option 2 but with a smaller island?

Is the rest of the house accessed up thru the dining room? Where is the front door? Is there a door from the garage to the mudroom? Do you need a full bath in this location (ie for post-outdoor cleanup) b/c it’s not very convenient for guest usage.

Based on what I can see/guess “B” is less preferable b/c the work space of the galley kitchen is also a hallway for traffic

Can you post the rest of the layout?

Yes the rest of the house is accessible from the dining.

The full bath would be post-outdoor clean up (exactly!).

I agree with the galley being just one big hallway mess.

Good feedback!

The current layout is actually you walk in and see a wall, and you have to turn left into the dining room. I was toying with the idea of opening the wall to see through the back...but that is great feedback.

The two layouts are very difficult to compare -- in one you have a large mudroom and an eating area in the kitchen; in the other you have two smaller mudrooms and a giant pantry. Neither has a coat closet. We don't know the ages of your children. It's a total hand-wave.

In a vacuum, I like Option 1 better, because the back entrance seems flexible and welcoming, and the location of the bathroom seems practical. I also like the extra windows that the seating area in the kitchen would provide. (Have you seen the elevation without those?) Only you know, however, whether you'd be desperate for storage without the large pantry space, and/or what the function of the duplicate mud room might be. Imagine coming back from an errand, desperate to pee, and having to run into the house through mudroom one, through the living room, and then through mudroom two to get to the facilities! I think you're overthinking everyday life. Get a good hose for the "coming in from outside" issues, and/or remember that your kids will be more competent teens soon. (?)

I like the first one better, for the same reasons acm listed, and the island will help divert through traffic from the work aisle. The work aisle, however is very narrow. Sometimes we have to work with less that optimal conditions when remodeling an old house (I have narrower aisles than the NKBA recommends), but have you tried to work in a 36" wide aisle? The most difficult part will be trying to take something hot and heavy out of the oven--not much step back space.

Also, you need to make sure the stub wall beside the fridge will allow the fridge door to open fully, in order to remove crispers for cleaning.

Good point mamagoose! This is my contractor who is giving me ideas to then give to a kitchen designer. Im sure she is going to catch that one (let's hope!). I can have 3'6" walkway between the island and wall with range.

The other will be 3" exact as a walk way. I thin khe just flipped it.

Do you think a breakfast nook and a dining area is too much for a house <2000 sq ft? We are planning to add another 300-400 sq feet in the next year to rearrange the whole front of the home (and bedrooms).

I feel like this is in its "primal" stages and really needs a CAD program and a designer, the idea are great, but how many people does this need to function for? how often do they eat a table? how often do you cook full meals? all questions that really need to be the for a front of the design process. I mean to me going through the mudroom to get to the pantry seems silly. also with the full bath, instead of a tub put a walk-in shower large enough to house whomever needs rinsing and save some space there as well.

If you are rearranging the whole front next year that really needs to be assessed as well.

Some thoughts that aren't a vote for one or the other.

I would want to access the mudroom from the garage.

I would not want to have to walk through the mudroom to get to the powder room if I was your guest. Put another way, I would not want to have to keep my mudroom guest-ready! Something to keep in mind if this is the guest bathroom.

I would want the pantry to open to the kitchen rather than the mudroom.

Neither.

You might consider altering your option 1 plan to create a guest worthy back entry between the garage and the kitchen rather than a traditional "mudroom" that usually becomes a clutter catch space. Yes, you'd have a much smaller pantry -- and no place in the "mudroom" for a washer and dryer -- none were shown anyway.

The breakfast nook (option 1) appears to be on an outside wall. If you could add an "L" shaped screened porch to wrap around that back left corner between the garage and that breakfast nook -- preferably one with half a wall for its sides and then either screen or sun room windows above that half wall -- that could help enable you to avoid fumes from the garage entering the living space. You could have a pair of large windows or even patio doors in your breakfast nook.

Where you now have a door from the living area to the mudroom could be your door to your pantry -- all inside walls in a space of about 6'x6' with floor to ceiling shelves all around.

Behind that pantry, between the pantry and the outside wall on the side of the house as the garage, you could create your "L" shaped guest worthy back entry hall that wraps around your pantry.

As you exit your back entry porch, your guests would have a 6' hallway and then either the option to turn left toward the living area (past two doorways that would be on their right) ... arriving between the kitchen living area space close to across from the bottom of the stairs.

The two doors off that "L" shaped entry hallway before it reaches the living area would be either:

continue walking straight through a door that would lead down a 3' hallway into the full bath or

turn right into a wide hallway with a guest worthy bench with shoe storage against the left (pantry) wall, walking past the bathroom door and past the second door -- a coat closet (or pausing to leave coats in the closet as needed) before arriving at the living area between the kitchen and sitting area (approximately across from the stairs)

In this way, you'd have a small pantry near the kitchen -- where it's needed;

you'd have a bathroom against an outside wall so it could have a window;

you'd have a bathroom door that enters into a hallway rather than directly into any living area;

you'd have a closet for coats rather than ending up with a wall of hooks (and you could still add a hat rack next to the bench for temporary use by guests);

you'd have a guest worthy back entry space that didn't open into the garage with its fumes and that you wouldn't be ashamed to have visible from the sitting/living area;

you'd have a handy coat closet that encourages those staying for more than just a brief visit to pick up after themselves and put away their coats, etc.

I'm confused. Are you moving the kitchen to the left side of the house?

Do you think a breakfast nook and a dining area is too much for a house <2000 sq ft?

Personally, yes. I'd rather use the extra square footage for a more functional kitchen layout, with bigger aisles.

looking at the whole home layout, do you really need a formal living room i mean thats kinda a waste of space if you ask me. that should be the dining room. Also, why are you turning the stairs? that is taking up kitchen space. and closing of the space behind the stairs?

suezbell - wow .... I read your response like 5x and was able to visualize what you mean.

I think what we decided was the idea that we need to turn one of the living rooms into a bigger dining area (which will be the one at the front of the house).

Also, that a full bath is not really needed. We can address the full bathrooms when we do the addition. We are putting a full bathroom in the basement with a guest suite.

I met with a designer and my contractor this morning We didn't get into the weeds of the kitchen cabinet layout (so ignore that), but here is what we came up with.

In the entryway/mudroom, we will have a full wall of closets mixed with bootbench/hooks. On the opposite side, we will have a pantry closet (or excess closet).

The kitchen will also have a 10 ft island (the wall between the kitchen and current dining is coming out).

from the back of the house, we are thinking of adding a door from the outside that will open up and allow you to access the powder room. Rather than accessing the powder room from the mudroom.

As for the question about why did we turn the stairs in the kitchen in one of the designs - that is how the current stairs. We instead are going to rebuild the stairs from the family room instead.

The remainder of the house (not shown) is being reconfigured by an architect sometime in this coming year.

I know having an architect throughout the whole phase is key, however we just purchased the home and needed to close within 45 days (for a reno loan). Architects need at least that time to design and draw.

I love this site and the community. You guys are fantastic. Hopefully this draft gets us closer to the final product.

You guys made me realize the true need of a full bath off a mudroom....which wasn't really needed.

I love your little dining nook, especially since there is no seating at the island. I think you will also appreciate the light, and the view while prepping.