Hmmm...code sometimes is that you HAVE to have exterior doors, open in. If that's the case, I'd have the door swing in, against the cabinetry. I think to comfortably get all you want in your kitchen, you may need to add on to the space. If that's NOT an option, then I think you have to choose between nice, big work area and comfortably seating six. The island looks too small to seat more than three or four. Not trying to be negative, just realistic. Are you sure you can't swap out some of your rooms and have them function differently? I like the change with the basement stairs...but if you could swap the living/dining room spaces, make the kitchen into a laundry/mudroom...I still think the family room would be the best place to put the kitchen and get the space you want. Think about den/living room (maybe with TV) big dining room with fireplace and maybe some book shelves/library feel (great for homework) and a big keeping room kitchen, with banquette, and seating...in the current family room. I believe you said moving the gas line would be difficult, but compared to the other choices...I think I'd settle for an electric range/cooktop. But, that is completely up to you. Best of luck with the new plan and I hope you find a way to get the home you've been dreaming about! :)

I like the rectangle island much better too. It may be a bit more expensive than keeping the current footprint, but if you're going to be spending anything you may as well get something really functional. You can see about reusing things like cabinet doors, drawer fronts and end panels even if you need some new base cabinet boxes. I also like where GreenD shows the fridge (near the dining area). As mentioned above, you can use a laptop anywhere so I'd also skip the desk (they tend to be clutter magnets) and just make sure you have some outlets in your island. Regarding the floor: if you like the current tile but can't find an exact match to fill in any new spaces, you could consider doing a nicely coordinating pattern just in the space between your island and the permimeter cabinets. (And around the far side of the island if necessary but it doesn't look like you would need any new tile and that side.) I know tiles can get expensive even for a small area, but if you shop around and get creative you create something you like for a great price. One GW member found a beautiful mosaic tile 'rug' on eBay. Some examples: This is a bathroom but shows the idea: [Traditional Bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by San Francisco Architect Gast Architects [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Phoenix Design-build Homework Remodels ~ Tri-Lite Builders

That's odd, to say the least. Remove the mantel and mirror - although they are centered on their patch of wall, having them so obviously off center from the fireplace opening emphasizes the problem. Use the tan line I drew as the visual edge of the wall for centering. Your eyue will WANT to see it a center, so you can fake it. Place a fairly chunky mantel directly over the fireplace, extending the full width of the surround, or extending equally on both sides of the surround, and place several tall skinny things on it to break up the wall surface so you don't see the assymetry. A couple of slender paintings, some statues ... whatever. Fill that funky niche with shelving, painted to match the walls, and put the TV on a shelf with the controls below it.

OneRidgeOff: fabulous idea! We use blankets on our couch so I can take them off when guests come over, even though our dogs are the non-shedding variety! benjesbride: We thought about moving the stove because we don't love where it currently sits (or the fridge for that matter), however if I move it next to the sink, I will have virtually no landing space next to it and certainly no space to prep between the sink. Even if we move the sink to the peninsula, the stove would still be next to the window and behind that is a laundry room and the roof above is where two points of the room meet, making venting for the hood difficult as well (there would have to be some jigs and jogs to get it out through the roof in a good spot). The walk way goes to the laundry room/garage and the other door is to the dining room; so not much flow through there except taking food to the dining room (only on holidays most likely) or doing laundry. However, if my husband is cooking, I can go through the dining room and into the laundry without ever disturbing the path from sink/prep to stove, which is why I favored saving money on moving everything versus sticking to the NKBA guidelines strictly. Also, making the peninsula the whole width of the kitchen (which I still want to do badly), still means I won't have 48" between the counter and my pantry for the main pathway into the kitchen if I keep the seating behind it. However, you have made me think and I will have to play around with those ideas in the Ikea planner; just have to weigh the pros and cons of the "best" layout versus cost. cpartist: thank you; I value your opinion. My thought was that a table can easily be set up in our three seasons room for large holidays and still be plenty connected to the kitchen without having to be "in" the kitchen. chocolatebunny123: we may have to just take the loss, as our needs are very different from most others as we don't have children and don't generally sit in our kitchen to eat. However, I know when we sell in 10-15 years, there will likely be families with kids moving in (our neighborhood is mostly owned by the original owners from the 80s and most have grown children and retiring). We also have a fourth bedroom in the basement I'm thinking about removing (gasp!) when we renovate the basement in another year or so and I know that will affect our home value considerably. I have been enjoying hearing the differing opinions in response to my post though. I feel like I have been seeing a lot of people who are building with just one large area off the kitchen for a large table and a lot of island seating, rather than our current setup from the 80s. Interesting how times change! Maybe when we sell, our kitchen will be "back in style!"