I see many good ideas here - you can pick from one or parts of one merged with another etc. looking at it how I'd want it (taking in your visual also tho) I'd keep the peninsula on the dining side but i'd shorten it a bit so it wasn't so long to walk around (and less walking to put clean dishes away if using the uppers between the stove top and sink) but would still provide a division from the area where your mstr bdroom is. and if standing at the sink /dw you could still see/talk to anyone at the table (future kids still eating breakfast while you start to clean up) or look out the windows over there (i don't remember if you planned windows on that far wall but hoping you are). I'd want the pantry in the lower left corner - wouldn't want to walk around the peninsula everytime I needed something... there should be room enough in there for a good 4' of shelves floor to ceiling. the far back corner could be deeper shelves for big items (turkey pan, big stock pot etc) and a flat wall side to hang your apron, floor duster etc). i'd think about having the door open inward. then on the wall from there to the end (by another doorway) i'd put the fridge. that'd make a nice work triangle/area. fridge, stove, sink (prep sink in corner of island there) and next to the fridge (toward the doorway) the wall oven/mw. If there's space there i'd put the mw separate w/counter top between the fridge and wall oven(s). use of mw w/ frozen foods and away from the regular cook area. fridge also can be used w/o getting into cook area. landing for the oven(s) would be island. baked goods could be put together on the island (water at prep sink) and right there to go into oven. the right wall of counter would be for spreading out food for a dinner / drink area. if you'd want the area by the wall (hallway) could be used as a small broom closet. you'd have nice areas of counter top to work on - by the stove, the island and on the counter w/high top area for people to sit up to for a snack, to talk to you, etc. That area could also hold the mw - but i like it by where i am cooking as I use it to heat up water when needed for a recipe, etc. mw could also be in the corner between the stove and clean up sink on a shelf under the upper cabs. you could probably have the end of the island overhang some so dh could pull up a stool while you cook, making him closer to you than the table or high counter top on the other wall. or for a high chair down the road... I think you'll have lots of storage and counter space to work on. It also gives you space if anyone is bringing food to a dinner for them to reheat in mw/oven and set out on the right counter top w/o getting in the way of the cook. If you want to do more massive food storage (like some do) then you could also use the area by your bdroom door for that storage. If not, that'd be a great super linen closet and vacuum storage area. dh needs to come around to the prep sink idea (tell him I said so... lol!). i'm not usually one for it unless a big kitchen, lots of kids and / or lots of help in kitchen. you meet 1 of those, maybe 2 and maybe all 3 in the future! You are just starting out w/possible growing family = kids in future helping to prep/cook or others coming in to also cook with you on special occasions - it gives access to water w/o crossing the cook's area. with a kitchen the size of yours, it's really needed! better to put it in now than try to redo it in yrs to come. cheaper to do now also. Looking back to the times when the kids were home, it'd make things so much easier! it might be good to put it toward the outer side of the island but still facing the fridge counter. take things out of fridge, turn around and set them on the island counter, prep sink to the right of veggies, peel, chop etc and then just a step or 2 to the left to the stove! it'd also make it easy to use to wash hands for someone coming from outside (work or play) w/o getting into cooking area. i wish I knew how to make a visual of it like others have here - but I don't! and I didn't know the measurements of your walls - just going by what looks to fit in on your first plan. pic of mw on shelf under upper cabs (southfinch) pic of my sister's oven w/ mw over it. If you need 2 regular ovens, hopefully there'd be room to the right of the ovens for a counter space w/mw (if you look closely you can see a tiny corner of the counter top to the right of my sister's ovens), then your fridge and pantry door...I didn't know if you'd need 2 reg ovens, if you were using a cook top or a range (which would have another oven). my sister/bil have a 2nd oven with their range (far left of pic).

Those pictures were pretty small. Still learning to post. Here are some larger versions, with room dimensions: Original architect drawing: Current design: We moved the stove so that I could get the trash and dishwasher both around the sink. Rhome, The architect's island seems closer to square. I also thought it looked larger and was pretty disappointed when the kitchen designer made it smaller. She said that guidelines suggest at least 3". (Today, I actually have 2" on two sides of my island and 3 feet on the other two sides.) My dish storage will be in the upper cabinets, to the left of the sink. Sure, the oven stack could go next to the fridge. At this point, just upper/lower cabs are to the right of the fridge. Do you think it would work better not to have the oven stack to the right of the stove? Thanks again for your insights. Hi Rosie, Thanks for your input. I find I do most prep around the sink. More specifically, on the counter between the sink and the stove. (Although I do have an island today and try to work there, I still find that I do most prep around the sink/trash.) I was initially concerned that the stove would now be diagonal from the sink. However, the kitchen is still pretty small so it's not a long walk. Today, I use the island mostly as a landing zone and it does come in handy for that. I have a very functional kitchen today. Not a traditional triangle -- all in one line: sink, stove, refrigerator. Might sound odd, but I don't have to go far for anything and it works for me. Today, my microwave is on the wall opposite my 'work line', behind the current island. It's a little inconvenient, but not too bad. My kitchen today is very tight. I have a larger island with 3 small stools, that noone ever sits at. On 2 sides of the island, I have less than 3 feet. Any change would be an improvement. Thanks, Shoregirl

KA mixer in an upper cabinet? I don't know about you, but mine is much too heavy to be an upper cabinet! You really shouldn't put heavy items in an upper cabinet -- if they slip out of your hands, it can be dangerous if they fall on you. I would do one of the following: Leave it on the counter (maybe get a cover for it when it's not in use to "hide" it and keep dust out) Store it inside an appliance garage Store it on a pantry shelf about waist-high. You could also have one 18" base cabinet with a mixer lift in it. It'll take up most of the cabinet, but if you don't like it on the counter and don't want it in a pantry or similar, then that may be your best bet. . The sink-DW-trash location has nothing to do with whether you rinse your dishes, it has to do with being in the way of someone trying to prep. If you're prepping on top of a DW, no one else can get to the DW to load/unload or add something/take something out. It's also not pleasant prepping over a running DW (heat and steam). Unless....are you referring to scraping and then loading the DW? If so, then I understand what you're saying with regards to DW & sink (no need for the sink). The trash, though, is best located in the Prep Zone since most trash/recyclables are generated during prepping and cooking. Ideally, it should be in the Prep Zone but near the Cooking & Cleanup Zones. If you put the DW on the non-range side and the trash pullout next to the sink b/w the range and sink, then you've accomplished the ideal!

Any comments? Please! :-)