A floor plan with dimensions would be more helpful. Also more info about what's on the blank sides of the drawing. Elevations CADs don't tell much about the space, and the cab layout doesn't include info about aisle widths and the text is too small to read. (It's easy to sketch out a measured drawing on graph paper. You can ddownload grpah paper from the net. Use a fine pen with dark ink for the items you are planning to have. Note dimensions. Virtually no drawing skills necessary, and way easier to noodle around with and to make changes than on computer plans.) Just looking at the plan you have one issue which will immediately generate comment here. Your range (at least I think it must be your range, not sure) is almost opposite the sink creating a two-butt obstacle if more than one person is working at the zones. Not to mention when the oven door is open or the dishwasher door is down. In those cases the appliance doors will create dangerous barriers. Of course if your aisle is quite wide then this doesn't apply, which is why measurements of the kitchen are critical to get the best help here. Have you ready the "New The Kitchen Forum Thread, Read me"? It's usually somewhere on the first page. It's very helpful for someone wanting assistance (helps us help you) and also explains some of the common issues about planning. My personal thing is thinking about the flow of food within your kitchen as a first step. How it arrives, where it is stored, how it gets from storage to work zones, then to cooking or plating (or both) and then back. A floor plan allows you to find the bottlenecks and backtrack points that will degrade the functionality of your new kitchen. Looking forward to a floor plan sketch and more info about what you're trying to do with your kitchen. HTH L.

Thanks Amanda (huango) and numbersjunkie and rebunky! shifting the sink is a great idea and completely do-able. I agree, get it out of the corner. Most of the collisions happen there. :-| with a single level peninsula, I thought the that the tall skinny faucet would look odd, sticking up all by it's lonesome. Do you find that the extra counter space makes up for the not being able to hide stuff behind the second level ? good idea for more cabinet space over the fridge. that's a blind corner base cabinet to the left of the range I never thought of turning the cabinets to face out the other direction! Nope...no formal dining room. Some neighbors use the formal living room as a dining room or put a larger dining table in front of the patio door, as benjesbride suggested. the consensus is that the shorter pony wall must go. I agree! Thanks! - Mal

