You don’t have space for island seating. It’s difficult to tell what you have space for without more photos or pictures, but if you are looking to create seating, I think a small table pushes against the wall by the exterior door may fit, and allow for seating on 3 sides. If you are looking for working surface space, you could consider a rolling cart type of island in the middle of the space, though I suspect you have space for a cart or a table, but not both.

Dining table is not yet purchased. But we have 12 chairs. Peninsula as island creates some difficulties with the existing cabinetry. We have a lazy Susan without anything to really replace that with on both walls. Living room - not sure. But switching the lazy Susan to that end also creates complications. Since these are secondhand and we are trying limit additional purchases it does create a puzzle and some challenges. However because it’s a small living room off the dining room in one space it’s almost like a big dining room with seating in the back. Sort of like the open space and symmetry of the doorways on each side of range. Pantry door - i suppose can be in hallway but seems to waste space where we were thinking about keeping our old fridge. Also it’s a bearing wall so more complex there as well. Ideally we’d get a pantry door to match other cabinets next to it that opens to the pantry but likely out of reach budget wise.

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to add their suggestions/thoughts! My husband is taking an entirely hands off approach to this remodel so it's nice to have others weigh in with their expertise and advice since I have no background in home improvement! HU- 187528210- I definitely see your point about moving the fridge to the left to make a tighter work triangle but I do agree with chispa that moving it to that location might interfere with the doorway to the laundry/mudroom. decoenthusiaste- Thank you for the diagram! It helps to see the triangle with measurements included. I did try moving the range and ovens to where the refrigerator is in one iteration of the design but worried that if I kept it there, it would be an issue if the oven door was open when one of the kids was running from the mudroom into the living room (behind the north wall). I also thought it would be nice if the refrigerator could be more easily accessed from the dining and living areas. palimpsest- You're right, a couple extra steps beyond what is recommended hopefully won't make too much of a difference! And as I said to decoenthusiaste above, you totally called it on the limitations of the range and ovens being relocated to the wall where the fridge is! kevin9408- now you've got me feeling insecure about my "kitchen desert!" lol Early on I had considered doing an island but, like I mentioned in my original post, I decided that keeping my kids on the perimeter of the kitchen while I cook might be preferable to having them in the kitchen while I cook. I've also seen so many gorgeous kitchens with islands but always think, "man, what a pain to have to walk all the way around that island every time you need to get something out of the fridge." Maybe there's an island solution to both of those problems that i haven't thought of but so far I haven't been able to make it work in my space :( Perhaps a mini island in the middle? Like a lone palm tree on my desert :) H202- Thanks for keeping it real. You are also right, it is so easy to get caught up in these details during the design process that become complete non-issues once the job is complete! I probably won't even notice the extra few steps to the fridge! But I gotta say, now I don't know if all of the wasted space in the center of the kitchen that kevin9408 pointed out will be something that looks particularly odd and bothers me when it's done. Will try to keep your wise words in mind though and move on:)

I don't mind the appearance of the windows with cabinets in front--as long as the windows aren't on the front of the house. You'll have more storage space with the cabinets under the windows, even with the corner cabinet, and you need drawers across from the DW for dish storage. Also, the base cabinets and island will align much better. It looks as if your prep space to the right of the sink is only about 24", so extra counter space beside the range will be convenient for the times when you need it. NKBA guidelines New to Kitchens? Read me first. Discussions--Extra-deep counters Discussions--all drawer bases Discussions--dishes in drawers