Island Depth When calculating island depths with seats, don't forget the counter overhang in front of the cabinets (non-seat side) - usually 1.5"- and the thickness of an installed decorative door or end panel on the back of the cabinets (the seating side) - usually 1". If you have cabinets on both sides (so doors open into the seats, then that 1" is for the cabinet doors. So: 1.5" counter overhang in front of the island 24" depth for each standard base cabinet -or- whatever depth you're using (some people have 24" for the front cabinets and then only 12" or 15" for the cabinets on the back that open into the seats) 1" for door or decorative door/end panel 15" overhang (counter height) With just one set of cabinets, the minimum depth of the island is 41.5" 1.5" + 24" + 1" + 15" = 41.5" ======================== Island Length For island length - you need at least 24" per seat. Edited to add: As FunkyCamper points out in a later post, this is the minimum width per seat. There have been some rumblings about an update of the recommendation to 30" per seat, but as far as I know, that hasn't happened yet. With 5 growing children, I suspect 30" wouldn't be a bad idea - it will help minimize arguing about "s/he's in my space" or "s/he is touching me". In addition, if your children are taller/bigger than average, the extra space would be nice once they hit the teens. If you have seating on two sides, remember that two seats cannot share the same knee/leg space in the corners! For an island that seats 5 to 7, I strongly recommend seating on at least 2 sides, 3 would be even better! You don't want to have all 7 (or even 5) seats sitting like ducks in a row. Straight-line seating for more than 2 or 3 seats is not very conducive to conversation and bonding - it's more like dining with strangers in a diner. ======================== Aisle Widths On the working side: One-person...You need a 42-inch aisle if only one person will ever be working on the aisle (I assume that will not be the case with such a large family - some children will be helping out/learning to help out) Two or more people working on the aisle (most likely scenario in this case)...You need a 48-inch aisle Aisle behind the seats - depends on what else is behind the seats With a wall or other obstruction behind the seats: If no cabinets, counters, appliances, and no traffic at all (i.e., "dead end"), then 44" is sufficient If no cabinets counters, appliances, and minimal traffic, then 48" is sufficient If no cabinets counters, appliances, and normal to heavy traffic, then 54" is sufficient If cabinets counters, appliances, etc., are behind the seats, then 60" No wall or other obstruction directly behind the seats - the "open" concept your friend is planning: If island backs to a sofa or similar - then no less than 48" if there is minimal traffic (i.e., a "dead end") or 54" if there is normal to heavy traffic. If island backs to a table - then 60" b/w the island and the table .

Alex, Regarding the wall, what if you built a wall below the stair loft and make that front room the piano room. Then open up the kitchen to the current piano room and use it as a family room/dining space. Sort of how it was set up in the listing photos. I agree with others that you need an interior designer/architect to come up with a cohesive plan for your home to bring it to your modern style. The work could be done in phases or all at one, whatever your finances allow. It will be very expensive as others have stated, but you probably already knew that. Your kitchen choices look alot like those used in the first kitchen picture from Debbie Washburn's post last Monday at 9:17am. Very modern, very nice. There's no reason why you shouldn't move forward with that design scheme. It's your house. You seem to understand the value of the woodwork. Don't feel pressured to keep it. Maybe you could have an architectural salvage company come to your home and remove all the woodwork they want, that way it could be reused eventually. Hopefully you got the house treated for termites! :)

My husband and I just moved into a new home, and are trying to design our living room. The current furniture in the photos is from our apartment, and we plan to move it upstairs to the game room. Our challenge: finding furniture that fits the space that we can relax on, but is not as casual as the current deep sofa (lounge ii from Crate & Barrel w/ double chaise). My husband and I both lounge when we watch TV and relax at night and we plan to use this room as our primary TV room. The Lounge ii is heavenly, but is not good for conversation or for having people over to socialize. We want to have enough space to lounge but also seat 4-6 people comfortably if we have guests over. Room dimensions: The distance from blue back wall to end of the current sectional is 134 inches. It looks like we could potentially push it back to 140 inches and still have enough walkway between the end of the sofa and the bar stools The distance from the window wall to the start of the hall way is: 168 inches Right now sofa has 17 inches of space between the window and the start of the sofa. The end of the sofa sits 140 inches away from the window wall. Questions: What type of TV stand/media center and what color will look best in this space? I really like the big media centers that are about 88 inches tall and take up most of the wall width, but I am concerned that having a big media center may make the room look smaller, but also think that the current style TV stand looks awkwardly small in the room. What seating arrangement would work best for the space that will allow us to lounge on it, but will also be good for having guests over? We were leaning towards an L shaped sectional like the Pearce Roll Arm 3-piece L-Shaped Wedge Sectional from Pottery Barn, but once I measured it out I am worried it will make the space looked cramped (121 inch x 121 inc). We are planning to go with a white or an off white sofa but I am open to suggestions. What style/size coffee table will look best in this space? The current coffee table we have feels too large.

Our house plan shows the layout of that side of the house. The wall between the stairs and living room is currently engineered to be a shear wall, and that is what we are unsure about. The alternative would be a beam and post, opening the stairs to the living room. The reason we opted for 14’ ceiling there was more for balancing the exterior appearance of the front of the house, as there is no upper floor room above the living room. There will be an expansive window on the front (North) wall of the room, a fireplace with some sort of decorative wall on the western wall, and it’s really a question about what to do with the southern wall (leave it closed or re-engineer it to be open but then have a post coming down roughly in line with the step second from the top of the stairs).