As far as keeping your ovens and DW, a few questions: Are you happy with them? How old are they? Is there anything missing from them that you might want when getting a new kitchen? You don't have to do stainless if you don't like it even though that's what most people are going with. People often worry about resaleability of a home when remodeling. But, unless you have fairly immediate plans on selling the house (within a few years), I would suggest going for what YOU like and want rather than worrying about what someone else might or might not like...you will never get a kitchen that will please everyone and most people will think of the kitchen as their "redo-when-we-can" room rather than looking at a current kitchen as being perfect. In an ideal world, you would not need to walk around your island to get from your cooktop to your ovens. But, that's exactly how our kitchen will wind up being because of layout options. But, you may be able to avoid it, just depending. Definitely post some pictures of what you have currently. And post a drawing of your room - there are a bunch of people on here who will be able to help you out a bit. Good luck!

You know, I agree with you that the island perpendicular to the window wall doesn't feel as right as the island parallel to the window wall. Interesting. I stopped and thought about why that would be. My first thought was that, with the island perpendicular to the window wall, the end of the island closest to the living room now feels as if it's intruding into the walkway between the kitchen and living room. Even though the island ends in line with the side of the fridge closest to the living room, the island still feels as if it's intruding. However, when I look at the island parallel to the window, I also think the end of the island closest to the dining room feels as if it is intruding into the dining room. Even though the island ends in line with the side of the perimeter cabinet closest to the dining room, the island still feels as if it's intruding. So when you're standing in the living room, you like the perpendicular-to-the-window-wall island orientation less (because the island feels as if it's intruding towards you). And when you're standing in the dining room, you'll like the parallel-to-the-window-wall island orientation less (because the island feels as if it's intruding towards you). Given all that, I actually think this shape island (posted earlier upthread) feels the best from both perspectives: That is because the island is completely and clearly inside the invisible borders of the kitchen as delineated by the side of the fridge closest to the living room and the side of the perimeter cabinet closest to the dining room. A square (ish) island doesn't even touch the borders -- it's well inside them by a foot or two, making it impossible for the island to feel as if it's intruding into another room. This home layout is so open that it lacks some of the normal cues (walls/doorways/floor changes) marking where the kitchen ends and another room begins. So in this island's case, a setback from the technical kitchen border helps to clarify things. The island's definitely in the kitchen and only in the kitchen. Here is an edited version that stops the island a foot or two short of the borders in both directions: I'd recommend having seating just on the living room side of the island. Seating on the dining room side puts those chairs back to back with dining room chairs, and I always think that looks/functions a bit oddly.

I'm not a fan of laminate in kitchens either. It is an upset waiting to happen (I estimate a laminate in a kitchen will offer 7 years of life...and then you need a new floor). Your climate indicates that tile is MORE than acceptable as a floor. Usually only hot climates accept tile as a "whole home" flooring option. Be aware that vinyl has issues with heat and direct sunlight. Before you move to vinyl I HIGHLY recommend you check to see how HOT some of the areas by the windows get (get a little indoor thermometer with a humidity rating on it and sit it in the direct sunlight). If it gets hotter than 85F you can't have vinyl. Check to see if your windows have high enough UV ratings. If they don't the vinyl can also discolour even if the heat isn't too high. And check your humidity levels in the air. Vinyl still needs normal relative humidity levels to be maintained (35% - 65%) year round. Whew. Tile sounds pretty good right now.

As above. You will WANT to take out the floors that are there. You have a photo with sheet vinyl...that needs to come out. You post another photo of something that looks like stone. This one *might be able to stay....so long as you give it a HIGH-END clean and then polish it out and reseal...and remove/replace the grout. Or just jack it out if you want something new. I always chuckle when people try to go over top of a soiled floor. Why would you try that? It would be like throwing down a new bed sheet over top of a an old one that is filled with urine. Yuck! Remember: anything that is LEFT IN PLACE will CONTINUE to give off odour. So imagine all that money and work to put in flooring over top....only to have to spend MORE MONEY to rip out the "new", remove the old, purchase MORE flooring (because the "new" is now contaminated/too damaged to be useful) and then pay to have it installed - again. So the best thing to do: is do it properly the first time. That means ripping out the old. Cleaning all surfaces. Refinishing all surfaces that contain ordours (6 sides to a cube = 6 surfaces per room = ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors, trim, etc). There are ways to deodorize somethings....but the best way to do this is to remove and replace as much as possible. Anything that cannot be removed/replaced can be dealt with using specialized products. But floors need to come out. Then you can do what you want whenever you want. It is much easier.