It would be possible to put a play corner in the first two drawings but not in alternative 2. I would recommend a corner of storage furniture to corral the toys. I am usually a fan of built-ins but not in this case because eventually the kids will outgrow their toys and you won't need that storage there anymore. The built-in exception would be a window seat under one of those windows on the plans. Some of the storage could be cabinets or bookshelves for bins or toys underneath a window seat. I'm not a fan for toy box style storage because they either become a black hole or the kids throw everything out of them looking for what they want and then do't put the rest of it back. As for the kitchen placement, near to the deck would be best in you like to eat outdoors on the deck or entertain on the deck. We entertain a lot and the kitchen is on the other side of the house from the patio. It's a real pain and a big part of my design brief for the architect was for the kitchen to be next to the patio. I even wanted a pass-through window from the kitchen sink to the patio for ease of clean up but unfortunately I wasn't able to work that out.

Welcome Ranfarajan! I'm sorry no one has responded yet. It might be b/c it's difficult to design something with just a brief verbal description of the space. If you still would like help, I suggest you post more information, including a fully measured layout of the space, a sketch of the entire floor the Kitchen is on, and more information about you and your family and how you plan to use the space. We have a Layout Help FAQ that describes what we need: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include We also have a "New to Kitchens" thread (also known as the "Read Me" thread). This thread has links to Kitchen Design threads that explain best practices/good design guidelines for items such as work zones, aisles, island/peninsula seating, etc. These Design threads will help you understand questions/comments you will receive. New to Kitchens? Read Me First! http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4306041/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first Here's a sample of the measured layout I mentioned. It includes the widths of each window/wall/door/doorway and the distances between each window/wall/door/doorway. Doorways should be marked to let us know where they lead.

Thank you for your designs and comments! My phone is on the fritz and I wasn't able to open house and have not been near my computer. Anthony, I like how everything is lined up but that would give me a 7' island and I was hoping for a large one since we have the space. so I think the island would need to start closer to the slider wall. Will that look strange, things not being lined up? damiarain, I had thought about moving the kitchen to the front but our windows are low, 17" from the ground. Nothing would fit under them and hardly any uppers would fit there and I already struggle with lack of cabinets.

You very well may be right that we don't have many other good options. In that case, we'd need to improve our space utilization, and it would be nice to take steps to make our 'auxiliary' stations more cohesive. What an updated layout could look like - a 30in wide fridge could be advantageous here. The pantry here would actually have a 15% or so increase in usable square footage. Some older ideas we played around with in the IKEA utility An alternative, with only the fridge on that back wall. Some other alternatives - a shallow wall pantry on that back wall? Or using that 'nook' space as a suspended countertop (pantry 'top' on the back wall)? Idea from this thread - https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6226131/how-to-use-this-space-in-kitchen#n=38