Well I've run into some major hurdles, the big problem is there obvious and the solutions are complex. 1 st we know what we want(just based on our experiences from a previous) which seems to make it that much harder. I have no problem admitting that I went into this blind and that at some point I would need e help especially with roofs and stairs ( Ive learned to hate stairs with a passion). An old fashioned t-shape Pennsylvania farmhouse is our dream. I many worried about getting proportions right to keep with the look we like, too wide of a gable end and your house easily becomes a church. So any time we saw a home we thought was bell balances we would simply stop and ask the owners to let us measure. Finally we feeling comfy with the dimensions,'I've done nothing but ram and smush everything into this mold, problem it just won't fit naturally, of course ive been able to keep adding square footage to house but I lose the simplicity, my motto is " it always comes down to adding just 2 more feet". So we began hunting for architect which feels like a step backward at this point because we have a logic behind our placement. ( ex: we have beautiful views to the right side of our house and garage on left so naturally the pantry/mud room/bath plus keeping the kitchen close by for groceries has been part of the problem all though I've made work before just never felt right. Factor in I need 4 bedrooms and love an open floor plan ( no cathederal ceiling, just raised living room) and the simplicity of simple old farmhouse gets complex. 2) I decided I would try to find an architect to basically "bless" a floor plan and then draft into prints for us , logically if he was happy with it and there were no major blunders I wouldnt expect to pay full rate. I think he quoted around 15k for a 2500sq ft houses with a significant amount of the concept done. I believe it was $75-$80 for 220 hours, after the sticker shock, we decided to stay the course. Even found multiple plans from timber/log home companies that would not sell just a floor plan to convert without purchasing the entire kit. I could produce over 50 cad drawings I've done and probably 3 graphing notebooks of half-a$$ sketches that all come out the same, close but never perfect. Even the drawing i submitted was basically to confirm that the issues were not in my head but legit concerns, which is why the criticism didnt bother me. ( I've been yelled by more important people than you mainly. renovater8 ) , since I've posted my print I've already been back at it but this time better equipped with your comments and this site in general. I like "how long have you been at it" comments. I'll probably keep at my drawings myself until I truly feel like I'm at a dead end, and with the help of a friend who is an engineer/draftsman I'll try to stick t through but not until I'm comfortable with a finished product, I love learning and still feel like I won something when someone points out a potential problem I would of never caught myself. If anybody has used an architect geared towards the rustic/country/t-shaped farmhome, I would gladly be interested.' always enjoy finding that diamond In the rough website that leaves the vinyl siding and cookie cutter plans to their 1000 page book and recreates the classics look. Would also love any pics or comments from anybody who's been on the same path. My apologies to renovator8 for coming across harsh, i use a lot of sarcasm and I dont specifically hate don Gardner , just sick of the seemingly identical planss we poured through over the years. Thankss again everybody.

To steal another poster's word, I don't think the entry is "comically" large -- but it is large in comparison to the other rooms. Thinking about the whole-house plan on the other page, I hadn't realized the rooms were this small. I agree that the dining room is minimal in width. You might consider a built-in banquette on one side instead of chairs. This isn't ideal for such a long room, but those things are massive space savers! Another off-beat idea: Instead of one huge table, how about multiple small tables? I'm thinking of perhaps 3-4 small rectangular tables . . . and for every day you could have just one . . . but for parties you could bring out just two, allowing space in between for movement . . . or you could bring out all of them for the set-up you're discussing right now. You'd need table cloths, of course. Of course, the real issue isn't whether you can seat people in this space -- you can. The real issue is whether those people are comfortable in the process of being seated. Are the first people to be seated "stuck" because of the chairs around them? I also agree with the poster who asked about HOW you'll serve food. For example, I'd say that in my current kitchen (which is not optimal) we always do self-serve buffets: I put out the main dishes on my peninsula, place drinks on another spot in the kitchen, and use the breakfast table for desserts. A better set-up for serving is one of our future kitchen goals. Regardless of how you plan to serve guests, you ought to think through where you'll place things -- and don't forget dirty dishes. You mentioned serving "family style" from the middle of the table. Eh, that's easier with a round table than a long, rectangular table. Things I'd consider: Could you incorporate some type of multi-purpose furniture in the living room /formal parlor . . . furniture that could double as perhaps a place for desserts or drinks during parties? The first thing that comes to my mind is a drop-leaf table, which could sit behind a sofa everyday . . . but could fold out to serve for parties. I do like the butler's pantry concept. For example, it could allow you to plate salads . . . and then they're ready to pass down the table. Well, I thought I had more ideas than two. I guess I didn't. Another vote against the fluorescent light. We had one in a rental house in which I lived years ago, and -- yeah -- it puts out some serious light, but it was very ugly and today would be considered outdated. Your kitchen will be visible from your very-important dining room. Your choices aren't fluorescent lights or pot lights -- other options do exist. Most importantly, consider the function of that light: You're going to be standing in the kitchen facing the wall . . . and if your main light is a big ceiling light behind you, your shadow is falling on your work. In this kitchen, undercabinet lighting is essential. You can also use pendants...

I'm enjoying churning over the challenge of your kitchen. I think I'm going through withdrawals now that our house is finishing up. This is an idea with the constraint of keeping plumbing in place and not removing walls. Here's what I did: 1) tried to get as much distance between the sink and the range as possible without moving utilities 2) Added a wall at the entrance to the family room that is the same width as the wall on the other side of the entrance; looking from the family room toward the kitchen the walls framing the opening should be equal widths. 3) Angled the island parallel with the wall with the existing laundry so it looks intentional and also create more comfortable counter seating for 3 kiddos. 4) To add storage,but not do anything that competes with the ceiling transition to the morning room, I added base cabinets to the morning room side of the kitchen proper. It's essentially a big peninsula with no seating. 5) Be mindful of Ice-Water-Stone-Fire. The mantra that has changed the way I will evaluate kitchens forevermore :-) I'm going to see if I can plug this into the IKEA planner quickly

Here's one example https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2673191/counter-in-front-of-windows but one thing I thought could make that look better is maybe an exterior window box as well. It may look odd-sized but would provide more purpose maybe? For the counter running over the windows, would you want cabinets underneath? Or does it just need to be open? If it's a shorter run, I could envision doing something like they used to do under old sinks. But maybe that's less refined than you want. http://sgstyleblog.com/2016/11/14/design-obsession-skirted-kitchen-cabinets/