I'd keep the sink. Yes, it takes up some counter space...but you only have one sink by the dishwasher (not a two-basin sink) and with all the kids, I think you'll need that second sink :)

Congrats on demo...and don't worry. A few modifications are always going to happen (especially with a remodel) but your kitchen is still going to be beautiful! I can just picture looking out from the sink, over the stairway and out those big windows! What a lovely view you'll have.

Also, congrats on the twins!!!

Hi Home4all6,

I have a prep sink in my island, and it's indispensible to me, since that's where I do all of my prep work. Is there any way you could omit the middle section of the tall pantry cabinet (the one between the range and fridge), making it an upper and a lower with counter space in between?

I'm not familiar with the duct situation, but wouldn't this still allow for ductwork to be hidden behind the cabinets?

Regarding drawers, I have a number of lower drawer stacks, and I love them.

Mine are 3-stack, and the size is perfect (that's 3 including the top drawer, which is a standard shallow drawer for silverware, cooking tools, wraps&foils, etc.).

Your layout looks like it has plenty of these shallower drawers all along the top row, so IMHO, you should do 2 add'l drawers below each.

The size you get with a standard upper plus 2 deeper drawers below is really serviceable.

The deep drawers are necessary for large objects, especially if you're not going to have any cabs (and therefore adjustable shelves) to store taller items.

I wanted to share 4 pics of an idea that you might like to implement on either side of your range. It's really functional, allowing for all sorts of storage for the things you'll want to have on hand while at the range.

When facing your range, it looks like you already have a cabinet plus a taller cabinet to the right of the range.

You might consider extending the width of drawer on top of that cabinet to give you a nice, wide drawer as seen in the pic., and then do 2 smaller square drawers, with a pull-out next to those square drawers, for utensils, and smaller pots, etc.

On the left side, you can have your standard top drawer, with 2 larger drawers below for large pots, etc.

This has been incredibly serviceable for me.

Here are my pics:

Good luck!

With a slight pivot, you can still use the island as landing space for the fridge. Or, get a cutting board made to fit on the prep sink, and voilÃÂ --restored landing space.

On second thought, with 4 kids, someone is bound to turn on that faucet with the cutting board there. ;)

What about a bread board that pulls out over the MW? It could double as a cutting board. When I think of pull-out boards, I think of florantha's kitchen. I tried, without success, to find pictures of her four pull-out boards. The linked thread has her description:

Here is a link that might be useful: Are cutting boards out?

I found a thread with donaleen's hubby's handiwork--a cabinet with a slot for a cutting board, just in case you want to explore options.

Here is a link that might be useful: cutting board cabinet in progress

thanks for the quick input, GW's :)
yes--a cuttingboard on top of the sink will be perfect! I even have photos of that saved--I had forgotten!
The tall pantry between the fridge and range is pulled out to be the same depth as my standarddepth fridge, thus giving me a bit more cabinet space in front of the ductwork. I dont; think that would work as well with the counter in between, bc then it would only be 24" deep, and I couldn't really have an upper at all there. The pantry is probably my best option.
I'm blocking out the space right now, and I'm wondering if it would make sense to change the position of my island, have it run the other direction, with the stools on the DR side, so they'd be facing the wondows. It would have to be shotened to about 7 feet, I think, but it could be a bit wider. Then that fridge section would sort of stand on it's own, rather than be tucked behind my island.
I'm going to sketch it out now...

my only suggestion might be to move the prep sink to the other end of the island, closer to the stove/main sink. This leaves you a clear spot for unloading from the fridge AND gives people hanging out in the kitchen the end of the island away from your space to sit/stand at. I think that was bad sentence structure but I can't fix it right now.

good luck!

What about swapping the prep sink and the speed oven? So the speed oven would sit at the end of the island, then the sink and trash pullout in the middle, and then the drawer stack at the end, nearest the sink and DW?
That puts the prep sink near the center of the island, giving me landing space at the end. Breezygirl has her prep in the middle of her island.
This is soooo stressing me out!
And I can't figure out where my coffee pot and kitchenaid will live now :( ack!

Instead of the tall pantry on the right of fridge (more big and tall piece adding to the bulk), why not jazz up the space a bit by having a pantry/cab below and aset of slightly stepped-back shelves above for display of some pretty things and cook books. You could carry the shelves right down to the counter level, if you like the look. Sort of like a hutch. Or you could add a set of not very high drawers and then shelves above. Another thought is that you could bury a pull-out shelf there as another landing space in relation to the fridge. It takes up just a few inches (vertically) from a cab stack.

I think breaking up the whole hulking refridge and pantry blob in that corner by starting out with a smaller -scale, transitional, and different looking cab would be very charming.

HTH,

L.

Sure, I just think moving it down a bit might be more user-friendly... but that's me.

If you did what liriodendron suggested next to the fridge area, couldn't your KA and coffee pot sit on the newly created countertop there?

I think it's fine to move the prep sink closer to the main sink. I'll be doing someone similar (my plan has the prep sink in the island almost directly across from the main sink with only an 18" cab at that end.) For me it is less about distances but work flow - in our kitchen the prep sink on the island provides much better separation between the cooking and cleaning zones. At least in our house it is not uncommon for dish cleanup to happen at the same time as food prep, so this will (hopefully) prevent fights over sink real estate.

But depending on the rest of the floorplan turning the island could also work very well.

I think I will put the prep sink in the middle of the island, and get a cutting board to fit on top of it.
I have a 36" sink planned. I';m considering taking that down to the 30" model and squeezing in a skinny pullout, for oils, etc.
Thoughts?
Also, any other thoughts on this layout? I looked at lots of photos last night, and I'm feeling better about the way this looks. IT's not bad, just different from what I expected.
Liriodendron, I just can't quite picture what you are describing. It sounds nice, but I can't "see" it, so I can't decide on it.

What I'm thinking off is a counterhigh pullout pantry unit. Top it from counter height upwards with somewhat less deep shelves, instead of running the pantry cab the full height. You wouldn't have the vacant space that's above typical cabs/counter. Just start the shelves right above the lower. Or you could have a couple of minimal height "spice drawers" under shelves.

I just think that by having stepped-back (meaning they don't stick as far from wall enclosing the the vent chase) shelves or drawer +/shelves you'll vary the look from just more boxy pull out, tall cabs. It would also ease the transition from counters with uppers to the mega-box that encloses fridges.

You'd still have some pantry storage in the lower section, but above that you could have pretty kitchen stuff display (think big oval enamel cast iron dutch oven or some such item or the big servinig bowl from best china, wor whatever) plus the attractiveness - and convenience - of having your cookbooks shelved right there. More prosaicly you could have a phone station, if you planned on having one in your kitch. I think I would have the shelves be part of a boxed-in unit, not just free floating, though you might find that look more appealing.

The only tricky part in a step-back situation on top of a typical lower is what material you use for the de minimus few i9nches of "counter" top in front of the step back. A piece of your counter material would be just fine.

A stepback works here particularly well because the vent chase has already consumed a good bit of the usual depth of a counter and the cabs. You could have an attractively proportioned (meaning not to deep), nor have too much "wasted" space" that would happen "normal" depth cabs.

Hope that helps you see what I'm thinking off.