I'm assuming because of the handles that the pantry is to the left of the sink and the fridge is to the right. That needs to be swapped at minimum because of workflow issues. The fridge needs to be to the left of the sink. I'm not so sure I'd panel it either. The kitchen is a bit small square footage-wise to have that much going on overhead and paneling the fridge only adds to the vertical oppressiveness of using the way tall cabinetry. The kitchen needs to be opened up a bit visually from the "tall enclosing arms" look that it has. I'd look at doing a separate walk in pantry elsewhere and totally eliminating the pantry personally. That would give you more room to do a real sized range to go with the upsized cabinetry that you have. Having a large range as a focal point would balance the weight of the uppers with heaver visual weight lower down. If you don't have room to put the pantry elsewhere, look at doing shallow pantries in the breakfast area or other adjacent room like the laundry area. I'd also put a prep sink on the island on the end towards the range. It's a good thing you are eliminating the fussy bumpouts! More streamlined would be better. I would think about choosing a color for your island instead of more wood. Give it an additional presence and weight. Barn red? Green-gray? Steel-blue? Ocean teal?

Thank you for the replies. Really validating to hear some of the same concerns I've been chewing on. I appreciate y'all taking the time to look at my plans :) Marcolo - re: prep space, I imagined myself prepping mostly around the sink. There is 40" of space on either side of the sink, and 18" of drainboard on both sides of the sink. I'll also have those pull out bread boards for extra space if needed (have them now, use them often). On the stove wall there is 34" of space on either side of the stove. I don't intend to do a lot of prepping at the table, just that it could be used to as a landing space. Sorry if I overstated the extent to which I imagined prepping there. Currently I have two 24" spaces that are not consumed by the MW, coffee maker, bread box etc, so the proposed counter space felt huge to me :) Do you think it is insufficient? The pantry in that corner does interrupt the space a bit. However, it seems so appealing to use that corner space in that way. The house juts out a bit there and allows for a comfortable walk-in space that allows us to maximize storage space. Unless it's really problematic, I hope to keep it :) We will panel the DW, for sure. Going with an entry level Miele (not drawers as pictured...apologies that my drawings aren't 100% accurate). I'm clueless about cabinet support issues (and now a little worried!), but I see that Arlosmom and others have successfully installed a dw adjacent to a huge sink, so I'm optimistic we can figure out a way. "Two-depth uppers" - thank you for finding the language to describe that!! I've really struggled with what that's supposed to be called. Mtnrdredux - I've been watching your kitchen take shape for months, and it's one that I've returned to in the course of refining my ideas. When you first posted the preview shot of your subzero being paneled with icebox hardware, I immediately showed DH, because he was skeptical that it could be done, and that it could be done well. Your entire kitchen is beautiful. 1. The window above the sink. Originally I *really* wanted no uppers, and a great wall of windows instead. But, I finally conceded that you can't put a square peg in a round hole. That side of the house faces a neighbor, and our sink location looks right into their kitchen. So, I think the actual window will be even smaller than the one in the mock up. I plan to have a double hung, but put a bahama shutter on the outside of the house, but at the mid-point of the window; the lower half will block the view of the neighbor's kitchen, and the upper half will reveal sky (the neighbor is downhill a little). On the layout drawing, where the family room is labeled, that entire back wall will be floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in a lot of natural light. Do you think I should re-think the window in the kitchen? 2. The sink pic is from Arlosmom's kitchen. Her curtains look great - and I suspect mine would be often wet & stained, so no curtains for me. Arlosmom's old threads have been very helpful; I'm planning to do a similar curved/fitted cabinet under my sink, with garbage under one of the drainboard sides. 3. The hardware. Those tab pulls don't feel good in my hand either. I'm going with PB pulls which use a handle instead of a tab or bin pull; and I'm drawn to the design b/c the "label" piece slides onto the back of the screws in the handle. If I want to take off the label portion, I can :) I really liked the clever use of colored map clippings on that desk, and wanted to do something similar but not have to commit to permanently attaching label hardware to the drawer. 4. No island, what about a small work table? Ya, I like this idea. DH not so much. So, we're going to start with the farm table fully in the kitchen and see how it goes. Down the road, we can add a small work table to abut the end of the farm table, or even add a large island and re-orient the table so that it runs perpendicular to the stairs. 5. Fridge. I'm planning on a Thermador 36" bottom freezer, single door top with stained paneling and icebox hardware. I'd like the cab above the fridge to be painted creamy white, as a continuation of the adjacent top upper cabs, like this inspiration pic (btw I am so smitten with this kitchen - I want to cut & paste my face right in there :) : 6. Thanks for the thumbs up on shiplap. I love it too, but I'm realizing I like it in small doses, so the pantry might be a good place. 7. The blue paint...I like that too. Not sure if we'll do that. The pic was to show the kind of lighting for over the farm table. 8. Thank you for saying that the Victorian screen looks too fussy. My gut says that too; I think I've enjoyed seeing other people's pantries in this style. But you're right....I don't care for ornate objects, so a more humble look would work better. Many thanks for the thought-provoking feedback!

It is my old kitchen (we moved out of that house in December 2012 and then lived in a rental apartment for 10 months. We're now in the middle of renovating our condo -- I hope to have a working kitchen by tomorrow (the cabinets are mostly in, the dishwasher, hood and cooktop are in; I'm hoping for refrigerator, oven and dishwasher today). It's a totally - TOTALLY - different style than our old kitchen. 11' galley kitchen within a large great room in an industrial loft. Nothing traditional about it!).

A butler's pantry is usually where you store dishes, serving pieces and other items needed for the dining room. Back in the day (see Downton Abbey) the butler's pantry was sort of a staging area, when food came from the much noisier kitchen and then was brought in (by butler's) to the dining room. Today, I think it's nice as just a smaller version of the kitchen, often with glass upper cabinets and maybe a small sink. It's also a great place to put the pantry, if you don't have enough room in the kitchen....and there's no mudroom. For your space, I think it would be great to combine the pantry space with a serving area (maybe a place for drinks with the sink) and also a place to have a great window space with fresh herbs. I would LOVE to have a big window area for herbs :)