It would be possible to put a play corner in the first two drawings but not in alternative 2. I would recommend a corner of storage furniture to corral the toys. I am usually a fan of built-ins but not in this case because eventually the kids will outgrow their toys and you won't need that storage there anymore. The built-in exception would be a window seat under one of those windows on the plans. Some of the storage could be cabinets or bookshelves for bins or toys underneath a window seat. I'm not a fan for toy box style storage because they either become a black hole or the kids throw everything out of them looking for what they want and then do't put the rest of it back. As for the kitchen placement, near to the deck would be best in you like to eat outdoors on the deck or entertain on the deck. We entertain a lot and the kitchen is on the other side of the house from the patio. It's a real pain and a big part of my design brief for the architect was for the kitchen to be next to the patio. I even wanted a pass-through window from the kitchen sink to the patio for ease of clean up but unfortunately I wasn't able to work that out.

I'd say don't put in doors if you cannot do pocket doors. I don't think you have room for doors that open to lay flat along the back wall without them getting in the way of the left door to the stairs. Regarding the layout, if it's set in stone and cannot be modified, so be it. It's too bad you cannot change it, but that's life. Yes, you will have some issues, e.g., the DW in the way of the Prep Zone & significant zone-crossing as well as the refrigerator if it's against the wall (b/c a 90-degree stop will be a problem when you try to remove bins, etc., for cleaning. Refrigerators should never be up against a wall - even built-ins can have issues with opening doors fully, although it isn't usually as bad as with counter-depth and standard-depth.) But you will get used to them. As I've told others, humans are very adaptable, we can adapt to both the good and the bad. We find ways to make do. One thing I suggest is that you invest in a mobile cart/island so you can use it to transport ingredients, etc., to/from the refrigerator and the Prep Zone. The biggest gain I see, though, is opening up a doorway into the DR. I think that in and of itself will make all of this worthwhile!

Not what I am saying.... suggestions and doing all the work are different. I have an idea i'm not coming in empty handed. Need help with design... does it make sense? Would it look awkward... I thought that's what this forum was about. From my observations on topics that's what I understood. There are many topics with similar questions like mine. That's why I put "can't agree" my husband and I don't have the same ideas. Maybe I should've posted as a poll? Haven't used this app enough to understand it I guess. ♀️

Your sitting room does look like a waiting room as Groveraxle said. I like the idea of a built in banquette around the perimeter of your sitting room. It could be used for lounging or dining. Also, I think what's throwing me off (and maybe you too) with your open concept is the big couch closing off the kitchen from the tv room. Because your big couch acts like a barrier, you end up with a noticeable dance floor between kitchen and tv room. If this were my house, I'd move the big couch to the wall where you have a chair and move your 2 chairs where your couch is. That way you can move your chairs further towards the kitchen to use up some of that dance floor space. It's kinda hard to tell but I think the rug in the tv room is too small, your furniture looks all crammed around it. From your photos it looks like you have a nice spacious kitchen and breakfast nook then big furniture crammed around a small rug in your tv room.