Thanks, luckyblueeye – I think that’s the best solution for the black hole if I were to keep this design. herbflavor - I wish we had that kind of space! Karenseb, we thought about moving the coat closet forward a bit, but it would really close off the stairs, since the wall on the other side of the stairs goes all the way down to the landing. Thanks to everyone for shaking me out of my “island brain.” My original design included a peninsula, similar to what Sophie describes, but I've always wanted an island, so I kept trying to fit one into this space. Here’s the current layout. Note it says "primary entrance" next to the garage. That's because everyone in this area inexplicably has 2 front doors. We're considering closing this off to allow for a better furniture layout in the family room. And here's a quick sketch of what I had for my original plan. I was planning on stacked drawers and an upper with the microwave next to the fridge, but I guess I should try to fit a pull-out pantry cabinet there instead?

I consider a chrome faucet a neutral and IMHO goes with most everything. Same with your glass door hardware. I would do chrome rather than ORB. I’ve shown you pics of the house I did for my daughter previously but don’t have a good one of the faucet together with the black Ikea Bagganas hardware we installed. We initially bought chrome cup pulls but switched to a simple black. Are you considering the black cup pulls in the kitchen you like? I do not think that the white quartz would make it look like a huge monolithic expanse at all. It may be a better choice if you are seriously considering the turquoise tile. I think either black or brass would look great. Not sure about mixing. I found it extremely helpful to snap a picture of my room and then paste the lights and hardware I’m considering using MS Paint. Helps to see it all together. It would also be a good idea to start a new thread in Kitchens and Home Decorating related to finishes so possibly some of the pros can chime in. They can give better advice than me about mixing metals. I have chrome on my main floor and just added antique brass to my pink powder and laundry.

Sarah, you are wonderful! Thank you!! Lots to think about. I think you may be on to a great idea... would keeping the layout basically the same but have the range across from the sink instead? And just have seating on the end. I do like the galley but don’t think she will. And I don’t think she will want to split up the window and put the range there. I think she will want to keep the kitchen shape as is. And good thought about handicap accessible. I suggested the same thing to her yesterday! She is about 72. But says she only plans to live there a few years, then sell. I don’t know why!? I want to live there! I’ll draw another option with the island turned. And I’ll increase the aisle too. I agree and suggested it be bigger. She doesn’t really entertain much. And doesn’t cook much. But may have as many of 4 over at a time. She has 2 grandkids. And good idea re: the dishwasher. And good catch re: trash!! Would you keep the microwave drawer where I have it? Thanks so much!! I’ll work on this some more.

sarahsaccount24 and mcarroll16, thank you both for the input! sarahsaccount24, I guess I was worried that the island would look really narrow and out of proportion at only 24 inches wide. Maybe it would be fine though. I had considered putting the dishwasher on the other side of the sink but thought just a few upper cabinets there (for storing the dishes) would look weird. I do like your idea of one of those cabinets that comes down to the counter, but I also want to use that counter for our espresso maker (it's messy and needs to be next to a sink). I was thinking I'd store the dishes in the upper cabinets to the left of the range. Regarding the door to the garage, we don't park in the garage so we use the front door more. But if we ever do start parking in the garage (unlikely, as that's where I store my gardening stuff, which is obviously way more important that the car :) ), I thought it would be convenient to come in next to the fridge and pantry for grocery unloading. mcarroll16, you're definitely right about the windows driving the design in the second drawing. I've considered shrinking the window at the top of the plan to move the range up and make the counter above it smaller. I do a lot of baking, so that counter would be useful as my baking area (it's also right next to the pantry, so that's nice), but it doesn't need to be that big. I've also thought about scooting the range over so it's closer to the top window to gain a few inches on the other side. Regarding the sink issue, the main prep area in the second drawing would be on the island, so that would be the prep sink. I know it has the dishwasher next to it, but we really only use the dishwasher for actual dishes (plates, bowls, cups, silverware) - I tend to hand wash everything else. So I would put all my dishes from preparing meals in the cleanup sink (the one in front of the window) to be washed after meal prep was done, and then we would just put our dishes in the dishwasher after the meal. That's how I currently cook, so I guess I was just planning to continue that pattern, but I know others would advocate for putting more things in the dishwasher. If I gained a few more inches between the window sink and range, I could fit the dishwasher in there, but then my dishes would probably go in the island, and I'd really like to keep that area available for food prep tools. Also, having the dishes stored below that top window (which I would do with the d/w as currently drawn) would keep them close to the fridge.