Earlier I showed my wife this thread and she like to thank everyone for the help. She couldn't believe you folks actually spent the time perusing the floorplan and provided us with valuable feedback. Ok back to business.. So she ruled out moving the fridge beside the DW. In fact, she was very much against it. I do have to admit it will solve all our concerns. Also she wasn't keen on moving the pantry/laundry room wall, she like to keep her walk in pantry and not stack the washer/dryer. Thinking about it some more, we are leaning towards the idea idea of shrinking the patio door from 6' to 4' double French door(not sure if builder offers it). This will allow us to add an additional 24" cabinet and counter space beside the DW. Based on all your feedbacks, it appear fridge and island are the bigger concerns. FRIDGE: For easier fridge access, we are thinking of shrinking the space between stove and fridge. Currently that space is roughly 24". If we do decide to shorten it, what will be a small enough counter width to still be useful? I like to create enough space between fridge and wall to install a pull out pantry as some of you suggested. If it gets too tight, another option we considered is move the stove "up" by 12" towards the sink. However I am not sure whether it will be too close to the sink or not, thoughts? ISLAND: Wife wants an island, so it's here to stay. The good thing is it's floating and not fixed. I still don't have a good idea of what to do with it, might just push it further out for now so it won't impede traffic. At the same time I don't want to push it so far out that we can't fit a table in the breakfast area. Also I don't want to pay builder more to make it bigger. *sigh* so much options, so limited $.

Thanks, everyone. :o) @lisa a: I don't see eating mostly fresh fruits & veggies, sprouted nuts & seeds as a restricted diet. Since we have multiple food allergies/intolerances in our family, I see it as an allergen-free diet. (Americans' staples are mostly known allergens: milk, wheat, peanuts . . . ;o) We've done it before, and getting back into it now feels really good to me. It's like years are falling away from my "real" age, and I'm getting some life and energy back. Love that. I will have a goodly-sized toaster oven, so I can occasionally bake a good gf/allergen-free cake for celebrations. :o) @bmorepanic: (Love your username! lol) Thanks so much for your feedback on the marine ranges. That's really useful. I was thinking of one or two of these induction plates (or the commercial version), and if that didn't work, I'd get a two-burner ceran top electric cook top much like the induction cooktop you linked to. We're wiring sufficient for any contingency, so it's a possibility. And thank you for the heads' up on the window trim. We're planning on using 1x material, so it'll be 3/4" thick. I'm thinking I can put a bumper of some kind on the wall up near the top of the window trim where the cab door would hit it. My main concern right now is figuring out how to make sure the right-hand door on the wall cab next to the pantry cab will open cleanly. I think I have 1" to spare, but would hate for that to be too snug to work. Oh, the devil is in the details . . . I've been rethinking the rail systems, and will still get them, but am not exactly sure where I'll be putting them. I'm just wholly smitten with the fintorp line, and it's fun rustic vibe. The metal pails just make my heart go pitter patter (which is kind of shameful, since I know there are much bigger things to worry about in the world . . . but I like taking pleasure in my surroundings, so it can't be all bad, right?) A pot rack is a GREAT idea. I can totally do that with the ceiling . . . just have to adjust the length of one of the hanging chains. Oh, hooray for getting the pots out in the open where I don't have to nest them! Of course, they don't HAVE those in the kitchen planner (bah), but I can adapt. @aliris19: I'm thinking about putting a shelf above the bedroom door (on the left, by the fridge), so that could add even more function there. I'm also considering an awesome, huge clock. K, here are some fun shots of today's mods: Living room side, with upper cab: Bedroom side. (And don't worry . . . it looks like those cabs are kissing the default 96" ceiling, but the measurements all work out in my math. I'm going to call Ikea and ask about that one, though. The 88" pantry cab shouldn't be 96" tall, right?) Living room side without upper cab (which is really calling to me, as I feel like I'm going to do most of my prep on the peninsula and in that corner (where the outlet for the burner and the toaster oven will be), and I hate working with an upper cab in my face. I could handle a pot rack up high, near the opening to the living room, though.

Be aware that your aisles are not as wide as you probably think they are. It looks like, at best, they're measured cabinet-to-cabinet and, at worst on the sink side, from the sink itself to the island cabinet. Aisle widths are measured b/w the items that stick out the farthest into the aisle. Sometimes it's the counters (approx 1.5" beyond the cabinets), sometimes it's the refrigerator door handle or an oven handle. . Is that refrigerator a true "built-in" refrigerator? If not, then those panels flanking the refrigerator should be no deeper than the depth of the refrigerator carcass/box + however much space you have behind the refrigerator for air clearance, plug, anti-tilt device, water lines. The doors must stick out past all items next to it - counters, cabinets, walls, panels, etc. If not, then it also means the total depth of the refrigerator is probably 30" to 32" or so from the wall behind it. . Prep sink...with an island the length that yours is (60"), I would not get a prep sink base any wider than 18". You should have 42" on one side of the prep sink and, preferably, at least 12" on the other side. Your island is not wide enough for that, so you will need to make do with: Right-to-left: 1.5" counter overhang + 18" sink base + 18" trash pullout + 24" drawer base + 1.5" counter overhang = 63" Your island is shown as 60", but it does not include the 1.5" overhang on each side, so 60" + 1.5" + 1.5" = 63"

Mama goose, I like many of the ideas for the upper cabinets. Thank you. I have gone back and forth on one island or two, but having the eat in bar separate from the work-island is a huge plus for how involved the kids are with cooking and prep. Not a huge fan of having the dining table out in the middle. I don’t think the distance from dining area to clean up station will be a problem. As for bedrooms, the plan doesn’t reflect all details. We do plan for the secondary bedrooms to be shared for two kids each. We have future expansion in mind with the stairs to upstairs for additional two bedrooms. Currently, the kids are younger and prefer for them to be downstairs. Thx everyone for feedback and ideas. Enjoy the holiday weekend.