The electrician still hasn't come, so we're still kicking around ideas. Here is what we are thinking now. Tell me if you see any drawbacks. The outlets on the solid wall: Put them at the usual height 16 inches off the floor, but closer to the corners. Then, if there is no room for a regular china cabinet against the back wall, there might be room for corner cabinets. Either way, the cabinets would cover the outlets. Higher up, or even lower in the previous location and the cabinet light cord would be in view. Maybe the electrician can think of a way to put sconces on the wall without hard wiring them in. Then, dh thinks we wouldn't need the outlet by the patio door. Then on the switches, I forgot about the living room lights. When coming in through the back door, we can turn on the kitchen light or the dining room light beside the back door. The living room light used to be in the wall that we took out between the kitchen and the new dining room. So it makes sense (I guess) to put it in the box on the far side of the dining room. Then put another box on the other side of the patio door for the patio light and for the two wall outlets on the solid wall. Then, if china cabinets or sconces are there, we can turn them on with a switch instead of having to open the china cabinet doors or turn on each sconce. Or would it be better to have all the light switches in one location? On the spotlights, dh only wanted them in the corners. I want to add one in the center of the solid wall directed at a picture. Think that's enough?

Thanks everyone for this latest batch of comments! Amazing chandelier suggestions, I think I said "ooohhh, ahhhhh" for each and every one. I think my next steps will be: - Establish a strong visual line around the room to help humanize the proportions, as per House Vixen. The sconces feel a tad too low if I'm using that height around the whole room (they're actually only 6 feet off the ground) but I hung the portrait of my Nana so the top of the frame is at 7 feet, and that seems like it would be a good height, still not competing with the doors or insanely tall window frame. - Roll up and remove the rug for a while, see how it looks, possibly replace. I like the suggestion from ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 to consider a tribal style oriental rug. I've seen some that still look very contemporary. - Lower the chandelier (that seems unanimous) and consider replacing with one of the stunning styles above. Question for everyone: if I replaced the chandelier with something in a burst style (I'm leaning toward urchin or sputnik at the moment), what should I do with the sconces? Any other easy lighting adjustments you can think of? The current chandelier and sconces are on dimmers which helps a lot, but I wouldn't mind having a few other lamps in the room for balance. - Another question: How does everyone feel about plants? A ZZ or snake plant are probably my best options given the light in this room, and I have a few cool planters, but I'm curious about size and placement. Or skip altogether, since it's a dining room? Besides trying to strike the right balance between modern and traditional, I'm also trying to be realistic about the function of this room, which is as a major thoroughfare in a family home without much extra space. In other words, while I would love for this room to look like it does in this photo much of the time, realistically I'll spend much more time using the table for arts and crafts with my toddler, sorting mail on it with my husband, and throwing board games, blocks, and other toys into the storage than actually dining there (thankfully we have a bright and lovely breakfast room at the end of our kitchen where we eat our everyday meals). Oh yeah, a few more quick questions: - Still paint the radiator to match the walls, even though I have 10 inch high white baseboards? Wouldn't that look a bit odd, to have a gray radiator in front of a white baseboard? - Some other ideas for family photo displays? Honestly, I'm hoping that once I put a big piece of art above the sideboard, I can keep the frames there (below the art) and they'll blend in a bit better instead of standing out so much and looking cluttered. But if that doesn't work, it'd be nice to have other options (besides, as Elaine Wilson said) hanging them in an odd little arrangement on the wall. Thanks everyone!

Who designed this for you? Which way is north? What do the elevations look like? What is the size of your land and your setbacks? Is there a reason you have a 24' deep garage but only 18' wide which is not enough room for more than 1 car to get in? Maybe two as long as they are compact cars. Your laundry room is 65" deep. A full size washer/dryer take up 30" of space or more. The leaves you with less than 3' of space in front of the washer/dryer. That's tight. Your kitchen layout needs help. Vet it in the kitchen forum. There is lots of wasted space between the kitchen and dining room. Why? The living room is very small for the size of the house. The master WIC is large enough for one person and can only have clothes hung on one wall. Minimum for a 2 wall closet is 7'. Are you sure you're ok with the third bedroom sharing a wall with your master bedroom? Plus that person will hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night. The bedroom in the bottom right corner will hear the toilet flushing in the middle of the night. Where will your bed go and is it a king sized bed? Are you and your spouse on different wake/sleep cycles. If so, the closet being far from the bathroom will be a problem. (Ask me how I know? LOL) Here is your design with the pathways (walkways) in red. The major problem is the area in purple because it is wasted space in a smaller home. That wasted space is about the size of your living room!

