Could you consider having tall cabinets as your pantry without being a walk-in? Do you have enough space in your mudroom to store bulk items? That would give you more freedom on your layout. I would also add a prep sink on your island close to the fridge.

That is a possible option. I won't have a ton of storage in the mudroom but that is a thought! Would you put the tall cabinets for pantry usage in the space next to the fridge or in the current location of the fridge?

I'm sure that some of the talented layout people here can help you create something that works well with work flow, prep areas etc...and doesn't make the pantry cabinets look out of place! Good luck!

Hi Dawn - very beautiful kitchen! I can tell you have put a lot of thought into it!

My kitchen is similar, with the large island in the same relationship to sink and range. I love it. A couple observations / suggestions from my experience.

Lucky is right - a prep sink would be very handy on the far side of the island, close to refrigerator for cleaning veggies and mud room for the kids to come in and wash hands.

Consider a larger range - 6 burner / griddle / dual oven. Given the scale of the kitchen and island, I think a standard oven will look undersized and cheap relative to the investment you seem to be making overall. Plus, the extra cooking space (especially dual ovens) comes in really handy for holidays.

check with architect regarding venting of hood given that range is on internal wall. Hood needs to vent to an outside wall

a lot of (perhaps too much) square footage is dedicated to "hallways". For instance, 6'10" between the sink and island could be reduced to 48" or less. That would leave plenty of space to walk through this area even with dishwasher open and someone standing at sink. You may find that you stage dirty holiday dishes on that end of island in preparation for washing (we often do when we have a large amount). 48" is a simple pivot. 6'10 is a pivot and four steps. Likewise, the distance from range to the island could be cut down a foot or more very comfortably. Finally, the space between the island and dining room could be cut back quite a bit, especially since that "passageway" is not a direct route.

These adjustments could allow you to increase island size and / or move the island to allow you to play around with putting in a partial wall with cabinetry between the kitchen and dining room or kitchen and LR. (Although I understand you like open floor plans). For instance, you could move the island 2' closer to the sink, have a small landing at the mud room entrance with cased opening going into dining room, wall between dining room and kitchen with cabinetry, cased opening on the lr side of that wall. That would give you at least 6' of additional wall space for cabinets and still have plenty of clearance all around.

You got lucky and mama goose replied to your post! Listen to her :)

Thanks for all the great advice. I really do like mama goose's suggestions of how to remove that corner pantry.

In trying to work through all possible variables - anyone have any idea on the cost difference between a corner pantry and the pantry cabinets flanking the fridge as suggested by mama goose? I feel like if I had pantry cabinets, I would really want pull out drawers to have better access to the entire space and that sounds pricey...???

mama goose -

in your rendition, did you move the island a little closer to the fridge side of the kitchen? if so, how far? And are you suggesting a 4ft width to the island? Should I be bothered that the kitchen window is not 'centered' on that wall of the kitchen now that the corner pantry is gone? Thank you!

Dawn, I did move the island a few inches closer to the fridge wall--if you look at the extended lines on the plan below, compared to the little cross hatch lines, maybe 6" closer, to give a little more room behind the island for traffic at the pinch-point. The plan had the aisle drawn at 4'10", so I thought 4'4" would be sufficient. Each seat needs 24" elbow room (according to NKBA guidelines), therefore, I made the island 48" wide/deep, and left the legs for support.

I don't think I would be bothered by the window not being centered, since there is cabinetry to fill the wall, but if you must have symmetry (and that's OK), you might consider an upper cabinet that comes down to the counter, for extra pantry storage (gray rectangle). You would still have a nice prep space to the right of the sink (red lines). You could void the corner, to make the edges of the upper and base cabinets line up, and still have space for an 18" drawer base, with filler in the corner--to make sure the drawers clear the hardware on the perpendicular base drawers. If it didn't bother you that the edges of the cabinets didn't line up, you could use a 36" super susan, and have a wide drawer for pots and pans, on the sink wall.

If you use the tall pantry cabinets to make the fridge look built in, I would definitely recommend ROTS and drawers, but I don't know how they would compare in cost to a framed corner pantry with shelving--something to ask your architect or KD.

Or this:

luckyblueeye, thank you.♥

I like the idea - I was hoping I could find a way to incorporate an appliance garage!! Thank you for the suggestions! Making my home better one idea at a time...!

See. I told you needed to take the kitchen plan to the Kitchen Forum.

FYI, I love my Super Susan and have incorporated them into a number of kitchens. I like putting a corner cabinet above the SS to include the microwave on the counter or an appliance garage. I also put adjustable shelves in this upper corner cabinet to hold cookbooks and a TV.

Ha! You were right homechef! Thank you for the push/advice! Do you have any pictures of your setup you could share?

Here is an example of the upper cabinet from Houzz. The base cabinet can be a Super Susan.

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