Hello,

We are in escrow for a house that we plan to totally renovate the kitchen. I met with a cabinet designer yesterday and we started talking details.

I'm attaching a picture of the kitchen the way it currently is - from the listing sheet, it says 17 x 16 (I'm not sure of that accuracy).

They currently have the island PLUS a round table. My idea is that we build a much bigger island, perhaps in a T shape, to accommodate seating right on the island rather than at a separate table (probably raised for the seating area).

I have some pictures on Houzz of unique shaped islands, but something so dramatic scares me:
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/26535897/thumbs/kitchen-island

The stove, hood fan, and dishwasher stays with the house, but we want to add a built-in SS (42 or 48"). Everything will stay in the same location though.

I would like to know if we can just use the same hood fan but build a more "integrated" look around it? The cabinet guy seemed to think this would work fine. We are just in the initial stages though.

The biggest issue for the island getting bigger right now is that the pantry bump-out is on the right (and there is also a door to the dining room there beside the fridge). That means we have to be unique in the size/shape of the island so that we don't block the area of the pantry (and the "office" desk also).

Any advice?

I'm attaching a picture of the kitchen as it looks right now.