Oh boy, I know what you mean. We had to decide this really early, because the power comes through the slab, so the floor receptacle outlet was "final" very early in the game. We did what others have recommended and now that we have furniture in the room, it seems like we got it right. But then when we get a rug, the cord will have to go across it a short distance and then down. I think it will be under the couch or end table at that point, and I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it's one of those stressful things, so I sympathize.

I was working on the plan idea below before I read that you were okay giving up nook seating. Thought I'd post it anyway. Plan A does not move any walls but it does add a wall to the pantry, creating a pantry and a mudroom closet and eliminating the walk-thru. I guessed at the pantry measurements, assuming it's 48" interior with standard thickness walls (4.5"). You should have about the same amount of pantry storage as your current walk-thru pantry provides. I wasn't quite sure how the width was measured but I assumed it was from exterior wall to end of current fridge wall. My measurements reflect that. I kept the aisles generous since the outside of the island is a major traffic path through your home. I wouldn't want to go deeper than 60" for an island anyway; deeper than that and it becomes difficult to clean the center of it. I moved the fridge towards the nook and added a prep sink to the island, creating a cooking zone. From what you've written, I'm assuming that you'll prefer to prep on the island, facing your family and friends. Most of our time making a meal is spent in prep, not at the range or cook top (studies est we spend 70% of our time prepping). I moved the clean-up sink and DW to the current fridge wall. I added a MW drawer to this area. I'd rather have it closer to the fridge but I opted not to give up drawer space in the island since you'll need that for pots, pans and prep items. I also assumed that your fridge is standard depth, not counter depth so I kept the aisle between island and range counter run generous enough so that you should have about 45" between counter and fridge door, 43" between counter and fridge handles. I created a banquette seating area in the nook with a bench filling the wall, making it easy for people to slide on and off the bench. You can seat 4 easily; in a pinch, you could seat 6. I added cabs on the half wall between nook and LR. You can use this area as a breakfast/beverage bar, Command Central, buffet counter... lots of possibilities. The island is large enough to seat 5. Add in nook seating, you can seat 9 in your kitchen. As your family and friends advance in years, they will prefer table seating over counter seating. The above plan does not affect walls but it does affect plumbing. It looks like you have a finished basement so changing plumbing will require tearing into the basement ceiling to move pipes and repairing the ceiling. This is not an expense you can avoid since you wish to change the shape of the island, which will mean moving the existing sink's plumbing. That said, a fellow GWer did share their method of moving plumbing without tearing into their concrete slab floors. I'll see if I can find that for you (they posted pics) in case it's a solution for you. Here's a slight modification to the above plan that requires changing the pantry walls. I eliminated the corner pantry in favor of a rectangular pantry with a pocket door. I shifted the back wall into the mudroom closet, making it smaller but keeping pantry storage roughly the same as it is in Plan A. Here's a pic showing you how this type of pantry would look: Changing the pantry shape means you get more counter on each side of the range. It will also make that corner seem larger. We got rid of a corner sink when we remodeled and I can't believe how much larger my kitchen feels without that angled cab cutting across the corner. I'm working on another idea but I won't have time to post it until later.

The best houses are 1-1.5 rooms deep, absolutely no more than 2 ("rooms" include garages and covered porches). Light and breezes have a harder time reaching interior spaces when the house is fatter than 2 rooms. Because of this, the best course of action, I think, is to toss this plan altogether, sorry. :-( The Philippines is a beautiful, friendly country, with a rich culture... Would you consider hiring a Filipino architect to design you a great place that works with the spirit of the locale? You could really get something awesomely special! Side notes: -- Bedrooms on corners are awesome, but take care to place windows where you have enough space for drapes... extending the curtain rod 8"-12" on either side of the window is best, to make a window look larger, and to allow the fabric to be pulled completely away from the glass. -- Most Americans will think it's strange to have an outdoor laundry area, but if this is normal/expected in the Philippines (it was where I spent most of my childhood, outside the US), then having a powder room instead is a good idea, I think. :-)

You might expect the electric power to go out at least once each winter. You might want to avoid a two story home in which all your heat rises to the upstairs or at least be able to close a door and block the heat from rising if your primary heat source depends upon electricity to operate in case the electricity goes out.. Have a space you know you can close off from the other rooms in the house and stay warm by a means not requiring electricity in case the power goes out. If you'll have well water, have a large enough pantry to store jugs of water for when the power goes out. The more modern gadgets and tech you build into and make a part of your home, the more there is to go wrong and the more the cost yo can expect to maintain it. While some builders might well be able to make some changes and the homeowners end up happy with the results, builder changes can be both costly and can still go horribly wrong. Seriously consider stopping and rethinking your current path and see if you can find a plan drawn by or have drawn an architect -- one to which you don't need to make changes. There are books of plans available in most magazine sections of most large chain stores -- not just building supply stores but even big box dry goods stores and grocery stores.