I am kind of in your boat. Different kitchen but somewhat similar situation in picking cooking appliance location.

I have done lots of research on appliances, and I think that with the newer freestanding ranges, you should not have a problem at all with heat near your legs as you cook on the stovetop while the oven(s) below are running.

I originally in my L-shaped kitchen had a 36 inch range with one oven underneath draw in, then a stack with both a secondary oven and built-in microwave elsewhere. I knew I needed two ovens. Then I realized (my kitchen is smaller than yours) that I needed more closet pantry space, and that this wasn't going to work for me (especially) since the cabinet NEXT to that stack would have had to change from a floor to ceiling cabinet to a space with countertop, since I wanted the secondary oven to have a landing space. That's when I decided to go with the 48 incher with two ovens underneath. Works for me: everything is compact, the way I like it, and I get my wall to ceiling pantry and wall to ceiling coat storage back.

Have you thought about having a GE or other model of oven which can fit under the counter and still have cabinet space underneath that? Maybe you could move the island sink over a bit and then put an under counter oven next to it, with the island countertop serving as the landing space for such.

The option of taking out the windows on either side of the range, if it were me, would really depend on how much other natural light can enter the kitchen. I love being in a kitchen flooded with sunlight.

What I did is make a full inventory of everything I had (and plan to have), down to the colanders and my knives, and decided where each would be stored, in each possible configuration. I also figured out where each countertop appliance and storage doodad (ex. flour and sugar jars) would go. (This took me a good amount of time.) Maybe you could try this? If in the end you are short on countertop space a freestanding range with oven(s) underneath and no wall ovens or an undercounter oven may be the better option. On the other hand if you don't need to "spread out" too much when prepping your food, and you like an oven at eye-level, as many others do, then maybe that spot by the dining area might be a good spot.

Can the oven go to the far left of the cooktop? Across the aisle from the microwave? Or you could do an oven/microwave stack where the microwave is?

In this plan you have a range or cooktop and the cook across from the dishwasher...Will you care that if the dw needs to be open while you're cooking, there is a conflict/crowding? You have a very long kitchen, but the 2 main 'action-centers' are back to back and sharing the same 9 sq ft. Will you ever want to have multiple workers or helpers, or have more than one activity happening at a time?

If you stacked the oven with the MW, the landing space would be just a pivot away on the island. I agree with >b?rhome410 about the cootop/DW conflict. It would drive me nuts to have the DW open up to the back of my knees when trying to get a meal out.

I have an all-electric range now and the heat from the oven while I am standing there cooking does not bother me. I would think that the induction ranges are at least as well insulated, if not better. Opening the oven and heating the kitchen is a different matter, but you will get that whether you have wall or range oven. Bending over is also a different matter, and if you're used to a wall oven, I can see why you'd be reluctant to go to a range.

I can't tell how wide the aisle is b/t fridge and island. Could you have tall pantry where MW is and use island for fridge landing; then put an oven stack in either north or south corner of the range wall as rhome said? I can also see balancing that with a tall pantry in the other corner; it looks like counter space won't be an issue even if you lost a little for storage or oven stack in the corners.

It also looks like you will have ample storage with the island and with the pantry convenient to the kitchen. If you have floor to ceiling shelving in there, you should have lots of space for food and small appliances that you don't use regularly.

I agree, I wouldn't want to lose the light from the windows, even with the window at the breakfast nook.

Ditto what RHome410 & LaxSupermom said....both about the oven & the DW.

If you put the oven & MW in a stack....If the island or range wall counter is to be the landing space for MW/Oven stack, then one of them needs to be no more than 48" away.

Also, is the refrigerator a built-in? If not, you will have to either have the doors of the refrigerator extend out past the wall or you will need a 6" to 12" filler or cabinet b/w the refrigerator & wall. For the doors to open fully in a non-built-in refrigerator, the doors must be free to swing open w/o interference from a wall or other obstruction. (e.g., if your refrigerator's carcass/box...not counting doors & handles...is 25" deep, you will need to have a wall no more than 25" deep or the filler/cab I mentioned.)

What size table to you plan to have in the Breakfast Nook? Will it fit and still give you plenty of room b/w the table & chairs and the island?

Where does the door on the bottom of the plan lead? (The one that's "just a casement")

What if you combined the windows into one large window and depending on where that door leads...

• If not a busy doorway...

  • Move the combined window toward the pantry

  • Move the cooktop to b/w the "bottom" and the window and move the DW to the other side of the sink.

  • This will get the DW out of the Prep & Cooking Zones and still have them near the refrigerator.

(Prep Zone would most likely be on the island on the opposite side of the sink from the DW b/c it has the only water source. An additional Prep Zone might be on the cooktop wall to the right of the cooktop.) If it is a busy doorway, I wouldn't want to put the cooktop there so...

• Move the combined window toward the "bottom"

• Move the cooktop "up" so it's b/w the window & pantry

• Leave the DW where it is.

• This would move the Prep & Cooking Zones so the DW would no longer be in the way.

• However, the cooktop will now be quite far from the refrigerator & you will need to cross the Cleanup Zone to get to it (or go around the island). Your island also becomes somewhat of a "barrier island" b/w the cooktop & refrigerator.

Some things to think about!

Wow. You all are beyond helpful. A few additional notes and answers to questions:

1) We are planning on a French door fridge with freezer drawer. Not technically built-in but the builder will build cabinetry around it.
2) I had considered a wall oven/microwave combo next to the fridge. Still just concerned - and maybe only need some validation - that we have enough cabinet space on the back wall.
3) I hadn't even thought about the dishwasher placement! Excellent point.

I'm attaching a full floor plan of the first floor so you can see what doors go to where. The casement door leads to the dining room.

The window behind the breakfast nook is huge - the full nook is a set of windows. So I believe that will let in a lot of light if I need to lose the other windows.

I have to make the decisions no later than tomorrow. (I thought I had it all figured out until the walk-thru yesterday.) So I cannot tell you how much your help means to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: First Floor Plan

I forgot to answer the question about the breakfast nook. We have a 5' table that we can just barely squeeze in there - only leaves about 18" of room to fit your body in. It's similar to the inspiration picture, I think (attached link). I'm looking for a rectangular table with side drop leaf so we can drop the leaves, slide into the seat, then pop them back up. But no luck so far. I will probably use our table, and just slide the table out. Or look for a 48" rectangular table. (Also not having luck with that size.) I honestly don't know why the architect designed it without taking standard table sizes into account.

re: the windows over the nook. We will have one big picture window behind the nook with smaller, double hung windows on either side of the big middle window. Just like in the picture. What's different from the photo is we will not have the window on the side of the nook. That will be a wall - and a door leading to screened in porch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breakfast nook inspiration photo