functionthenlook - The house location is in Portland, Oregon. So not in a cold climate; I appreciate the comment, I'll look into re-designing the second floor. richfield95 - Thanks for the comment, I'll have the second floor re-designed. cpartist - House will be for myself, I am planning to start a family in the near future. Location is Portland, Oregon; Lot size is 8235sf; I can not cover more than 2650sf, current floor plan coverage is 2645sf. Actual needs - open dining / kitchen / great room area, study / office room, sufficient sized bathroom on main floor; decent sized master bedroom / master bath / closet, sufficient sized bathroom upstairs, sufficient sized laundry, 2 car garage, ability to work from home. I want to make sure the house fits into neighborhood, and most of my neighbors have 3 - 4 bedrooms. jannicone - The great room dimensions are roughly 24.5' by 18.5'; Overall square footage is about 3000sf; For now no kids, but will be starting family in the near future. I will need the ability to work from home. Naf_Naf - I am limited with setbacks on the width of the house, basically cannot increase the depth either because of impervious surface area coverage limit.

That really leaves you with the current arrangement, replacing the grey chair by the front window with kid stuff and leaving the floating living space opposite the TV. I'd really look into rerouting cable so the TV can be where the large art piece is. It's not usually very expensive and will be necessary in order to keep your walkway from running right in front of the tv.

I don't think the model layout hinders conversation but it's not enough seating for 6. Use newspaper or blue painters tape to layout the furniture in different configurations. Try the 2 sofas facing each other. 1 on the wall where the cabinet is now and 1 opposite. Another way would be 1 on the 3 windows wall and opposite it. 2 small scale swivel chairs could be added

"If you do a row of cabinets, they are usually 24" deep and then even with 18" overhang that's only 42" so less than 4' wide" Ummm...no, that's not correct. 1.5" counter overhang on the front of the island + 24"D base cabinets + 1" decorative door/finished end panel on the back of the peninsula cabinets + 18" overhang =========== 44.5" .... basically, 45" deep. Yes, less than 48", but only by 3" [42" is for a 15-inch overhang] However, if there are to be two seats on the side, then 48" is the minimum depth needed (24" per seat) . "Do you think if dishwasher put on window wall now 5ft is sufficient?" 60" is too wide since the Prep Zone is across that aisle from the cooktop. Reduce it to 48" to 51". . "My husband however really wants a separate area to cook sometimes. And the wok Kitchen will be mostly pantry area with smaller stove and smaller sink" With the larger Kitchen, you won't need a separate "wok kitchen". Just be sure you have a good hood and that it's installed properly. It should be at least 6" wider than the cooking surface, 24" deep, probably at least 1000 cfms, and externally vented (i.e., vented to the outside). You might want to go even wider if this truly is for wok cooking. Installation is most likely no more than 30" above the cooking surface (some can go as high as 36", check the specs, but the higher you go, the less effective the hood will be). Sinks also add moisture. IF you put it in the pantry, be sure you have: The same hood as described above Very, very good overall ventilation No food stored in that pantry! Why? Because food should be stored in a dark, cool, and dry space. Cooking in the pantry is the opposite! It introduces heat (a lot with a range), moisture, grease, and you need light to see while you cook. Additionally, any odors you introduce via your cooking will permeate the food stored there if your range hood venting and overall ventilation are inadequate. If you're looking at a separate cooking area because of odors, smoke, etc., know that most people do not have an adequate range hood and, usually, mount them too high to be effective. That's why they have odor, smoke, etc., issues. (Or, as we call them on the Kitchens Forum, FOGSS -- Fumes, Odors, Grease, Smoke, Steam.) . "L" island...I don't recommend it. That "L" will be an obstacle in the middle of your Kitchen and cause traffic and work space issues. Stick with a rectangular island. Get rid of the "wok Kitchen" and use the entire pantry for all your food storage. That way, you'll have plenty of space in the Kitchen itself for dishes, pots/pans, small appliances, and prep tools (mixing bowls, mixer, utensils, etc.). . Regarding an architect...Many (most?) architects are not Kitchen designers. They are great at architectural "interest" and making the Kitchen look "nice" (from an architectural/structural point of view) but not so much at function. They often don't seem to know/understand what makes a functional Kitchen. You need to work with a true Kitchen Designer for the Kitchen layout...not a CAD designer, cabinet salesperson, etc. Your best bet is to get an independent KD to work with you and your architect. I strongly recommend reviewing this thread from the "Building a Home" forum: Beginning Bubble Diagram for a Custom Home: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4351651/beginning-bubble-diagram-for-a-custom-home