved. I'd rather find a way to fit a full sized dishwasher. Also, the actual cutout space to the right of the sink is only 16 inches, so even putting it there would require butting it out into the walkway. The half-bath would be hard to move, only because I don't have another place to put it on the first floor. Thanks for all the feedback!

If you put seating at a raised bar on the peninsula, you won't need seating on the island, which will give you more space between the kitchen and family room seating, but that would take away space from the DR. I don't like to put wall ovens in the middle of the work space, but you need a landing space, and putting the vertical column between the clean-up sink and the cooking surface would be a bad idea, IMO. The ovens are represented by the red outline on the next plan, but you'd need to make sure the fridge door doesn't hit the oven handles--some fridges have a built-in door stop on one of the hinges, set to stop the door at 130°. Personally, I'd prefer them on the other side of the fridge, which would also solve the problem of the fridge being against the wall, but there would be no adjacent landing space, which is not recommended by the NKBA. In that case the prep sink could be placed on the other end of the island, to leave landing space for the oven. Or, the prep sink could be omitted, because the fridge would be closer to the clean-up sink, which would also give you another drawer bank in the island. (And your husband will be happy. ;) I drew optional windows on each side of the cooktop/range in this plan, which would bring in some light, but that would eliminate the only upper cabinets in the kitchen, and I don't see a pantry. In the plan on the right, I m/l flipped the kitchen and DR (it looks off because the original pic is canted). You'd definitely have to reduce the depth of the island, and this layout would put the fridge near the LR FP. I'm not sure how a full wall would work in that spot. You'd need to eliminate the wall oven to include a pull-out beside the fridge, if there's a full wall on that side.

"Rarely" used is a lot different from "never" used. If this is the only place for big family get-togethers or holiday meals where people can be seated, you are going to miss that table. I'm wondering if it is more the styling that is bugging you than the furniture itself, since that is a fairly compact table with the way you have the benches there already. Perhaps an area rug, switch out of wall decor, or even paint might help the space feel refreshed to you. Also, you could consider removing or exchanging the freestanding piece of furniture next to the water cooler if it isn't essential. That would help clear your walkway a little. You could also do some sort of table runner or table cloth and decor on the table itself to help it feel more a part of your kitchen area if you wanted. There are lots of inspiration photos and articles across the web for this type of thing.