Here is the original floorplan.

The only thing I would worry about with your new arrangement is your dishwasher and range door possibly bonking into one another. I am assuming the hood would actually be over the range not off centered like that. I do like the symmetry of the cabinets better with the second layout. Are you left handed? You might consider moving the dishwasher to the other side of the sink.

What are the widths of your uppers? It seems like an awful lot of skinny upper doors. Recommend you ask the builder about a spacing roughly equivalent to your second pic, but instead of 4 doors in each can you get three doors in each. Double door cabs on the outsides and single door cabs with the doors opening away from the hood on either side of the range.

Doors that open away from the range hood are functionally better, and in your layout they would look better too.

Taggie--we did that to try to create the illusion of height in the space, since the ceilings are only 8ft. Do you think wider doors would look better, considering the ceiling?

If you move the range, you need to swap the fridge and pantry.

GreenDesigns--Why do you think so? Is it for function or aesthetics?

Thanks for the feedback so far! Any other opinions?

I like the 2nd option better because the cabinetry around the range looks more balanced and there is a good prep flow for food from fridge to sink to range.

I would not want the DW across from the range -- not just because the doors might hit (since you probably don't need to open both at the same time often) but because it could be very crowded if one person wants to load or unload dishes while another person is cooking.

I agree with Taggie about the benefits, both aesthetic and functional, of using single door cabs with the doors opening away from the hood on either side of the range. It would help to know the widths of the cabinets.

You can have doors with a pair of narrower panels that are actually on wider door. So you'd have a pair on a single leaf of the door. This gets you the design effect, while getting access advantages of wider doors and having the door open away from the range hood. Other doors can be single panel, as necessary. It looks fine that way (door panel and single panel doors in the same space).

I would consider swapping the fridge and pantry - withe each other - (whether you move the range or not) simply to get the landing space closer to the fridge than the pantry.

I would also move the range from what the KD suggested (lots of better choices). And I would try like the dickens to get the range and sink not back to back, nor have the DW within the most active working area.

L.

Thanks for the feedback. Been working on this 6 hours today, ugh! Still stuck... I've swapped the dw and the cab to the side of the sink, so that makes both the dw and the sink clear the stove. I can't figure out any way to keep the dw out of the prep area because I only have one sink.

There's no room for another sink. I can't move the window because of $$, and it's only 24 inches off the ground so too low for sink/cabinetry. It faces the street, and anyone who comes to our house will walk by that window, so the exterior view is important. I also cannot swap the fridge and pantry cab because the pantry cab space is only 18 inches.

Still thinking...

How's this? I think the uppers on #2 look better, but I agree about the function of having the cabs open away from the range. I like the suggestions of having the 2 doors open as 1, but we are using ikea cabs and I don't think we have that option...

You've got plenty of room for a secondary sink. This is the best I could do with reading the layout you posted and cutting and pasting. Do you have a more clearly labeled layout with just the room dimensions and none of the "inhabitants"? Also indicating the adjacent space and things like the window, doorways, etc. Because I can't tell what the traffic patterns through the room are, except that the clearance between the island and the sectional is way too small. Ideally, you need at least 60" so that people can pass through with the island seats pulled out.

Thanks LWO! I know the scan on the drawing is really bad. I've tried to make it better but to no avail. It's a pencil drawing.

The upper left "78 inches" is part passageway part office, so it can't be used for anything. I agree with you about the pathway through the living space. I think the sectional or sofa will have to be smaller. We plan to delete the media console so that will give us a few more inches.

OK, I tried to put it all into photoshop. Does this help?

Close up.

For your original question, I'm not loving the asymmetry (that I perceive) between the upper and lower cabinets (even though lowers are mostly drawers). To me they should be the same width (ie: 30" upper cab over 30" drawer base) and in line with each other.

When I was researching, I read that esthetically 15" to 18" door widths were the most pleasing. Could you break up the long line of uppers with some glass insert cabs? I like your second rendition better (move the range right) but understand the potential problems with the D/W.