spanky/emily's mom/emily's son's grandmom-to-be! You have obviously passed on your talent. I remember your daughter--my sister in Hallarum :) She's done another fabulous job--she should go into design professionally, seriously. (When did they start making gliders that fabulous? Everything cool showed up *just* after we got out of the market for it :)) ...a couple of thoughts: ...she'd better get ready to remove everything from the low shelves or baby will do it for her in about a year and a half:) And make sure the closet rod is *firmly* in place or baby will test it with possibly whacking results. And I also have to say that I hope the crib won't get used that much in there--hope it gets moved into mom and dad's room and opened next to their bed...just putting in a plug for the Family Bed concept...makes middle-of-night feedings/comforting that much easier... Beautiful beautiful work--hope she wins. More important, I hope she has a smooth, safe birthing. Please keep us updated :)

Excellent on taping out the layout!! I hope you also taped up, or will do, a "hood" and uppers. One of our members did that years ago when she was trying to decide where to put it and it made a huge difference. There's an old bias from the middle of the 20th century, and before, not to put the oven near the fridge because the heat from the oven would make the fridge work hard, or previously, melt the ice in the icebox. Additionally, it's not nice to have the stove (cooktop) right by the fridge or any wall because it cramps your handles, elbows, etc. It has definitely become an embedded cultural trope. Today's ovens are well insulated. Between that and the cabinetry, there shouldn't be any side heat warming your fridge, which, itself, is very well insulated. Warm air will be blown into the room to cool the electronics of the ovens, but it shouldn't be an issue. There are no warnings from manufacturers to separate them, and there would be weasel words (lawsuit preventers) if this were a problem. The big issue with putting them next to each other is if the fridge door swings to cover the oven. I don't think we talked about swing. I would put the fridge opening toward the eating area, because it's more convenient for taking out armloads of the stuff that gets put on the table (condiments, pickles, drinks, salads, etc.), where as stuff for prep gets put on the island, which is the same either way. The biggest problem I foresee would be a gigantabird that you want to clean in the big sink, if that sink is going in the corner, because you wouldn't be able to just shovel it over. If you'd prefer to have the door swing away from the kitchen, then you have to be sure that there's enough swing room. My Advantium is right next to my fridge. The fridge opens really wide, but the oven handle is angled. I assume it's just for this reason. If your handles aren't angled, you can either put a stop to prevent the fridge door from opening too far, or put a spacer between the two so they don't bang. The issue is not putting dings in your fridge door. Having the door swing across the ovens also means that you have to be careful to fully close the oven before opening the fridge, which isn't usually a problem, but could be with competing kids. Train them while they're young to be aware of can't open the fridge when the oven's open, and when they're older it shouldn't be an issue. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, that would be a reason for moving the ovens, but you really will be upsetting the visual impact you're trying so hard to achieve. There's no one better than Buehl for a well working layout. If there were a functional issue with the one you and she developed, I promise you, it would have been fixed. What we've been working on here is taking what to my (experienced) eye, and Buehl's excellence, looks like an optimal layout and adapting it to your desire to make the kitchen fit a different aesthetic. Putting aesthetics first is not a bad choice. None of your options will be awful. The worst is that big sink in the corner, and, as you have already experienced in other kitchens, it can be lived with and worked around. There's nothing in G that makes me say, "That kitchen makes me want to rip it out," which I really have said many times in the last five years. I'm seriously blunt when people are going seriously wrong (though recently I did it because I didn't absorb a prep sink that was in the words but not the plan, and I thought she was specifically trying to make it work with a barrier island and no prep sink--my bad.) You're not in that situation here. Whatever you do will be good enough. I just think, equally bluntly, that if you're going to sacrifice optimal function for looks, you'd better optimize looks, or you're just getting middlin' everything. Nothing really great. Nothing really horrible. But who wants to go through all this for meh?

We have an old Craftsman home with a very small living room area since the front door is in the middle of the room. We have a toddler and are expecting another so want furniture that doubles as toy storage but looks like grown ups live here. We'd also like additional seating (i.e. couch and love seat or L shaped couch). My husband is hesitant to put the couch under the larcge front window because he doesn't want to lean over to close curtains. Ideas for specific furniture and layout would be greatly appreciated! We like simple yet functional:) Photos in comments

Here is an option that does a few things: - Keep most of the walls in place (cost savings) - Keep most of the plumbing in place (cost savings) - Keep the better kitchen layout. If you want it bigger you could pull the peninsula out toward the living room and gain more space. I can actually offer a better kitchen layout also that doesn't have the fridge blocking the view from the foyer to the living room. - Great size and bright master closet. - Better placed sink in powder room. - Used some odd foyer space for the laundry. - Can add some bench/lockers in the foyer on the master bedroom wall. Weakness: - Powder room opens to living room - living room may get cramped to fit a dining table. Consider moving powder room to foyer on master bedroom wall. (adds cost but allows for larger master bathroom or use that space for living room built-ins etc.) Enjoy!