Welcome, Michelle1973! Please see the following Kitchens FAQ as it is the most helpful when asking for layout help: FAQ: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? Other helpful FAQs: FAQ: Kitchen work zones, what are they? FAQ: Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others FAQ: How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? You mention that looks are more important to you than function - OK - so is function important at all? Note that most of us here are function first/form second. Why? For two reasons, (1) A nice looking but dysfunctional kitchen can become a nightmare to deal with over time - assuming you cook, that is. [No, not everyone actually cooks. For some people, a kitchen is solely for "show" and will rarely, if ever, be used for more than heating up take-out or similar. That's OK - in that case it probably doesn't matter (until resale...)] (2) It is relatively easy to make a functional kitchen look nice - but it's almost impossible to make nice-looking but dysfunctional kitchen function well (short of doing another remodel). Do you have a layout of the entire first floor? A comment on your current design - it's actually not too bad, functionally! Dish storage may be an issue, but if you're OK with dishes in drawers, then I think you will probably be OK. A few other items: Be aware that a "full size refrigerator" will take up more room in the aisle than you show, even if you recess it into the wall behind it. If you can recess the refrigerator into the wall and room behind it, then figure a depth in the kitchen about 5" to 6" deeper than the deepest item next to the refrigerator....if the deepest item is the counter - then another 5 to 6 inches beyond the counter - so: 25.5" + 5.5" = 31" deep. Doors & handles of non-true built-in refrigerators must extend past surrounding items - walls, counters, cabinets, other appliances, etc. If the refrigerator (or freezer) is next to a wall that's deeper than the carcass/body of the refrigerator, then you will need a 9" to 12" cabinet or filler b/w the wall and the refrigerator or freezer to be able to fully open the refrigerator/freezer doors. If they are next to walls that can be changed, then try to make the walls no deeper than the carcass/body of the refrigerator & freezer. For the island, be sure there is sufficient space b/w the edge of the island and the table on the left - at least 60" - more if there will be a lot of traffic passing b/w them. In the "Dining" room, also be sure you have at least 44" b/w the table and what appears to be counters to the left of the table - more if you intend those counters to be work space or a place for staging food while someone is sitting at the table. If so, then plan for 51 to 54" so there's room for someone to be at the counter while someone is sitting at the table. 44" is needed for...

Thanks for the ideas so far. The window wall in the kitchen faces south and looks directly at a neighbor's bedroom but we do want more natural light. We are definitely including solatubes in the plan and there is the slider plus the windows in the family room to help. blfenton - the raised bar is angled since that opening into the kitchen is line-of-sight from the front door. We experimented with the iso view with it straight and it looked disconnected from the rest of the kitchen, almost "floating" between the kitchen and family room. We're still working to figure out what will be best there. I will try to get a pic of the overall floorplan. MG - we aren't fans of speedcooking ovens (have one in the RV and don't like the result) so we do want a set of double ovens and a separate microwave. That's what I've had for the past 20 years (in 2 different homes) We were also thinking more windows. I hadn't considered a sink in the corner; that might make for a convenient place for the espresso machine. I tend not to like to have my back to the family room which is one of the reasons the rangetop was placed on the side and the small prep sink somewhere in the island. I like the idea of the fridge closer to the family room. (fun face you drew on the island ;-) - those eye circles are supposed to be pendant lights) lharpie - the rectangular island is 4' by 4' 9" plus counter overhang so it's pretty good-sized. The prep sink we'd planned would be maybe 16" or 18". We had a similar arrangement 2 houses ago so that's where this comes from. bpathome - yes, most glassware will be in the uppers above the wine fridge. Special occasion glassware will be in the flex/entertaining area. Dishes would be in drawers in the island as you suspected :-) We'd mostly eat at the counter and family room. The flex space will have a table in it and will have a slider that goes to the (large-ish) covered front porch. Folks in the community tend to gather on each others' front porches to socialize and the flex space is there to give us some inside options. Thanks, Michelle

You need about 10 feet for a dining table. That's table + people pushing chairs back and getting close to hitting what's behind them when they do. You also need 5' between back to back seating (minimum). You have about 28'9" in width. Your kitchen + island would take up about 9'9" of that. Add in 5' between counter & table, + 3.5' table + 3' for chair space and you're left with only 7.5' in your living room. Enough room for maybe 2 chairs by the fireplace. Probably not what you're going for. You actually only have ~10' between your island and sliders now (17'-7" - 4' - 3.5'), so you really are tight in your dining space. You won't be able to have 5' between your island and dining table, especially since people usually like to leave more space by their sliders so people can get through. We have 4' from our dining table to our island and it's too close. Definitely get backless stools, and don't make your island any wider than 3.5'. Leave your kitchen and dining where it is. Having your hood line up with your island completely doesn't matter...your kitchen isn't symmetrical (island is offset by the aisle width already) so forcing things to line up while sacrificing light in your kitchen is not good. Option A is the best version. ETA: things are ALWAYS smaller in person than they are on paper.

Certainly the front could have overhang added and windows changed I would think - it isn't set in stone. And the windows are going to heat the house up some anyway. Doesn't matter what is in those rooms, the same amount of a/c is going to be used to cool the house. Truly, with modern windows and a/c, it isn't like rooms with south facing windows are going to bake. West facing windows are more challenging. But yes, large south facing windows without overhang are going to cause an a/c load. But a properly designed a/c system can handle it pretty easily. West becomes more of problem because it is really bad for several hours as opposed to a moderate load throughout the day. Even East can be an issue because it heats up the house early before the rest of the house needs a/c. OP, I commend you on your stamina and open mindedness. I hinted at the gender issue with this before and most architects are men. At some point, with large windows and high ceilings, someone who isn't well versed and in tune with sun will feel like a room is bright even with north facing windows. And it won't be terrible of course. As I look at the elevation, the architects are trying to bring light to the public areas. But you would do better with lower ceilings, less windows, if the rooms were just on the south. Looking back on the elevations, it looks like the dining room will be 2 stories? That would bring light into the kitchen if it was more open. But it also is going to be a bit of a challenge temperature wise (and I am contradicting myself a bit ... but 2 stories). Easy enough to a/c but I am thinking about warm during shoulder seasons - while the public areas are somewhat cool. When we have warm Feb days like this entire month, that south glass will get a lot of heat. So a/c will run and your north facing rooms may be a bit cold. Not as much of an issue in the summer when the sun is higher. Elevator? At some point with some of the money in this design, you should consider it. It would be expected with a 3 story house of this caliper in my area. 11 ft ceilings mean a lot of steps to your bedroom with an injury.