There are five plans posted so I'll just go in order No.1 - that's your current plan No.2 - would work - the only thing I would change is the range and sink. I would switch them so that the DW is located close to or at the end of the counter run, then the sink and then the range closer to, but not in, the corner. As far as having a pantry in the dining room, there are all sorts of ways to design it so that it looks like it belongs. The middle part can be a buffet with glass in the upper cabinets and a marble or wood counter. Go and look at actual DR buffet/hutches to get some design ideas. If your worried about the table being off-center wrt the window would it help to put the pantry/hutch against the stairway wall? I think it might be about a foot shorter but it might also feel like it's more in the kitchen. Your island could go a little longer toward the fridge. It looks like you drew 5' clearance but if fridge is french doors you could go down to 48" or 42" clearance. And depending on the size you need/want for your family room you could take your island closer that way as well. But that is your personal choice and depends on your priorities in spacing. No.3 - with the peninsula it just feels like things are getting a little closed off especially when you want to have a more open feeling. Not really enamoured with the feeling that it gives. No.4 - in a minute. No.5 - I do like this one, however my concern is your aisle clearance. Your island is only 2' wide giving you, as you have drawn it, only 36" aisles but counter overhangs are anywhere from 1" and up. So with this in mind, when you have two counters facing one another you are going to lose at least 2' giving you aisles of only 34" and with 5 people in there that could get really tight. I also see a real pinch-point between the lower-left corner of the island and the wall where the fridge is coupled with the door for the stairs in that space as well. Now back to NO. 4 I would pick the peninsula in this reiteration because it is roomier. So depending on budget, as you have drawn your plans I would pick either No.2 or No.4. Now there are layout gurus here who can probably come up with other suggestions as well.

Oh how I love gardenweb! When I posted this question I really didn't figure I would get any responses from others who had done the same thing since it is such a specific situation but then to see a post from someone with the same exact tile! How exciting!! So sorry to have taken so long to reply but we have had family in town and the kids are out of school so life has been hectic to say the least. GWlolo - WOW! Your floors look beautiful!!! Really wishing that I had gone with a thin grout line between my Super Saltillos like you did. Ours are much thicker (3/4 inch I think) and they get so dirty. Love the deco tiles too. We haven't used them in any of the other rooms but do you think it would look strange to use them through the kitchen only? Are your Super Saltillos Saguaro or Desierto? Also glad to see that your wood floors are very similar to the wood look tile that we chose :) miss_kenda - thank you for your input! Once we knock down the wall separating the dining room and kitchen the house will be much more open so we decided to continue the saltillo through the kitchen and start the wood look tile in the hallway at the other end of the galley :) alexx- Holy cow your kitchen is so nice! Had assumed that I would jump on the white subway tile bandwagon but your kitchen has me seriously considering going with a blue backsplash! Glad to see that a grout transition will work despite the grout between our saltillos being larger than they will be between the wood-look tile. Thank you again to everyone for the helpful feedback!!

What if.... I looked at the stone-look vinyl in the store and while it's nice, it's just not what I want. There are other patterns online that the store didn't have though. But what if I did use the wood look vinyl, separated from the real wood floors by a couple of different colored wood transition strips? Oh & get this. We have boxes of old 8x8 tile in the garage, the white marbled stuff that we put down 15 years ago. I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of it, and mentioned putting it on craigslist today. Dh was shocked and thinks we are still going to use it. Um, no. I was thinking GIVE it away. On the FREE CL side. He was shocked, after we spent so much on it. Yes dear, 15 years ago when we were both 25 pounds lighter, everyone wore tracksuits everywhere, and the beastmobile was a gleaming new truck. No. No. No.

nosoccermom The quality is different for different colors? All I can say is that the HD Trafficmaster were installed last August, no issues with sticking so far. No scratches, either (they are in a rental apartment). But I also think that the lighter the material the more visible are knicks and scuffs. HD Trafficmaster is different than the link you posted. You posted a link to "Style Selections" on Lowes. I did see the HD Trafficmaster Oyster Travertine and actually bought a tile to see if it was the same as the stuff from Lowes (very similar but not the exact same). Search "Style Selections" under $1 at Lowes, some good reviews some very bad reviews.