With all due respect to LL, I disagree that just because an island is movable, you don't need to worry about its dimensions. If it's over-sized for the space - in other words, doesn't allow comfortable aisles - you'll need to move it so often that it will be a PITA. It's not going to be a light little thing that is easy to shift, it's going to have some weight to it, especially if it has a stone top and has additional weight from the items you store on it. I would find an island that fits the size so that you only need to move it on rare occasions, not on a frequent basis. I drew up 2 variations of the U lay-out with an island and banquette seating. This allows you a 27" x 44" island, which I think is large enough to be useful. The aisle measurements are fridge (handles included, est 35" deep) to island counter, island counter to sink run counter, range run counter to island counter, peninsula counter to exterior wall, peninsula counter to table and table to wall. Oops, I forgot to adjust the above plan to show two 24" cabs to the left of the range. I do show that on Plan A-2. The plus with the banquette in this plan is that those seated on the bench can slide in and out without asking someone to slide out first. The downside is that clearances between the table and top and bottom walls is a bit tighter than recommended (44" for walk-behind aisles). You could center the banquette and have nearly 39" at each end instead of slightly off-center as I drew it. Here's a variation of the above. This plan creates an L banquette, which allows room for wider aisles at the top and room for a 30" cabinet next to the table. You can use this as your Command Central. The downside is that the person seated in the lower right corner will need to ask someone to move in order to get in and out. Some people are okay with that, others hate it. Here's an issue with both plans. It's a heck of a long hike - more than 11' - from fridge to sink in this plan. That definitely more than is recommended by the NKBA and for good reason. I'd like to see a water source between fridge and sink. However, the island just isn't long enough for a prep sink, IMO (I agree with a wise CMKBD, whose name escapes me at present, who advises against a prep sink in an island less than 60"). One option is to switch out the 36" corner Susan and make it a 36" corner sink cab for a prep sink. But ... then what purpose will the island serve? I agree that it would be nice to have a little more counter to the right of the sink, say by making that corner a 36" Susan cab, but that reduces the aisle between peninsula and exterior wall to 39". If there wasn't an in-swing door right there, that could be doable but since there is, I think a wider aisle here would be better. Which is higher on your wish list: an island or counter seating? If the former, I think Plan C is the better option for you. It has a good flow plus it leaves sufficient room for a kitchen table; no need to resort to a banquette.

I'm a KD, here's what I think: -That kind of cabinet is usually called an "easy reach lazy susan" -A good number of people find the doors awkward. Some don't. -Be sure to order a few extra hinges. I have found this is the #1 hinge that people call in with warranty issues. It's a really big hinge that connects the two doors. -Custom cabinet companies offer different hinge options (ie. piano type hinge) that are easier to open and have MUCH less replacement worries. -If your design and budget allow, a better option is a diagonal lazy susan. You have a regular hinged door, a full circle susan and extra countertop space. PROS on this type: Won't work next to an appliance without a filler, will cost extra $ for your countertop and the 'opening' is smaller with the diagonal unit. See if you can open both types and see what you think. Bottom line: If you're going custom, check out the different hinge options. If you're going stock or semi-custom, open the doors and see if they annoy you. If not, then they will service you just fine! And consider the diagonal type as well. Kompy

Here's the first floor drawing with each room written on. The window in the kitchen is flexible. I am willing to change anything! Well, within reason. We are not living in the house while it is being renovated and we are redoing all plumbing/electrical. We are open to moving the rooms too. We do like the placement of the casual living room off of the screened in patio area so that they can open up to each other, especially when we entertain. As I try to lay out appliances/cabinets it just seems I am missing some needed space along the 11'7" wall. There is currently the former exterior wall that's about 1 foot in width. The drawing below shows us building that out to create the pantry area. I'm also not 100% on having a separate formal dining room. We entertain a lot, but it's always very casual.

Joseph, I prioritized size of sink in this instance. You’ll notice that the sink I bought takes up almost the entire surface area of the corner. With a center drain. The faucet will be on one side. That means my sink is almost equivalent to if not more spacious than the big honking 4 foot kohler sink in terms of dish capacity. A sink on the diagonal would be much, much smaller in addition to shifting open counter space to behind the sink. This isn’t useful (for me). Also, in addition to those functional things, I just personally do not like those softer angles. It’s a style that is not for me. I mentioned above that moving the sink to say, the opposite side of the kitchen was a very costly endeavor. I’m doing a whole house renovation, so another factor was the unknown I could encounter doing this. So far I’ve been lucky. Nothing unexpected has come up- knock on wood. Also, say I moved the plumbing across the room, I’d have to go with a massive horizontal sink to equal the size of rhe L shape I bought. And I’d still have the wide open corner of counter space. Which isn’t particularly useful to begin with. The other thing that the L shape does is make it easier to get the dishwasher and other base cabinets in along that same wall. Yes it will be sort of tight. But my kitchen isn’t large anyway. It is what it is. I don’t foresee the l shape sink breaking a cabinet, now that I’ve thought about it further. The reason I say this is because I recently removed a 40 year old kohler cast iron sink from my previous cabinets which were basically particle board, plywood and laminate countertop. That thing was way heavier than my new stainless sink. Fingers crossed!