We are working with very similar issues/designs, so I feel your pain! The EIK depends...it's something I am struggling with. My realtor said I needed to keep it. But it makes my work area so small and not useful. So I am opening to the DR and having a breakfast bar. I'm hoping the open space and functional kitchen will be what people see and not the fact they can't stick a kitchen table there. Besides, the counter gives a space to eat breakfast/lunch, do homework, socialize with guests - all things a table can do. But it took me a loooooong time to decide to go this direction. I would say you need to keep seating at the bar to make up for the lost EIK. I like the KM design. I think I'd switch the fridge and the oven (do it as shown in the architect's rendition) - you aren't gong to be able to open the right fridge door all the way where it is. I'd also loose the island. You don't really have the space to support it - th aisles will be very narrow and it's so small, it's not going to be that helpful. That can save you money and you can add one at another time. There are tons of nice work table/islands you can purchase - it doesn't need to match the cabs. This was also something I struggled with b/c I felt the space was a little too open without it, but everyone here convinced me to leave it out and if I find I do want something there, go for the work table. To save money you can also do furniture/particle board cabs - most everyone here agrees it's a great way to save about 15% on cabinets! Also, GW is the land of drawers! Ditch the cabs with rollouts and go for drawers. Easier to pullout one thing than to open doors and then pull out. Though probably won't save much $$ b/c I was told cabs with rollouts are about the same cost wise as all drawer bases. The architect drawing - did he give you a price? His plan is very similar to the KM plan and you could just ask him to do furniture legs on the end for the dog bowls - every line carries something like that. He might be able to get you a better deal on another line (or he might not!) Good luck! I am at the same point as you right now so I know how frustrating it is! I go back to my KD tomorrow to make some tweaks and see if I'm ready to take the plunge!

we put our standard depth 36" french door freezer drawer fridge against a wall (recessed plug & water line so fridge could go all the way back into the cavity plugged in), with a 'pantry' next to it & cabinet overhead & side panels/trim to look built in. next to it is a base cabinet pulled forward 6 inches, so the side panel is actually 30", and a standard wall cabinet 54" high is sitting on the countertop. the fridge side panel is pulled forward to to 30", flush with the base cabinet. all that is exposed is the side of the fridge door/hinge, not the side of the fridge. it also allows countertop/landing space next to the fridge of 18" and pantry storage. only issue I am sure you will get comments on is opening the fridge door that is next to the wall. my manu recommended 3 3/4", clearly not enough. we left as much space as we had on that wall which was about 5" and i still don't think we can pull out the ice maker. but that is OK with me, where else do you put a huge fridge in a small kitchen but in the corner? not sure if this makes sense but I don't have pictures to post yet!

Thank you all for the feedback, especially bmorepanic for the plan! If we decide to go with an island plan, we will definitely use the north wall rather than the south wall. I think a common comment was about the play area not being necessary. It would be our long-term plan to turn the "play area" into a study area with desks in the future. @kaismom - Thanks for the tip about getting the cabinets now to ensure that they match, we will certainly do that, if that's what the space is used for. The area we had labelled as the play area was previously the eating nook. I should also note that you can see into the family area from the former nook area, as the wall has an opening about four feet up so the family room is not really private at all. My husband actually grew up in this house (buying it from my parents who want to downsize). There is a rec room upstairs to spend time when the kids want to stay away from the parents. That room will still be up there as a rec space and was used as a computer area also. There is also another computer area as my husband is a consultant that works at home and thus will have a room dedicated to his home office upstairs. The reason we like having the dining room table on the west side is because it can be extended to seat six on that side (12' across even with the angled wall) and there is space in the living room for an additional table or two if necessary if we want to entertain (the room is about 15 x 30 - not measured, guessing). As suggested, we would likely use the room for a large folding table when we want to host events. Also, we feel that having this setup would encourage us to use the living room more often as the room has vaulted ceilings and nice large windows. The room wasn't used very often previously as the dining room and family room were only used when entertaining guests (which I guess doesn't seem that uncommon in all honesty). There is a large walk in pantry (with a slanted roof under the stairs) whose entry is just to the left of the north-west door. Not sure if we'd miss having a pantry in the kitchen but there is a lot of space to leaving things in that room which is the plan for now. We toyed with the idea of building access to the room directly from the kitchen but realized that the angle of the roof line would not accommodate access a door from the kitchen very well (there are stairs going up which run parallel to the kitchen wall from east to west). Nobody in the family currently plays music, historically there has been a piano in the living room but if it was played, you could hear the piano throughout the house except in the family room. Thanks again!

Would you consider taking down the wall from the kitchen to the family room & making your kitchen more of a U shape? I think it's a weight bearing wall and taking it down is probably not worth it to us at this point. If you're selling within 10 years, do white Ikea cabinets and spend as little as possible. New owners may want to do drastic things and won't want to pay for your upgrades in a tract house. We aren't looking to put in a forever kitchen but, having said that, our neighborhood is such that potential buyers might not have the money to remodel right away so we'd like to do something that wouldn't be a deal breaker for a young family. Any thoughts on how to optimize the plan below?