damiarain: We use the nook just for group milling, and often flip the counter stools that live at the kitchen peninsula over to the counter on the pony wall... this works well for parties or TV viewing or casual just-us dinners... or laying out a buffet or appetizers. But I've always thought it was a waste of space... it's not a very big area though... not big enough for furniture other than stools. But the pony wall and the multiple entrances really break up the space. We were not planning on changing kitchen layout. It works well, just needs a serious cosmetic facelift... too beige & faux-Tuscan. I prefer contemporary and clean lines. Also the travertine floor tiles are super cold in the winter. So we'll install hardwood floors that match the rest of the 1st floor. I'm trying to talk my husband into painting the cabinetry (which we'll keep) but so far he loves the wood look. The bay windows are 22" from the ground on the inside. We can't extend the FR to include some of living room. These rooms are on opposite sides of the kitchen so not contiguous at all. Did you mean the nook area? The FR is sunken because of the dropped ceiling. so it's hard to integrate with / extend into anything else. The LR is a wonderful room in the front of the house with great light... somewhat of a large formal LR which is less practical these days but it's a very sweet space that looks out onto the view. We always try to move guests into that room but everyone congregates in the kitchen/nook area! Swapping the FR and DR is an interesting idea though I think the DR is too small for a FR... it's narrow, opens up to the LR and is dark. You couldn't watch TV in there, as no wall is far enough away for viewing... my husband LOVES his TV;) But it would likely make a really nice kitchen.

THANKS FOR THE PHOTOS, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND A BIG AREA RUG IN THE CENTER BECAUSE IT WILL UNBALANCE THE DINING CHAIRS EVERY TIME YOU USE. YOU CAN ADD A RUG UNDER THE CHAIRS IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH SPACE A FOOT REST WOULD BE NICE IN FRONT OF IT. SOME INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOS MIGHT HELP

I like a lot of light as well. I think everything is well lit except for your family room. Definitely not enough light in there (especially if you want the option of a brightly lit space. There is no center lighting and everything has been arrange around the edges of the room. IMO, what you have is a HUGE span with zero lighting which is not at all adequate. Some people prefer room edge lighting and that’s what they’ll recommend. But if you like a lot of light, I don’t think the way your designer set things up will satisfy that need. If it was my home, even though the ceilings are only 8 feet, I would want a center fixture (small chandelier or semi flush)...something pretty. If you are not sure about your furniture placement they can always install the box with lots of extra wire looped in the ceiling so you can adjust it later. Just take pics of your ceiling joists when it’s all opened up (if it is opened up) so you know where everything is located. Makes it easier later. You’ll have a little sheetrock repair, but completely manageable. I would add more cans/wafers around the center of the room and put them on a dimmer. You can always turn them off or dim them if it’s too much light, but if there’s nothing there, you’re stuck with a dark room and no real way to fix it (other than having your electrician return and hack up your ceiling). I’m not a fan of LED, but some people love it. Just make sure you like the type of light they put out before you bite the bullet on them.

Okay, without having dimensions, I took a stab at it: - It's a large space, but it's very spread-out, and bigger isn't automatically better ... I'd divide it up like this: - Carve out a U-shaped work space in the middle of the large kitchen. This keeps all your functional items close together /easy to use. Within this main kitchen space, you can have 2 huge drawer stacks + 1 smaller drawer stack next to the kitchen for cooking tools + 1 chef's drawer to the left of the sink + 2 big super susans. - I'd do uppers only on the side over the range, which would leave the whole space wide open ... and with light and breezes coming from both sides, this would be a very pleasant space. - To the right of this main work space, you have either a cabinet run OR pantries ... with the refrigerator in the middle. Loads and loads of one-step-away storage ... and it's space you can step to without walking around an island. So super convenient. - Because you have so much length to the kitchen and because you value table-time, I'd add a bay window to the front of the house /add a small kitchen table for more intimate dining ... then continue the kitchen cabinets (but more shallow) for another huge amount of storage near this small table. - I'd us this by-the-small-table cabinetry as away-space for the kitchen. That is, I'd use this one-step-away counterspace for the things that clutter up /clog up the kitchen counters: the coffee pot, a bowl of fruit or a cake-under-a-dome. This away-space will mean that your real work space is always clear /ready for use. It'll also be a nice sight line upon entering from what I now know is the front door. - Because I think dishware would be stored in the cabinets /uppers by the smaller table, I moved the dishwasher to the front side of the kitchen. - This leaves the back-bar as a large, open space, which will function well as a buffet table when you have guests /will be using the larger table. - This whole layout can function in multiple ways ... the center is the real work space, yet it relates to either the small eating area OR the larger eating area ... or both at once.