OK, let's start with the basics. Note: This will be a multi-cook Kitchen Seating... Linear space (the amount of space you need for each seat) 24" minimum; if you plan to eat all meals at the island, then I recommend more like 30" Overhang - clear knee/leg space - after accounting for decorative doors/panels on the back of the island cabinets -- Counter-height: minimum of 15"; again, if you plan to eat most meals there, I would go for more like 18" Corner seats - you cannot have two seats sharing a corner b/c they each need knee/leg space So, with seating as you show and the 18" cabinet you show, your island needs to be at least: Width/Length: 8'10.5" -- 15" overhang for the seats on the short side + (3 seats * 24") + 18" cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang past the 18" cabinet = 106.5" = 8'10.5" -- For an 18" overhang, add 3" = 109.5" = 9'1.5" Depth: 2 seats * 24" = 48" = 4' As it stands, your island can only seat 4 people comfortably. Since you said that's your minimum, then you should be OK - please don't try to cram 5th seat in there! Why do you insist on eating all meals at the island? Island seating is really for short visits, snacks, quick meals - it's not particularly comfortable for long-term seating. It's also not really conducive to family bonding. When I think of island seating, I think of a diner counter seating - even with a couple of seats around the corner. Counter-height seating is also not the safest for young children... I strongly recommend you consider using your DR for meals and keep the island for visits and quick snacks/meals. . Aisles... Right now, your aisles are rather narrow. Recommendations: One-person Kitchen: minimum of 42" Two-person Kitchen: minimum of 48" Aisles are measured from the item on each side of the aisle that sticks out the farthest: counter edge (most common), appliance handle, cabinet knob (for tall cabinets with no counter), and walls. Assuming your aisles are measured counter edge-to-counter edge: The island/range wall aisle is 5" too narrow at 43". It should be at least 48". -- If, however, you are measuring cabinet-to-cabinet, the aisle is 8" too narrow b/c counter overhangs are around 1.5". Add the 1.5" from both sides, and that's 3" off the aisle. The island/sink wall aisle is not 40", it's probably more like 38" when counting the DW handle. (I'll address the refrigerator issues later.) So, this aisle is 8 to 10" too narrow - and this could be an issue b/c it's going to be one of the busiest aisles in the Kitchen - it leads to/from the Bedrooms and the public rooms (FR, Kitchen, DR, etc.) -- If you're measuring cabinet-to-cabinet, then you need another 1.5" The island/pantry aisle is also too narrow. It's only 41" and the minimum recommended aisle width when little or no traffic passes behind diners is 44" (to walk past). You have less than that. On a busy aisle like that, 48" is the minimum. Yes, you have that 18" cabinet on the end, but in reality the person sitting at the last seat will be sticking into the aisle b/w the pantry and island. So, you need another 7" on that aisle. The island/angled wall aisle is only 39" - need I say more? (You need another 9" on that aisle). Regarding that "alternate route through the kitchen" comment - you should be discouraging people from using the aisle b/w the cooktop and island, not encouraging it! . Refrigerator... There are two issues with the location of the refrigerator/freezer: The doors will not open fully on the wall side. With the exception of true built-in refrigerators, the doors of refrigerators need to stick out past adjacent walls/cabinets/counters so they can be opened fully. When placing a refrigerator/freezer near a wall or other item that is deeper than the refrigerator's carcass/box, you need 6" to 12" b/w the refrigerator and the item (in this case the wall). This is usually accomplished by placing a 9" or 12" wide tall cabinet b/w the wall and the refrigerator/freezer. This cabinet is only 25" deep (24" cabinet box + 1" for door). The second issue is the general location. As it stands, traffic to/from the refrigerator and FR, DR, or some island seats will go right through the main work aisle of the Kitchen - the aisle that should be the most protected against traffic! -- Move the refrigerator to the angled wall - it's then located so it's easily accessed from the outside (FR, DR) and the Prep & Cooking Zones (the two work zones you use the refrigerator the most from). Note: I would only move the refrigerator, not the freezer (it looks like they're an all-refrigerator/all-freezer pair - are they?) Why? Because I would not want the oven(s) to be in the busy doorway b/w the bedrooms and the rest of the house. I would put in a 9" cabinet, then the freezer, then the ovens. The ovens are still in a busy aisle, but at least they won't be in the doorway where someone running through the door might unsuspectingly run into an open oven door. . Trash pullout... This belongs in the Prep Zone. Far more trash & recyclables are generated while prepping and cooking than cleaning up - and for a longer period of time. I would put it on the other end of the island from the sink so it's accessible from the Primary Prep Zone (island), Secondary Prep Zone (next to the cleanup sink), and the Cleanup Zone. If you're thinking the Secondary Prep Zone will be b/w the cooktop and oven (or refrigerator), I don't think that will work b/c there's no water on that run. Yes, it's in the island, but that's the Primary Prep Zone and where someone else will already be working. If everyone "plays well together", you might be able to share the prep sink, but I doubt that will be the case as your children grow up.

thanks everyone! Sorry for the delay, Ive got 2 under 5 and neither one likes to sleep through the night consistently........ Heres a better picture for your critique. The reasoning for eliminating more wall cabs was 1) because Im short at 5 3 and i can't reach anything up there anyway, 2) because we have a walk in pantry with shelving all around, and 3) because I wanted to try and eliminate the sort of tunnel effect we have going on right now, with cabs all over that range wall. It makes the room feel more narrow. As far at the opening on the dining room side, it used to be a pocket door and we opened it up. It makes it so much more functional, and it fits an 5ft round table for 6 very nicely. It is literally right there so Im not sure we would use seating in the cooking space, especially because we have so much room at the rear of the kitchen. I didn't want to extend the island longer than the back patio doors by adding a table for seating there, but i thought i could always put in a breakfast type nook or somewhere to sit back there, especially since the windows prevent cabinetry. The bottom wall in the diagram is tricky. Originally I had planned to close off the opening, as currently there is pocket door there too that we opened, so that we could use the wall for the sink, DW, and fridge. I don't have specs on it but I'm adding a picture of what i was thinking initially before things changed. As you guys said, having the nice view when you walk in and being able to see right through to the back of the house is appealing. At the same time, I don't want to make the mistake of taking down TOO much wall. I am fully open to suggestions about that wall. The bottom right corner, which is in the middle of the L-shaped room is very structural so that cannot change. The opening, if we even keep one, is not. Thanks again! heres the previous plan. That is the foyer wall closed.. I like the use of space from the dining room entry that is unobstructed without dividing the area, but this is a really rough idea from earlier on. Im thinking that something like this might prevent people from trying to take a shortcut through the cooking area, but it sacrifices the foyer and some of the living room view. Also, Im not sure how I feel about walking in and seeing my whole kitchen. Is that weird, or not any weirder than walking into my living room..? lol Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice!