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).

Thanks everyone, so much! I've been brainstorming a lot today, and I've come up with a few scenarios for the kitchen. I think some things will be a tradeoff, as it's most likely impossible to hit perfection. Right now I'm working on punching a large pantry or two in the space that I feel is available behind the kitchen area. I remember my grandmother's turn of the century house with a huge walk in pantry and very little cabinets, and realize how much better that worked for her than today's thinking with long strung out rows of cabinets that never hold enough storage. Grandma turned out amazing meals. One idea I am working on, (though I absolutely love the island idea), is having the table a little more central to the kitchen while preserving enough view out windows to keep from feeling boxed in. I can plan to have enough room around the table to work without banging into chairs since this is a clean slate with new construction. My husband likes keeping me company at a kitchen table and in no way would ever sit at island seating. He is not a fan of islands. Living in a dinky mobile home with the table in my face has been nice in one respect...we're actually together and meals are homier. I have a theory about the kitchen changes that are appearing these days. People are putting stools and chairs around their islands. I feel it is a craving to getting back to the feeling that we all get when sitting at someone's kitchen table that's actually in their kitchen. My husband has made it clear he would never sit at such an arrangement, so I guess we won't be doing that! Nothing wrong with it, just doesn't work for my man. In my last kitchen we were sort of isolated from one another with the table down at the end of the kitchen 20 feet away, and me making dinner. I was resentful sometimes. Despite the fact we were technically together, we really were not. It's amazing what a few feet can do emotionally. It was a beautiful kitchen, and helped sell our house, but it was not emotionally satisfying. I'm trying to see if a traditional farm type layout (involves the table as part of the kitchen) can somehow mesh with modern ideals. I think it can if the counters and appliance are set up correctly and efficiently. One of my grown daughters remarked that she was getting away from having an island in the kitchen and wanted to get back to the days when they were growing up, with the table as our hub. She suggested a nice island on casters that could be a decorative part of the kitchen when wheeled out of the way. I do feel I need that extra "farm table, aka island" for extra workspace sometimes, but perhaps not every day. Rhome 410, I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned your husband sitting nearby at a table, and the late night talks with your children. There's just something about a comfortable table in the kitchen. Your pictures have helped me a great deal. When I get my plan sketched out once and for all, I'd like you to see it. I'm putting my table back into my kitchen, but not as a tight squeeze. It may even be a little off set. I do know I'm not trucking 20 or more feet from my stove and dish cupboard to set a table and clean up again. This forum has been great. It helps work the confusion out of one's brain! I had a chuckle about the steak offer from the neighbor. My husband joked that we had veal right out our doorsteps, and I told him I won't ever eat a baby cow. He keeps saying I could have made him veal parmeson. What a character he is! We've thought about raising beef for ourselves, but I think I would get attatched and wouldn't be able to kill it. It'd be easier to get one from a local farmer all set to go in the freezer. Sandy

As for the garage its 23x27 (621 sq ft) which is enough room for 2 cars. It's just one garage door. That seems like a good size. Huh, looks much smaller on the plan. One concern mentioned that also concerns me is the width of the dining area and the one path to the back yard. Something you might consider: Do away with the island seating /instead put upper cabinets on the "back side" of the island ... more storage, more space for the dining area. If you do keep the island seating, choose stools that will scoot COMPLETELY under the cabinet overhang: Move the washer and dryer to the WIC closet area so they are upstairs. I agree that the washer/dryer need to move out of the basement (so many unnecessary steps), but I wouldn't be willing to give up space in the modest WIC. I think the majority of people here have a lot of STUFF. We don't. We even have empty closets in our current house, so there's that. I really don't have too much stuff, but I am looking forward to having better-planned storage in the right spots in my new house. But I’m in the Empty Nest stage of life so the small rooms don’t bother me too much. The best goal is "right sized" rooms. I suggest that the OP measure rooms in his current house, other people's houses ... measure beds and dressers ... and after a while, he will have a firm idea of what "right sized" means to him. I'm close to being an empty nester, and I agree that I don't need large rooms -- but I do want a guest room that's big enough for at least a queen sized bed ... and a bathroom with space for storage. The designer needs to be a little bit less stingy with some of the floor plan spaces, and also more honest with this compact home: I'd get rid of some of the elevation bells and whistles (no purpose in some of them). I like the layout in general That's a good sum-up.

@qam999 and @mcarroll16, notice I did not call out specific items good/bad or agree/disagree, just a general statement. It does feel that the OP is getting hammered by some of the same repeated comments that are stamped to suburban U.S. houses, which may not be warranted here, especially with so little information. Also not that either of you have here, but often so many commenters say their piece but they cannot even read drawings or understand why things are the way they are, and some of them even consider themselves "Pro." So I will tell you what I saw that countered some comments, causing me to jump in originally: - I see a narrow lot of about 50', with a zero lot line on one side. Apparently an urban area, with some adjacent constraints. That can limit the shape of the footprint and opening up the side walls. - I see wet bathrooms, a common occurence in Europe and Asia. The little triangle represents a showerhead, so the Guest has a full bath, the Powder does not have a shower. - I see wardrobe cabinets, not built-in closets, a common occurence in Europe and Asia. - I see a kitchen that follows many utilitarian designs across the globe. Cabinets are furniture, and sometimes still travel with you. Some appliances are cabinet/appliance combos. Kitchens are not necessarily the central congregration area like in the U.S. Pantries are not huge as stocking up is not the norm. Laundries are not tasks to be celebrated, often there is a small combo condensing washer/dryer. Storage is not as critical as in the U.S., as other cultures just don't buy stuff, stuff, and more stuff to take care of their stuff. - I see a Living area that is not grouped to Dining and Kitchen. The U.S. way of living is to have large, open, communicating functions, not necessariy the norm in other parts of the world. - I see a small outside backhouse area and cafe table sized patio. Probably just for a burner to keep smells out of the house, hang laundry, and a table area that fits the lifestyle of just morning coffee. Many urban areas don't prioritize huge outdoor living/eating areas for huge parties. So, there are many things pointed out in the comments that can be improved with this plan, as I alluded to originally. But when commenting on a design, sometimes you have to shift gears to what, where, and why it is for that particular location, not just site, but country and culture. Even in the U.S., there are obvious differences comparing a typical suburban house located in Florida, California, Arizona, the Midwest, or the Northeast. It may be what an architect only does, but you have to get in the same mindset as the homeowner, or at least understand it.