Thank you but I was going to see if anyone her could give advice also.

119" = 9'11" 143-1/2" = 11'11-1/2" Minimum kitchen width of an island (assuming a minimum 27" deep island, although 30" is better): 24" cabinet + 1-1/2" overhang for wall run of cabinets 42" aisle 1-1/2" overhang + 24" cabinet + 1-1/2" overhang for island 42" aisle 1-1/2" overhang + 24" cabinet for other wall run of cabinets 5" more if CD refrigerator is on one of the walls (includes 24" carcass + 2-1/2" or so doors + 1-1/2" handles) --------- 167" (162" w/o counting the extra refrigerator depth) Even if you reduce your aisles to 36", you only gain 12"... 167 - 12 = 155" (or 150" w/o refrigerator). What do these numbers say? I don't think your kitchen is big enough to accommodate an island and have cabinets and/or appliances on all three walls. Additionally, a 21" deep island (which means 18" deep cabinets), IMHO, isn't very useful...it's a great obstacle, but not a very useful work surface. And, definitely no seating except possibly one seat on the very end (table end). Your current layout is actually quite useful...maybe if you shortened up the peninsula leg or switch the peninsula legs (I prefer the first idea), it would help. We actually went to a "U" with 2 short legs in our kitchen and absolutely love it! Our kitchen was 11'1"x23' and we tried very hard to find a way to put in an island. When I finally realized that not all kitchens can support an island and opened myself up to other possibilities, this one jumped out at us. We've been working in it since June 2008 & couldn't be happier. Everything is open and accessible, no walking around an island to get to anything...everything is a direct shot! What's different? In our kitchen one "leg" is only 62" long and the other is only 54" long...no problems walking around them. They're still deep enough to protect the cooking & prepping zones & baking center.

How about an Option 4? Switch range and fridge. And switch prep sink and clean-up sink. Put DW next to clean-up sink in the peninsula. This allows people to access the fridge without coming into the work zones. This also allows you to follow the Ice-Water-Stone-Fire principle by moving food from the fridge to prep sink to prep counter (in front of that nice window) and then to the range in a smooth, fluid flow. Clean-up in the peninsula keeps the prep/cook zones and clean-up zones separate. My biggest concern with all of your plans is the aisle between peninsula and the wall counters looks very narrow. It should be at least 4-feet to allow someone to clean-up while someone else is cooking. 4..5 to 5 feet would be even better. Narrower than 4-feet and you really have a kitchen only good for one person to work in it at a time due to congestion issues. You may have to make a choice between spacious work zones or peninsula seating. I hope our aisles are wider than they look. If you want to share more dimensions, I'm sure you'll get more specific help.

Thanks again everyone, CP, I appreciate the fight for a good idea:). The door is very much a possibility and is under consideration with dh. I will sketch up the 18” cabinet suggestion and see how it looks. However I do have the breakfast table nearby so I don’t really need a lot of island seats. LL, if I add the dr door I will most likely move the bev chiller/MW up as you suggest. I’m not sure I want to close off the dining room opening though. Ever since I read a thread on the importance of “flow” I am hesitant to have any more dead ends. I like the fireplace in theory but having it right in front of the dining room table could be a problem with 1) cooking anyone sitting there and 2) the fact that the view of it would be blocked by the table. I think a fireplace may be better in the LR. MG, I vote for option number 2 but as long as the kids are well behaved and DH helps out, I can live with the first option. Thank you for the nice thought experiment:) As for the DR door, I think I would prefer it on the far right. The center door would open right into the table and would take up a lot of space that I don’t have to make it work. I will toy around with moving the DR opening down a bit to block the mudroom. Maybe I should put a door on the mudroom.