So, I took a look..and I do have some concerns, especially if you try to fit a 48"D island into your space. Your space just isn't wide enough to have that deep an island + decent aisles + space to move around the island. Even a 41.5"D island is marginal. A few things have to be taken into account in your design: (1) You definitely need to have enough room for multiple cooks: "We're a family of four. Two kids, one 5 and one 10. Wife and I both love to cook and share the responsibility equally. Kids will also help out in the kitchen and our oldest loves to bake by herself." This means your aisles really need to be a minimum of 48". It also means you need to have more than one place to prep and, preferably, a water source in at least two locations so you're not fighting over the sink. (Add in someone trying to cleanup or load/unload the DW while others are prepping/cooking, and you're asking for trouble -- especially when your kids are in preteen + teen! (Trust me on this!) (2) Busy traffic in the Kitchen. The Kitchen is in the middle of the path between the Family Room and the Dining Room and, I think, between the entrance (far left) and the rest of the house -- including the stairs that I assume go upstairs to the bedrooms. That area is going to be busy. So, You need adequate aisles to allow considerable traffic + table seating and considerable traffic + island seating. Do not skimp on aisle space (or seating space)! You need a minim of 48" between the island and anything behind the seats (e.g., the stairs). More would be better, but your Kitchen isn't deep enough. (3) Island configuration: Since you need the minimum aisle widths (48") around the island, you cannot fit a 48" deep island. Instead, have a 3 seats along the back and one on the side. Is it ideal, no, but it's better than most I've seen. Your island is then 41.5" deep: 1.5" counter overhang in the front + 24" deep base cabinet + 1" decorative door/end panel on the back of the base cabinets + 15" seating overhang = 41.5" In addition, each seats need 24" of linear space, so only one seat will fit on the 41.5" long side --and-- you cannot overlap seats on a corner, so even skimping on linear space won't work. For 3 seats, that means you need 72" (6'). Your minimum island needs to be 72"W x 41.5"D For your Kitchen size: From what I was able to calculate, it appears the longest part of your Kitchen is no more than 116" + 71" + 19.5" = 206.5" [Note: The 19.5" measurement might not be right, I had to base it on what I saw elsewhere b/c a couple of key measurements were missing on your layout.] The stairs encroach on that, so where the island ends, it's a bit less than 149" The minimum space you need is: 25.5" + 48" + 41.5" = 115" and then add in 33" to accommodate the needed the space b/w the stairs and island = 148" [Why 33" and not 48"? This can be a bit complicated...the stairs are on a diagonal, so a straight line measurement doesn't work. Instead, I had to work with rotated lines to calculate what was necessary to accommodate a 48-inch aisle. If it's too complicated or I didn't explain it well, don't worry about it...you'll see the results in the layouts.] . Layouts.... With all of the above in mind, I came up with two layouts -- I like #1 the best b/c I think it gives you the best functionality, more workspace, and a more open feel. Both have two Prep Zones: (1) in the island with a prep sink and (2) on the perimeter b/w the cleanup sink and range. As you can see, Layout #1 has more space b/w the range and cleanup sink. The sink run of counters and cabinets are 3" deeper than standard. This gives you more storage (especially dish storage) and and deeper workspace. It also pulls the sink 3" farther from the window and window sill so you can easily fit any faucet, clean behind it easier, and minimize window splashing -- without being too far from the window to open it. The base cabinets are 27" deep (If you cannot get deeper base cabinets or they're too expensive, pull standard depth base cabinets (24"D) out from the wall 3" when they're installed.) The upper cabinets are 15" deep (Most lines now offer 15" deep uppers for a reasonable price) The deeper uppers also provide better storage for deeper items like platters or large dinner plates. The counter is 28.5" deep The deeper cabinets & counter also allow you to have a Dish Hutch. A Dish Hutch has a lot more storage than a standard base + upper setup. The upper goes down to the counter and, allows you to utilize the entire height for dishes, glasses, etc. In your layout, it's a 27" wide Dish Hutch. (That means you have an additional 27"W x 18" tall x 15"D = 7,290 cubic inches (about 4.2 cubic feet) of storage.) Other items: The island has a prep sink so the island can function as a Prep Zone (key Prep Zone items are water and counterspace). There's still plenty of open space for baking, doing homework, science projects, crafts, wrapping gifts, etc. The island also seats four people comfortably. Dish storage and the Cleanup Zone are outside the Prep and Cooking Zones -- allowing you to have multiple people working in the Kitchen -- prepping, cooking, baking, cleaning up, unloading the DW, setting the table, etc. -- without getting in each others' way. The MW is on the long counter at the "bottom" of the Kitchen. That space also makes a nice Snack/Tea/Coffee Center and, if necessary, a "tertiary" Prep Zone. While there isn't direct access to water, it can be used in a pinch for prepping. That long space also has additional storage space for pantry items or other needs. I suggest building up the half-wall b/w the Family Room and the Kitchen to at least 42" tall to allow a bit of separation and to block a direct view of the MW (assuming you put it there -- that seems to be the best location. It's at a usable height and has room around it for landing space. The both have a full-height 18" pullout pantry and, in front of the furnace exhaust bumpout, a full-height shelved pantry cabinet 18"W x 9"D. A lot will fit in that 9" deep pantry cabinet! Layout #2 has a 9" Utility cabinet (or another pantry cabinet). The Dining Room In Layout #1 has a partial banquette style -- one long side and one short side are in the corner. The other seats are chairs. It easily seats up to 6. If you have leaves, you might be able to squeeze in a couple more seats, but only if/when really needed b/c it will create aisle/traffic issues. There is plenty of space around the table for seat access. This layout allows you to move the Refrigerator to the other side of the furnace exhaust bumpout. This frees up space to the right for needed counterspace. (This is the primary reason I prefer this layout. It's worth losing the 9" wide utility cabinet -- at least to me.) In Layout #2, the Refrigerator will not fit on the left of the furnace exhaust bumpout, so the amount of counterspace around the range is significantly reduced. To fit the table, there are minimal aisles on the left (36") and top (35"). However, they are not "through aisles", so they should be OK. You'll have to do a bit of squeezing, but with only 4 people, it won't be bad. The important aisles are wide enough. Here they are: Layout #1: Layout #1's Zone Map: . . Layout #2 Layout #2's Zone Map: