You said that there is a lot of traffic through your kitchen everyday...the traffic flow goes right past the fridge which will create problems. Anyone standing there will block the traffic coming in. Also, the distance between your fridge and the only sink could be better. Did you designer give you another option for the fridge location?

IMO with that traffic pattern through the kitchen an island will not work forget floating shelves they just are one more thing to clean constanly. Make sure your pantry cabinets have pull out shelving ideally they would be true pullout pantries to get the most of the storage. I love no upper cabinets but those lowers all need to be drawers not drawers behind doors but just plain old drawers different hieghts for drawers to amke sure your stuff like pots fit. Keep the penindula ope to the wall so that it does not feel closed off even a little. A lazy susan in the corner is IMO a good use of space for stuff like baking pans and other things you use less often .

@luckyblueeye I have thought about that! No she did not. I played around with fridge placement in a digital planner but each layout seemed cramped. When we first moved in the fridge was on the north wall right next to the garage door and I hated it there! So, we moved it to the west side of the kitchen and just thought we would keep it there.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting the floating shelves are a no for me--she included them to put something on the walls, but I plan to hang artwork and add an additional window. I have planned so far 2-30 inch 2-drawer cabinets along the the peninsula and 2 pantries with roll out trays. I have some large appliances like a stand mixer, blender, food processor, waffle maker, stock pots because I do a lot of cooking and baking. I thought the two cabinets beside the stove would be traditional butt doors without inserts in order to fit those taller items. Do you think just one would suffice? They are 24 in wide each.

I'd be tempted to put the fridge where your peninsula is, and add an island. no seating in that case, or just a single stool at the bottom end for a friend to chat with the cook. do you have definite seating needs?

@acm no seating needs. The adjacent sunroom is our dining area with plenty of seating. I thought some seating at the peninsula for snacks or breakfast or just hanging out would be nice.

My kitchen is similar, I had the island removed & replaced with a peninsula when remodeling. Everyone was amazed how much larger & more open the kitchen seemed without the island.

I just don't see hiking 10+ feet from fridge to sink as "having a lot of space" in the kitchen. it's just empty/misused space. Island good here.

@katinparadise I hadn’t thought about a grocery dropoff-/that’s a good point. Up till now I have been depositing all my bags on the floor.

@acm I like the suggestEd layout. Thanks. I hadn’t though the 10 ft was much of a hike only because I’ve been doing it for 10 years.

At 142" there is enough room for an island as long as you don't want seating!

142" - 25.5" for perimeter counters = 116.5"

The space needed between an island and perimeter if you're a one cook kitchen is 42"

116.5" - 42" = 74.5"

For a walkway behind the island WITHOUT SEATING you need a minimum of 36".

74.5" - 36" = 38.5" So you'll be able to put a 38" wide island in but no seating.

or be sure to use narrow stools that can fit under the counter. honestly, 24" of cabinetry + 1" overhang on sink side and 10" overhang on pantry side = 35" which would be pretty comfortable. my stools can slide in that far when not in use.

or add the extra 12" of cabinet most of the length and just have overhang for one or two stools as drawn.

Both. Peninsula for the seating factor with a small mobile island for additional prep space.

I have something similar to acm proposed. I really like it because the island directs traffic away from the zone! I also have a perch at one end

My kitchen layout is very similar to yours. I wanted an island and we went with the peninsula instead. It has been great! Installing an island, even at only 3" across, will leave you with minimal clearances.

Our first house came with a pushed-to-the-limit island and it was very annoying . While I am the primary cook, inevitably others still wander in for a snack or to place something in the sink. With the peninsula this is never a problem.

We have had this kitchen for 12 years now and have never regretted the peninsula!

Nicole

I'd allow for minimum 42" clear space between island and counters on both long sides. Anything less and you will constantly be bumping into things. 48" is better. But even at 42" your island will be pretty narrow.

or be sure to use narrow stools that can fit under the counter. honestly, 24" of cabinetry + 1" overhang on sink side and 10" overhang on pantry side = 35" which would be pretty comfortable. my stools can slide in that far when not in use.

I had a narrow space like that in my rental. It was uncomfortable for 2 adults to sit at the counter because we had to turn partly sideways. to sit.

Thank you everyone so far for your input! It seems that this dilemma isn’t as clearcut as I thought. @cpartist “The space needed between an island and perimeter if you're a one cook kitchen is 42"

i Have considered this. I have 6 people in my family—4 teens—and I always love to have more help in the kitchen. So, definitely not one cook kitchen if I have a choice. I’m also slightly claustrophobic, in the sense that I need some open space in my home. Some see wasted space, I see breathing room. I know I would prefer a 48 clearance. I have a tendency to run into things with my hips. I guess I forget they are there sometimes.

You also need to consider the depth of the ref. With a larger family you are probably doing a full depth ref. So if you recalculate the space, I wouldn't go more than a 28 or 30" island and leave a 48" walkway in front of the ref. Or do something like ACM's layout and do a wall of reduced depth pantries and make a nice size island.

From a traffic flow point of view, keep the peninsula.

Good luck!

In the plan originally posted- what is the measurement of the area between the peninsula and the fridge wall ? In case I am not reading it properly, how much space is there between the 2 parallel ares with cabinetry?

@salonva there is approx 52 inches from the end of the peninsula cabinet to the front of the pantry.

I forgot to mention that there is a small “keeping room” 8’ 5” x 10’7” directly Across where the peninsula would go. Do you think that makes a difference? These are the dimensions of the entire space. I appreciate all the feedback—I know a real kitchen designer would be helpful but life circumstances right now don’t allow that in the budget. My husband gutted our kitchen 10 years ago and I have been living with 24” of usable counter, mdf flooring and no pantry for a very long time I really want to just get this done before my daughters surgery and my sons graduation.

I went ahead and did a quick mock up for an island and moving the refrigerator as suggested by @acm. This doesn't really take into account the countertop overhand however, so maybe losing 1-1.5" all the way around unless I went with a flush countertop on the island.