Hi! How exciting to get to the planning phase for your kitchen. We completed our kitchen remodel this time last year & although it is not open on one side it is a similar size with openings/wide doors to a sunroom on one side & dining room on the other. We worked with a kitchen designer since we were opening walls & moving plumbing & wanted to maximize our effectiveness. Her guidance about work triangles is that today's larger kitchens actually have more than one work triangle. Ultimately you have nice work space that multiple people can simultaneously work in. I think it is ok that your main sink is across the room from your refrigerator. You may consider placing the prep sink at the end of the island nearer the refrigerator for ease of access or you may consider putting an under- counter refrigerator to keep veggies for dishes you are working on or at times for easy access for drinks. Having the prep sink as near the other sink as you do may create a little bottle neck, plus you'll have access to water at both ends of the kitchen -- a thought. (It looks like you have plenty of space to move around -- KD recommends 42" if you can do it or scaling down to 39"-ish between counters.) Our KD recommended the trash pullout between the dining area & the dishwasher so that as the table is cleared anything to go into the trash is dropped there as the dishes are placed into the DW. She also recommended a breakfast center, so we have our coffee pot near the drawers with cereal and coffee. If you use your toaster oven for breakfast it can also go there. I would consider to the right or left of refrigerator depending on how comfortable you feel (or perhaps you plan to keep the cereal in that wonderful walk-in pantry). Then when you want the toaster off the counter you can lower into a drawer or into the pantry. You also probably want a drawer for all your plastic containers. Our KD suggests to have that drawer at a place near the fridge & where you will walk from the breakfast/dining room with leftovers, fill the containers, & place immediately into the fridge with minimum steps. I appreciate you wanting to have an above or under counter shelf for the microwave. If you want it under the counter I'd consider to the right of the refrigerator -- it seems like I am always pulling things out of the fridge or freezer & popping into the microwave. This way you won't be carrying it far. Otherwise the other end of your island could work. I recommend you consider (or at least look at) the Sharpe Microwave Drawer. It is wonderful! I can stir or test temperature without having to get on my knees to look into the Microwave or pull the dish out onto the counter. It is a built in. How much do you use the door going to the outside? Your microwave & plastic containers can go there or your breakfast area. I guess it depends on the time of day that door gets used the most. Otherwise you can place items that seldom get used, but you want easy access to. I agree with kmennenga about the desk. Perhaps put it on the wall near the pantry. You can have a hutch-style or desk. Have drawers for hanging files so you can manage your papers. This was something we didn't have room for. We converted the lower desk space in our old kitchen to a butler's-pantry style area & have one large drawer for hanging files, as well another drawer with a writing surface (under the writing surface is space for place mats or entertaining supplies -- cocktail napkins, small dishes, small-ish cheese trays & spreaders). Also lots of electrical outlets to plug in laptops & cell phones can be placed along side the light rail(or also in the island). I hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

Well, we are building and will have an 11'4X27' area for the master bedroom/bath/closet. The bedroom will be 11'4X15 and the additional space will be for the closet and bathroom. I would like double sinks, possibly a toilet closet, and a large walk-in shower. I have figured and re-figured and can't seem to find a design that I love which gives adequate closet space and bathroom space. Please let me know if more info would be helpful. This is not my forte (obviously) which is why I would love some help.

Your laundry/mud/bath is a similar layout to what I have, except I have a tub/shower in that bath. A laundry setup like that doesn't leave you much storage, or room for ironing, folding, or hanging, so keep that in mind. I have to do my ironing in my bedroom. I also don't have a utility sink, to make room for extra cabinets. While a utility sink would be great, I do have a kitchen and bathroom sink close enough that it's not a big deal. And the way the rest of that floor is played out, it puts that bath really far from your guest entrance, office, living room and dining room. You mentioned a downside being that guests will walk through the mudroom, but remember that they will also have to go through your kitchen to get to the bathroom. I'm not sure I'd like that. BTW, you might as well forget about the door between the kitchen a mud room, as it will almost always be open. We changed ours to a cased opening instead of an actual door. I'd have preferred to go with a pocket door, just in case we wanted to be able to close it off for some odd reason, but we didn't want to have to tear into the wall to do it.

I am not a guru but I can give you my opinion. Melanie on the regrets - while trying to minimalize them they still will happen! Flip side is you will likely also have some grrr that ends up turning out different but BETTER than you imagine. IMO stealing the foot makes it much more functional so I would do it in a heartbeat but I am not the expert. It also opens it up and will 'feel' better. I think that's a good spot for a broom closet and charging station and should easily stay tidy. It is about 5' wide yes? That is a nice size space. Measure what you have you want to store in there and then look for pics of what you are thinking. Utility sink in the garage - really in the winter there isn't much dirt and when it's exposed it's frozen too so I'd think the utility sink would get more use in the spring summer fall when it's thawed so I'd keep it on the table too. My opinion - your money. Ha! As far as 'enough room' - it sounds like your kids are younger based solely upon still being in the 'add more' season of life. :) I can tell you only to think seasons, think sports, cleats, basketball shoes, church shoes, boots, hiking shoes, tennis shoes, flops, bats, ball caps, backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles (if you have girls think even MORE shoes and then purses - ack)........ I will say for my 2 the space we have is more than adequate and it's quite roomy (I just double checked and it's actually 6.5' on a side so each person has 3' plus). That said we also have a closet near that I put off season stuff in and dog food. Winter coats and snow pants and boots are not in the locker area all year. I put them in the closet over spring/summer/fall. As long as you have a spot for that I think you are fine. Off season can closets can always be in the basement as well. There are always sweatshirts hanging and ball caps. Besides that there is always a stray nerf gun, goggles, flash lights and what have you hanging out there. I don't mind it there - it's out of the way and not underfoot! Old house it used to be in their rooms and all over. We had no designated space for outdoor wear anyplace besides bedrooms. If I am feeling brave I will snap a real life pic of it in action. It is easy to pick up and look presentable when needed but typically M-F it's a dumping spot. I like an open bench vs doors because we do use it to sit down to put stuff on and take stuff off regularly. And when our parents come and use that entry they love to be able to sit down to put on and remove shoes. It's comfortable and useful. With your window placement in the bathroom and the exterior door you will find it a nice light filled space. Our exterior door there is 3/4 glass and I love how it lights the hall. It is never a dark space.