(With no actual layout posted, it's hard to tell.) It looks like you will have close adjacent counters across from the fridge for a fridge landing zone? In that case, pick whichever scenario gives you the most room between the sink and the range. That is where you'll spend 90% of your time in a kitchen and you need to have the most space there. If the sink is not around the corner on the other leg of the L from the range, then do your best to center the range between the fridge and wall as that is what your eyes will focus on. If the sink is on the L, and you have at least 48" of linear counter space between it and the range after shifting it to the left, then that would be fine. Just don't go under 36" of linear space between adjacent sink and range.

I would try another full height, shallow depth pantry cabinet, rotated 90 degrees to it backed into the other pantry cabinet. Same thing with shallow bookshelves and with angled corner shelves. Also maybe try two full height, single door pantry cabinets or slightly smaller full height pantry cabinets with wine bottle cubbies between them on one side of the ref. It's really hard to tell aisle and such from a perspective drawing - they can be really misleading. So take this will a little salt. It looks like you have about a three foot aisle between the fronts of the pantries and the peninsula. Even if you get a counter depth ref, it will still come out into the aisle about six inches including the doors and the handles. Plus another inch or two will go to adding decorative panels on the end of the peninsula cabinets and the countertop overhang. So you're aisle may turn out to be more like 28" there. Can the ref be maneuvered into or out of its place without removing the peninsula? Can you open the freezer completely? Are you ok with having to close the freezer door, walk by it and re-open to reach something on the other side?

1) I don't like the relation of the cooktop to the sink in option one. The island is starting to impede a straight walk between the two. 2) Your microwave should be closer to the fridge. Usually whatever you are microwaving is coming out of the fridge, so it makes sense to group the two. 3) Is there a specific reason why you want the ovens near the cooktop? Do you make a lot of dishes that start on the cooktop and finish in the oven? Unless you do, there isn't a functional reason to group the two, and it can actually be nice to have the ovens a little more out of the way. Takes a bit of pressure off the main work area -- can mean someone who is just baking can set up in a different area away from the cooktop action, etc. 4) You will get the best feedback if you post the floor plan for the entire floor this is on, not just the kitchen close-up. It is easier for us to consider traffic patterns in and out of the room if we can see all the surrounding rooms too. 5) There is a desk in the pantry? Is there a window in there too (which is not typically a good idea when it comes to keeping food fresh)? Because I cannot imagine wanting to sit and work in a dark closet when I could be out in the light and beauty and space of the dining room and using that big dining table instead. 6) This is quite a large kitchen, and you should be wary of creating a kitchen where the key components are too far away from each other to be convenient. You'll hear often people joking about needing roller skates to get around, and you are veering into that territory here. One thing that really would help cut down on that and also make it easier for multiple cooks to work at once would be a prep sink. If it is spread out from the clean-up sink, you won't ever be far from a water source while working, no matter where you are in thr kitchen, and that will be more convenient. 7) To the same point, having a lot of counter between the sink and cooktop is ideal, but you are almost verging on too much here. It's putting the cooktop and sink slightly too far apart to go back and forth between them easily (like to dump boiling pasta water). Definitely mock that distance up in real life and see if it feels comfortable for you. You might look more at having a deeper counter there (30-36" deep) rather than such a long counter. A deeper counter means you can line up your ingredients and appliances and still have room to work in front of them, yet you can reach everything without moving around as much, and the sink and cooktop could also then be a bit closer together. 8) The island is a barrier between your sink and your fridge in all of these. Imagine taking produce out of the fridge and wanting to prep it, which is almost always the start of any cooking process. The first thing you'd need to do is wash what you just took out of the fridge, so the first stop after you go to the fridge is almost always the sink. Currently, you will have to walk about 16 feet and around the island just to go from step 1 to step 2 in your normal cooking process. It's going to be annoying and feel a little ridiculous, especially if you forget one or two items from the fridge and start running back and forth. Ideally, we usually aim for kitchens where you might take, like, 3 steps or maybe one step and a pivot to go from the fridge to the sink to start prepping. For kitchens where the fridge gets a lot of action from non-cooks (snackers), it can be desirable to place the fridge a little farther away to keep those people out of the kitchen work zones, but we're talking maybe an 8 foot walk from the sink and still a straight line from the sink in such cases.

Can you take some space from the living room? If the stub wall must be 30", you could put a full-height cabinet on the LR side, and extend a peninsula to the point where the door was. If you need a support post for a beam, it could be incorporated into the seating overhang (plan on left). However, if the stub wall can be eliminated, or if only a support post is necessary on the exterior wall, you could extend the peninsula farther into the LR, and make the remainder of the room a dining area. With seating at the peninsula, the nook could be converted to storage and serving. areas (plan on right). Another option (on right), would be to keep the sink under the window and put the fridge on the stair wall. The fridge would be a trek from the range, but adding a sink to the peninsula would give you a better prep space, and the fridge would be more convenient to the FR and new DR. NKBA guidelines New to Kitchens? Read me first.