You've asked for some explanation as to why the island and banquette design doesn't function well. Try to think through cooking in that design. I realize it might seem like an improvement compared to what you have now, but it could still be a lot better. Those 3 bar stools are right in the way when you want to get food in and out of the fridge. That counter would be better utilized as a landing spot for things coming out of the fridge. It would be a good spot to store all of your foils, wraps, and storage containers for wrapping up food before putting it away. Instead, that space is being eaten up by bar stools. And anyone sitting there is blocking you from being able to use that counter. They are right in your way. Your most valuable piece of workspace is between the sink and stove. You've got the DW in between the two. This is not ideal. DW's are hot, steamy things, and they open out into the room, ready to bark the shins of whoever is traveling between the stove and sink. Disaster! Marcolo explains work flow much better than me in this must read thread: Need help? Memorize this first. The banquette incorporated into the counter has the problem of spillage, which was addressed above. You considered running a lip along the back of the counter, but that is not going to be adequate to block all splashing. I had a sink in a peninsula a few houses ago, and it was unbelievable how much got splashed beyond the back edge of the sink. My kids used to work on their papers on the other side, and their poor drawings were always getting wet. It will be even worse for if you are mixing up baked goods, stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce, pouring soup into leftover containers, etc. Do you remember Gallagher the comedian, and the splash guards that the audience used when they sat in the front rows of his shows? Are you willing to provide those for anyone sitting at the banquette? :-) Here is a sketch of what might work better for you. Make the dining area inviting for your family to come use it. You can have your bench with storage for the seasonal items, but put it against the wall. Flank it with a pair of pantry cupboards for extra storage. This will be both cozy and functional. I moved the sink down to one side of the window since you seemed open to that. I like that it gives you more cabinet storage between the DW and the fridge. This is a great spot for all of your dishes and silverware. It's easy for someone coming to the kitchen for a snack to get something without bothering anyone working. And it's convenient for all those sit down meals you'll now be having at the cozy table. ; ) Put in a standard rectangle island with lots of drawers built in to maximize storage. Stick the extra small fridge into the island. Stools go on the outside of the island, so that people can talk with the cook, but be out of the way of the working side of the kitchen. Buy cushy bar stools that swivel, and they can twirl around to be a part of the goings on in the living room. If you want a stool on the stove side, get a small backless one that can tuck completely under the island so that you can use the counter without the stool getting in your way. Personally, I'd store the stool on the outside where I sketched them, and then pull it over to the stove side if I really wanted to sit there. If there isn't enough seating in the living room, maybe you should look into a sectional. Once you get your kitchen layout nailed down, the Home Decorating forum might be able to help you with a workable furniture layout in the living room. That 6" x 20" post is a bugaboo. But if it must be there, try to make it look like it belongs. I suggest placing it in such a way that shelves can be built into it somehow. It could be used for cookbooks, a tea pot collection, or whatever storage would be most useful. With a little creativity, you can connect the post to the outside wall with an arch or cased opening to distinguish the kitchen and dining area from the rest of the living space. Examples of cased opening and shelves: Banquettes with tall cabinets on either side:

Denise Marchand - thank you for all of your suggestions! We took your suggestion to move the refrigerator to the wall with the other tall cabinets but are keeping the sink and dishwasher in the locations on my original plan - this allows us to have a corner cabinet. We are using ikea cabinets so we are limited to 15" and 24". We are planning on using a gloss, white subway tile for the open walls (full wall) and back splash on the cabinet wall. We also switch to solid oak counters throughout. Do the window's it is hard to add shelving on either side of the sink. Once the wall is bumped out to even it out with the other side to cover the plumbing stack, the wall to the left of the sink only has 5/6"s of depth before the window. We may add open shelving above the dishwasher on the same wall as the tall cabinets and a high open shelf along the wall with the stove as well. We're going to wait till cabinets and counters are up before we make any decisions about adding open shelving. Since we eliminated the wall cabinets we also switched around the light plan. (below). With a 2nd row, we dropped down to 4" lights from the 6". We are somewhat constrained by the water pipes/stack and AC vents that run through ceiling. The tall cabinets will also have counter task lights. The box outline matches which switch they are attached to. We'll will make sure both sets are dimmable. Debating if it make more sense to only have 2 lights in the hall...If we add another light above the dishwasher, it could only be 10" from the wall. Since we eliminated the wall cabinets we also switched around the light plan. See attached. Since we added another row, we are dropping down to 4" lights from the 6". We are somewhat constrained by the water pipes and AC vents that run through ceiling. The tall cabinets will also have counter task lights. The box outline matches which switch they are attached to. We'll will make sure both sets are dimmable.

Have you considered moving the Kitchen to where you have the banquette seating and putting in a table in the bay area. Then, you could create a Snack/Coffee Center and include some shallow pantry storage on the far right and bottom right. Honestly? I don't think this is a good use of space nor do I think it's very functional. There's too little counterspace where you need it most (b/w the sink and range) and too much where it's not particularly useful b/c it's too far from key components in the Kitchen. If you'd like other ideas, please post a fully-measured layout of the space under consideration and a sketch of the entire floor. The layout you posted is missing too many key measurements. By "fully-measured", we mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample below. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see post in sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you. The sketch of the entire floor lets us see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. It doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors. In addition, it will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Label the front entry and family entry. The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries. Regardless of how you draw it up (by hand, computer, etc.), please be sure all measurements are labeled. (Note: Computer generated layouts often lack key measurements and, sometimes, measure to/from things like the middle of a wall or the middle of a window. Neither are useful. Measure each item and the distances between each item.) Other questions... Tell us about you and your family and how you plan to use your Kitchen. All-adults? Empty Nesters? Children (now or in the future)? What appliances (& their sizes) do you plan to have? Where are you flexible? Can walls/windows/doors/doorways change (move, change size, add, delete)? Do you have a basement under the Kitchen or are you on a slab? This might interest you... Ice.Water.Stone.Fire, a humorous discussion of Kitchen design: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first Taken from the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread regarding asking for layout help.

Thanks @AnnKH - good questions... What I disliked about the kitchen before was it was a galley type kitchen but with an island that literally felt like it blocked the fridge and sink for me. I used to hit my hip on the island countertop all the time to reach the sink and it was super annoying. So I'd like an open layout this time and have one large island with the sink in it so I have a simple triangle or oven, sink and fridge with nothing in between. I like the idea of putting dishes away easily and having the fridge and sink near each other too. The kitchen did feel dark but we already took down the wall to the family so there's a 13' opening and the family room is flooded with light. We also opened up the hallway to the living room to get light from there too. I'm not sure adding another window would do much b/c that side of the house just doesn't get as much light. I would definitely love a breakfast nook because it was awkward to make our food and then take everything to the dining room. I love separate dining for formal events...but I want casual dining for everyday. That way if someone wants ketchup, they can just pop up and grab it!