florantha - yes, I would want to protect the range from traffic more than in that last layout. The suggestions of opening up the long wall on the left are interesting, I don't think they are right for our family. We do want to keep a table in the kitchen and upon reflection, I don't really want the kitchen completely open to the family room since a little separation is nice when friends are over and the kids are watching a movie in there. I do think that the thoughts are ideas that could inspire other readers in their own planning. I am leaning toward option C (last) in the original post, but I am a little hesitant about the fridge location. I like it along the back wall because it leaves the sides of the room more open, giving more of a feeling of connection to the family room and to the outside through the window on the right wall. The room is long and my idea was to place the bulky fridge to shorten the room, not narrow it. Placing the fridge on the back wall in the corner also allows room for a bigger (deeper) fridge without interfering with traffic in the room - I'd like to maximize my fridge space without going to the expense of a large built in. But I also know that it's preferable to have the fridge on the perimeter of the kitchen. The proposed location would not drive traffice through the prep and cooking area, but perhaps it's still a bad plan? Feedback would be appreciated. For Layout C, the shallow pantry on the left side of the room is 12" cupboards, the space from there to the island is 41", the island is 41" wide, and the space from the island to the cleanup sink is 48". I've pulled the counters on the back wall so that the counters would be 30". Sorry not to have added these dimensions to the drawings.

I'd happily attempt to cook in this kitchen. Yet somehow I imagine my family finding me at the counter with a knife in my hand, poised mid-chop, staring out the window at some far more interesting bird. Or at the range, vacantly stirring a sauté pan of burning onions as I admire the sunset. Cut fingers and charred food aside, I'd learn to live with it if you made me... Seriously though, I do wonder how it looks at night. That's a lot of black to look at when the view goes away.

I drew the 16' x 14'1" area on a grid, which is a definite improvement, and is easier to see the actual sizes of counters and appliances. If the door to the service kitchen is at least 28" from the left wall, it will not need to be moved. If it's closer than 28", maybe the lower storage cabinets can be a little shallower than the standard 24", if you can go custom. Maybe you can find a line of cabinets that include 18" or 21" depth. Will the window be high enough to make the counter height convenient for a work space/baking counter, 32-34"? I put the counter-depth fridge and range on the top wall, allowing 30" for each, with the sink and DW on the peninsula. The DW is against the wall, so that having it open will not block the galley aisle. If you want seating on the end of the peninsula, the 18" cabinet can be omitted in favor of a wider cabinet beside the trash pull-out (in red). If you are considering a microwave drawer, the trash cabinet can be reduced to 12" (I have one that size, and it works well for our family of 4), to accommodate a 24" MW. I left out cabinets on the range wall, but if you need uppers for dish storage and cooking ingredients (oils, spices, etc.) there is space on each side of the hood. If the opening to the living room is 5', the galley aisle can be 42"--if the LR opening is narrower, the galley aisle can be a few inches wider. I put in the low cabinets under the window, but if you don't need the storage or work space, they can be omitted in favor of a pretty plant stand. :) The remainder of that wall is pantry cabinets, or a less expensive framed pantry. Since that wall is visible from the LR, you might opt for the cabinets. Pantries can be standard 24" depth, or 18" for a wider traffic aisle. Hope this helps. Basic grid, if anyone else wants to try: (one square = 6")

We also eat in our family room chairs, but I guess that is not so good a thing to teach the kiddos, huh? There are probably the lift-up coffee tables available at times at thrift or second-hand stores. I almost got one a few years back. Here is a source for the mechanism if you want to make one yourself. It would give two people sitting on your couch an eating surface, which would be good in your sized home for the odd get-together if not for every day. http://woodworker.com/coffee-table-top-lift-mechanism-l-r-mssu-164-228.asp?gclid=CjwKEAjw6_q5BRCOp-Hj-IfHwncSJABMtDaiwuFq_E-O8Tt2tvGtgIm0ue8hjOppr8QYC2w6gA73wBoCptPw_wcB Or here are a bunch on eBay. The other thing to keep in mind is that this item would also give the kids a place to do homework or anybody a place to pay bills, right in the center of action, not tucked away in a corner of a bedroom or basement. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/281621336698?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true Another thing you could be on the watch for is the console dining set. I saw one from the 1930s that had beautiful wood work. Many look like hall tables or buffets, but the insides are hiding the dining table leafs. Sometimes folding chairs fit into the space that looks like it is a buffet storage area. Sometimes that area is full of 6 or 8 feet of real wood dining table. In that case, you end up scattering dining chairs around the house. One in each bedroom, one next to the front door, one in the kitchen.... wherever you can fit one! No, it is not convenient for daily dining. "Okay kids, go wash your hands for dinner and get your chairs!" Another option is to make your couch area in the living room into very comfortable buffet seating, so that it does double duty as couch and dining room seating. Where is the table? I don't know the layout, so I can't tell you where to hide it! One option is a ottoman that "grows" to table height and then the top turns over and is a hard laminated surface instead of a plush top. It is a bit tricky, as you have to have the ottoman make room for feet and legs, but I bet there is one out there or that one could be designed. The table top almost has to be 12 inches bigger than the ottoman top on at least two sides to make that extra leg room, though. I guess you hide the chairs for the other side of the table in the bedrooms in this case, too. I have tried using a portable island for dining, and if there is not adequate leg room, it is no good. I believe 12 inches is minimum and 15 comfortable. We have 14" overhang for our island seating in the kitchen and our knees do not bang on the back at all. I have used a tea cart pulled up to my family room chair and it is okay for two, inadequate for three, and I cannot see it for four. Only two people will have the fold-up top part to sit at, the others will have no place to put their legs. I have also used a fold-up table that I got from the drugstore. It is about 48" x 18" and it seats 3 for dinner if you fill your plates in the kitchen and carry them to the table.