Is that a wall oven I see or is that representing the fridge?

I am usually a closed-kitchen person, but with your house having the dining room and living room with no view of the kitchen, I think it would be a great idea to open the kitchen to the family room. I do think that would be a benefit in resale. A large interior 'window' or pass-through might work, as well.

The last one that removes the doorway to the dining room is not a good idea.

You have walkways that are approx 2'4" with the island stretching past the open section, and that won't do...and I'd leave room to have a minimal table with space to get to the back doors. I imagine someone could get away with having the table against the windows, but you need to leave at least 7', I'd think.

Hmmm...

Hi Rhome
In plan 1,2 the fridge is next to dining room door with the oven/microwave beside it next to hallway door. In plans 3,4,5 fridge is first appliance on dining room wall bank of cupboards. If I remove the chimney (little box to the left of fridge) I could gain another foot on that line of cupboards. The ovens have the handle. In plan 5 I hadn't decided whether to use a stove centred between 2 small wall cabs or buy cook-top with ovens next to patio door. I'm not very good at planning out best locations. Which arrangement looks best to you? Would you give the go ahead with removing the wall and finalize plan later or is removing the wall a little dicey and I should just stick with plan 1 or 2, plans that I know will work in that space?

Does any body have any advice? Are none of the plans any good or are my drawings too hard to understand? All ideas would be appreciated. I don't trust my own judgment and a KD isn't in the budget. I've spent too much time thinking about which is the best direction to go and have accomplished nothing.

Sorry, I didn't see that you came back with answers...And I'd also forgotten I'd promised to look and see what solutions I could come up with. The short answer is that I don't like any of them the way they are. I prefer the island plan at this point. I promise to print this out now and look it over this evening.

I knew I recognized this layout...Did you give up on the island with sink and cooktop you had in a previous posting?

Hi Rhome
No, I didn't entirely give up on putting both the cooktop and sink on the island. The're both on the island in plans 3,4. I gained a little bit more room between the island and the family room wall by angling the island and decreasing its width by 2" starting at the bend. That wall can't be completely removed so it makes that aisle very tight. The contractor thinks that plan 5 with the cooktop opposite the island is more workable. I find it very difficult trying to visualize the 3D space and determine how functional it would be. I guess what I'm trying to say is do I have more to lose than gain by taking down those 2 walls? Do you think removing the walls would be worth the additional cost or would you stay with the original layout?

You have lived with it, so know much better than I, but the peninsula plans look claustrophobic to me...But I tend to feel that way in peninsula plans. As I said before, I really think that with the separate dining and living rooms, from which you can't see the kitchen, opening to the family room would be nice. I like Plan 5, but is that wall cut back as much as the contractor says is possible? It's still too tight at the table end of the island. I think the island would have to be shorter and maybe tapered in at the ends.

Numbers 1 & 2 You have lived with and know issues with them.

Numbers 3 & 4's island doesn't fit in the room. It sorta, kinda, would if it was 28" deep and didn't bend - at least the two foot wide aisle spot would be gone. But the cooking surface would void minimum safety clearances.

Number 5 doesn't have seating clearance as well as a pantry. You need a minimum of 32" from a table edge to a wall just so someone has enough room to pull out a chair and become seated. Getting by a seated person starts at around 34"

Number 6 actually won't work. Corner cabs need 36" on each wall that translates into 2 feet of the 4 foot space between the corners. Even if you tried to use a 24" range, it still won't fit because of required filler.

You have a hard space for everything you want to do. Just a suggestion to help improve clarity, but maybe divide everything into two piles - what do you want vs. need. Rate your plans as to how well they implement your wants and needs.

Below isn't great and actually removes one of the sliders, but it was the only new thing I could think of.
{{gwi:1664289}}

Thanks bmorepanic. That is the type of advice I need to hear. I guess I must have doubts that an open plan will work or I would have made the decision before now. I'll settle for 1 or 2. I don't want to miss out on the feb/Mar IKEA kitchen sale.

I'm sorry I couldn't offer more.

Ikea Kitchen sale?