A 150K+ remodel ’s first stop is finding the right independent kitchen designer to work with. Start there. And realize that youre always going to be in the same box, unless you get rid of the fireplace. Also realize that what you have works better than most bigger kitchens these days. Bigger is not automatically better.

How much lower is that window? Baking centers are best at 30" counter height is that possible there. I do not like walk in pantries but if you do a lot of canning then you will need that storage . Most of my realtives that can like that storage to be in a basement rather than taking up space in the kitchen. I love true pullout pantries for kitchen storage and all base cabinets should be drawers you can even put drawers under your sink now. I dislike work station sinks I find all the little stuff you pay big bucks for all too small and that grid in the bottom gets gross and just one more thing to clean I do however love a good quality undermount stainless sink. 45" seems a pretty wasted amount of space I also have a large garden and find 36" more than ample for prepping I do like a 10" deep one though .I do not can but I do freeze so understand the need for large prepping space .I agree you need a good independant KD to get the best from the space.BTW I have a huge ston wall that is the back of a fireplace that stone wall is the thing I love in my kitchen it is that juxtapositon of old and very contemporary I have 2 stainless all drawer cabinets and a 36" all gas range on that wall the range and the cabinets are all moveable so 3 x a year I clean the wall really well takes 1/2 hr the cabinets are on casters .

Thanks for the comments. We are definitely hiring a kitchen designer. After spending some time thinking about the kitchen layout myself it became very clear to me that I need professional input. But I'd love to get as many ideas as possible, which is why I posted here.

Patricia - A 30" high baking center in front of that window is an interesting idea. However, I mostly bake sourdough (no kneading) and things like muffins, breakfast bars, etc. The only reason I've ever heard for having the baking counter be lower is to get leverage when kneading bread or rolling out pie crusts. Are there other reasons to make it lower than a standard counter? Regarding the pantry, I was actually feeling like my kitchen space was too big (or at least too long) and a walk in pantry would help use up some of the space in a useful and relatively inexpensive way. But maybe I'm just used to small kitchens? Regarding the workstation sink, I agree about the grid at the bottom - those things are disgusting. I wouldn't use that part. But I love the idea of a dish rack that can sit in the sink most of the time (as opposed to sitting on the counter) but also be removed when I need the space. I think I would need to remove it frequently if I only had a 36" sink. I haven't seen any workstation sinks in person though, so I may end up agreeing with you about the accessories being too small.

I always wonder why people have so much hand washing that a dish drainer at a ridiculous price is a neccessity. Get a Bosh DW with a quick cycle and stop 90% of the hand washing.

I will just comment on the funtionality of a "work station" sink including the grid.

I find mine to be highly functional. I love the "grid" which sits on top of the sink for the most part. I think everyone has items that need to be drained in some way including produce that is washed. I also use it for certain items that generate crumbs since they fall into the sink and saves me from having to sponge the counter as frequently.

And it enables me to have a larger sink (36") than I could otherwise have since it functions as a utilitarian extension of my counter so I can use it to place bags when unloading from the store etc.

The other accessories are fairly standard as I have a cutting board that is a standard thick wood cutting board that sits across the sink. It is no different than any other cutting board. I have a relatively small kitchen and so having the extra "counter" space is great and also helps keep counters cleaner as the prep is done right over the sink.

I also have a relatively small little hanging thing with small holes which I use for sponges and other damp items.

I don't have one of the massive trough work station sinks because that would be overkill for my lifestyle. I have a *normal* single bowl 36" sink which has a functional rim around it which enables me to use the sink as an extension of my counter for various needs.

I am renovating my own kitchen (10x10) with an additional 10' dining area on the window side.

I decided to go with a galley layout + small peninsula. I don't have an additional dining space like you, so I need to fit a small table in the dining side.

If I had the additional dining space I would do one of these two setups. Corner coffee station or china cabinet, 4' round table and 2 long countertops.

Or

Short peninsula with 2 seats and cabinet storage along the garage door wall.

Again 2 long countertops.

Where I have the Yellow star is where I decided not to do corner cabinets. I don't feel like it gives me any additional useable space as I loose the back 2' corner where I can't stand in front of the counter and I can't store things in the cabinet.

The peninsula I can have a back access to the cabinet. which is perfect for large baking/roasting pans.

As for the sink, I like a 33" 60/40 split. It works for me. I run a couple of inches of soapy water in the 60 side and can wipe counters, clean things as I go. I put a drying mat to the left of the sink for those items I am washing as I work. The 40 side is open for prep work, rinsing dishes before going into the dishwasher or on the drying mat. By the time I am done with making dinner everything that can't go in the dishwasher is sitting on the drying mat. By the time I am done eating that stuff is dry and can be put away. Everything else goes into the dishwasher. Drying mat gets hung to dry, dishwasher gets turned on and I am done until morning when I empty my dishwasher.

I used to wait for the dishwasher to get full before running, but the more I thought about it the more I decided it isn't a bad thing to run it daily or every other day. It takes less time to empty, and it takes less water than filling my sink.

The large single basin farm sinks can take 3 times the amount of water to fill 3" than a newer dishwasher will take to run a cycle.

A small dishrack does fit in the bottom of the 40 side of a 60/40. Used this a lot when I didn't have a dishwasher. Wash, Stack, rinse with the sprayer when it was all washed.

If you could accept an off-center sink (or work station sink with half covered by cutting board to provide prep space), you could move the range to the short wall to get it out of the traffic path. Then move the coffee center to the fridge wall, with a small sink for convenience. If the DW is near the corner, you'll need to store dishes in drawers beyond the open DW door, since corner cabinets won't be accessible with DW door open. Pantry cabinet width can be adjusted.

Thanks so much for all these super helpful comments and drawings!

Helen - your description of the things you use your workstation sink for was super helpful. I also envision using it as an extension of my counter, but one that could also be used as a sink when I need lots of sink space (which I frequently do). It just seems like such a great multi-use space.

Jennifer - Thanks so much for these drawings! I've considered variations of these two plans but had never thought about nixing the counters along the entry wall. I'm not sure I want to get rid of them (I'd be losing 3.75 feet along that wall to gain the two feet along the long wall), but it's definitely something to consider.

mama goose - Thanks so much for taking the time to draw that out! I'm thinking I want to absorb that breakfast nook area to the left into the kitchen somehow, since we don't really need another table. Plus having two tables right next to each other always seemed odd to me.

@1962house - your kitchen is about a foot wider than mine, so you do have a bit more space.

They also make better solutions for corners than the old squared off corner cabinets that made the whole corner useless.

Please keep us posted - I would like to follow your progress as my reno is still a year or more out, but very similar to your space.

Could you make the eating area in the kitchen into a ”keeping room”, with some comfy chairs? Or, make the area labeled dining room into a sitting room/den? it looks like there is a fireplace in the dining room so that could be such a cozy space

You might consider whether a second sink - or a very wide sink with two faucets - would make it easier for multiple cooks to work in the kitchen simultaneously. Prior to my most recent remodel, I thought second sinks were superfluous, but now that I have one I have lost count of how many times DH and I both needed access to water and/or a drain at the same time.