The good folks here will be able to help you best, if you post a floorplan…to scale. There are many people on this site who’ll see possibilities that you might not have considered.

Fom my perspective, I would not want to sit across from food cooking. Splatters of all kinds, and the odors…especially with an inefficient downdraft, make it a big no.

Another thing to consider…the likelyhood of children sitting and talking to you while you cook, will be short lived as they age. It’s certainly not a reason to make a poor choice for a range location.

Thirdly, downdrafts are practically useless. Do a search for comments on downdrafts, you’ll find tons.

Again, for the most help, post a floor plan.

Island cooking zones are the most dangerous choice. They need a massive amount of room to do safely, with proper clearances for everything, including 48”-72” aisles all the way around. They are are by far and away the most expensive choice for ventilation. And that island venting is the least effective. In the case of a downdraft, its a huge expense and is darn near completely useless.

You can put seating in an island with a range, but there should be a good 18-24" between the range and the edge of the counter where the seats are. I'd put in a pop up downdraft vent in between which will both act as a barrier and help with ventilation. Wolf and Thermador both make pop-up downdraft vents.

Kitchen Remodel, South Harriet · More Info

I agree with darbuka, if it inteferes with the dishwasher which it sounds like it will, i wouldnt do it. plus i found my island much more useful with nothing on it (sink or range). it was so useful to have a wide open space for entertaining buffets, cookie/baking sessions, science experiments, sewing projects, etc. if you want the pancake experience get an electric griddle (making sure you have outlets in your island) and then you have the best of both worlds, sausage/greasy things at the range, pancakes on island, being able to put it away when you need.

I agree with the above comments, but also want to add a reality check to your vision of "making pancakes while the kiddos sit and talk to us". It sounds so nice, but first, please realize that when you are cooking, you are looking down at your pans, not up at the people sitting nearby. To prove this, the next time you are cooking anything, try looking up from the pan - count 30 seconds if you can - you will see that it's not really something you will do.

Second, echoing @darbuka's point, the kids may be talking to you while you are making pancakes - for those 5 minutes. Or they may be in the next room watching TV and waiting for you to tell them the pancakes are ready. Or looking at their phones, or on their phones. So, you are putting the range in a more difficult and expensive placement for the 5 minutes or so at a meal that your kids may be talking to you while you are trying to cook. What if it's more messy than pancakes? What if it's sizzling bacon or something that splatters hot grease more than pancakes? And you are right that not only will the island need to be big enough so that people can sit far enough away from the cooktop, but the island needs to be wide enough for sufficient landing space on either side.

Thanks for the input, all. Here’s the floor plan before switching the range to the island, in case this helps! It will be less expensive to have a downdraft bc we won’t have to design a range hood. Also the Wolf downdraft is quite powerful. But any and all input is welcome!

Your existing layout is far superior to your proposed layout.

Downdrafts must have ductwork, power, and routing to the exterior. The same with overhead venting. But overhead venting works with the naturally rising cooking effluent. Downdrafts try to work against that. They fail.

Existing is much better. You'd have almost no prep space or work zone space with everything ganged into that small triangle.

Definitely keep the range where it is per current plan, and enjoy that big expanse of work space or serving space with the island.

That's a great layout! That range location is safer and gives you better ventilation opportunity. And you have a clear island workspace for chopping, rolling pastry, or even the occassional bit craft or sewing project.

I suggest moving the dishwasher to the other side of the sink. Dishwasher between the sink and the range will be a constant headache. Dishwasher on the other side lets one person clean while another person cooks.