I like the original kitchen layout, but I can see moving the powder room closer to the garage. Are you planning to have a basement? The powder room might work better, if you flip the sink and toilet and have the door open into the powder room, but against the garage wall. Less of a direct view into that area from the kitchen. Moving the bench back against the laundry room area would allow you to do this and buffer the laundry area a little from people using the powder room. Just an idea :) From Kitchen plans This post was edited by lavender_lass on Fri, Jan 24, 14 at 16:33

For safety and comfort exterior steps should have a slower rate of rise than interior stairways especially where there might not be a handrail within reach. Therefore as the riser gets shorter the tread should get increasingly larger. A good formula for exterior steps is 2R+T=26. Using this formula a 7.5" riser would have an 11" tread; a 7" riser would have a 12" tread; and a 6.4" riser would have a 13.2" tread. Since a 7" riser will not work, the next best choice is the 6.4 riser, 13.2" tread design. A tread that large does not need a nosing overhang unless you want one. This post was edited by Renovator8 on Tue, Jan 6, 15 at 6:38

I know remodeling a kitchen is exciting, but there are, unfortunately, many issues here. You've taken a good first step by posting your layout here for critique. Please keep in mind that we're trying to help, so do not take anything we tell you personally. At the end, I'll post links to the Kitchen Design FAQ threads that will help you understand what we are saying. . The aisles are a major issue here - unless you are the only person living in this home and you don't have visitors who help in the kitchen. Until I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume there are at least two of you in your home. . Aisles... You show an island with seating (at least I think that's what you have) with aisles that are too narrow even as single-person work aisles all around. Note: Aisles are measured counter edge-to-counter edge or to/from appliance door/handles, etc. - i.e., they're measured b/w the items that stick out into the aisle the farthest. It appears your aisles are measured cabinet-to-cabinet - so your aisles are 3" narrower than the labels indicate. Counter overhangs are around 1.5", so counting on both sides of the aisle, you have 3" less. Where there's an appliance on an aisle, you need to measure the aisle width from the handle, which, again, is not done on your layout. E.g., the 39" aisle b/w the island and sink wall is only 36" when it's counters, but it's even less in b/w the refrigerator and island unless the refrigerator is a true built-in and not a counter-depth. (Counter-depth refrigerators are actually 31" deep when you include the doors & handles.) The minimum recommended aisles: No seating on the aisle and no traffic: 42" for a one-person, and always a one-person, kitchen. 48" for two or more people working in the aisle No seating on the aisle with traffic 48" for a one-person, and always a one-person, kitchen 54" for two or more people working in the aisle Seating on the aisle and No cabinets, appliances, counters, or traffic (i.e., a dead-end with nothing behind the seats but a wall): 44" Cabinets, appliances, or counters; and no traffic: 54" No cabinets, appliances, counters; and traffic: 54" Cabinets, appliances, counters, and traffic: 60" . Zone locations... Your Prep Zone (if on the island) and Cleanup Zone are on top of each other with a possibly open DW door completely blocking the aisle and a safety hazard. That DW is also a barrier to the Cooking Zone - from both the Prep Zone to the range and from the refrigerator and the range. There's quite a bit of zone-crossing going on here. . Eat-in Kitchen... There isn't enough room in that space on the right for a traditional table and chairs. What might fit, if you remove whatever is on the far right, is a banquette. You will need at least 54" b/w the table and the island - assuming no seats on that end of the island. (If there were seats at both, no less than 60", with 72" much better.) . Now, the elephant in the room - the island... First, the sole reason the aisles are so tight is the island - a peninsula would work better in this kitchen. I know, islands are the current "fad" in kitchens - but when they don't fit in a space, they can create a nightmare - barrier islands, not enough aisle space, too shallow an overhang for comfort, etc. So, which do you have? All of the above. Your island is a barrier to the ovens and, I suspect, the MW. All the aisles around the island are too narrow. To make the island work in your case, you could remove the back wall of cabinets/counters/appliances. Removing them will give more space for sufficient aisles. Is the MW on that back wall? I.e., is the island a barrier to the MW - while not as bad as a barrier for the refrigerator or ovens, it's still an issue. Realistically, unless you use the MW a lot, it probably isn't a major issue, but it's something to think about. Your seating overhang is labeled as 9"...but, if you have a decorative door or finished end panel on the backs of the cabinets, then your overhang is really only 8". Here are the minimum recommendations. Note, they're recommendations for a reason and are crucial items in having seating that really works - regardless of what some may try to convince you otherwise. Counter-height seating (36" off the finished floor): Minimum of 15" of clear knee/leg space Bar-height seating (42" off the finished floor): Minimum of 12" (but more is needed on the surface if you plan to eat snacks or meals at the island - it needs to be deep enough to minimize knocking plates & glasses off the surface and onto the lower surface behind it - a pony wall usually helps here - or additional cabinets) Table-height seating (30" off the finished floor): Minimum of 18" to 19" Skimping on the overhang won't help. Human beings can cram their bodies into small places only to a certain point and only in certain circumstances - and sitting at a counter is not one of those circumstances. What will happen is that people will take the same amount of space in the aisle, but they will be very uncomfortable b/c they will have to lean far forward to reach the counter or they will have to sit sideways and twist - neither of which is comfortable for more than a few short minutes. Note that if the latter is chosen, you will also need more than 24" linear space per seat - you will need more like 30" to 36". Some people will "straddle" the cabinet backs - but again, that's not comfortable for any length of time and also requires additional linear space per seat. So, you will have slouching bodies sticking out into the aisle the same distance as if you had provided sufficient overhang. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kitchen Design FAQ Threads... Kitchen work zones, what are they? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage Ice. Water. Stone. Fire (Looking for layout help? Memorize this first) http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first In case you want us to help you redesign the space, here is the Layout Help FAQ: Layout Help: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include

I can certainly relate to containing dogs! Our last house had a black walnut tree where squirrels hung out to taunt our three dogs and to eat. They tossed walnut rind all over the place, and that green outer part is toxic to plants, so growing grass was spotty even before the dogs tore it up chasing the squirrels. We were remodeling the kitchen and the 10 x 10 room next to it that had once been a porch and that was 30" lower than the kitchen. I hemmed and hawed about how to use that odd space and ended up with a dog washing station next to the back door that solved our muddy paw problem. It had a pull-out kitchen faucet and eye bolts that were set into the framing that held the dogs in place until I could get to them. It saved us so much mess! I wonder if you moved one of the doors, if you could fit something into the laundry room like this. Unless your doggos are small enough to lift into the laundry sink, or you don't have mud! Those two doors kill me because they make the whole side of the room usable only as a walkway. My current laundry room is also a walkway, so it may just be my own sensitivity. I like the use of the long hall as a gallery. It has one advantage, and that is that it can be a calm space where clutter does not migrate because it is separated. That is one problem with "great room" design for me - no place for the eyes to rest as you look past the couch and lamps and into the kitchen. Any "stuff" out automatically looks cluttered. I have one, too. We ended up adding a wall/kneewall combo to partially cut off the completely open space between our kitchen and family room. So I can appreciate your hall as gallery with no door to the woodshop. With your open floor plan, I think that you will really appreciate the room at the end of the hall It can be a place where you "do" stuff, where projects can be left out between sessions working on them. Conversely, it could be a very quiet and calm retreat with no bustle, media or visual clutter. It looks like you have a great plan for a fine smaller home!