I wouldn't change it...you get lots of storage from a lazy susan, and you need the counter surface for dishes. I have a small prep sink in my island which works well, but I wouldn't want a full sink and DW there as that's not what I want people hanging around when sitting at the island. Also, I love all the counter space an island provides.

You already have a nice sized pantry in the plan.

Do not replace the corner cabinet with a pantry. Your main food prep will be between the stove and sink and a corner pantry will use up all that valuable space. I'd maximize that space by moving the dishwasher right next to the fridge with the sink next to that - move the window accordingly.

Make the island all one level. The two level versions waste space.

You have a awful lot of open space in the middle of the kitchen! And the island is too far from everything else to be a good prep space. Maybe a prep sink in the island?

Do you need all that island seating right next to the dining table? It seems the island stools and the chairs at the table are going to get in each other's way.

In the area marked "Dining", do you also plan to have a table and chairs?

If so, I think you may have some space conflicts with the stools around the island and the chairs of the table.

I'm not a fan of the redundancy of lots of room used for an eat-at island just feet from a dining table. Seems like too much real estate devoted to eating positions in the same room. It wouldn't seem as big a problem if you used a separate dining room, which at least would offer a change of scene/atmosphere from the in-kitchen dining experience.

I would not recommend moving the pantry to between the stove and sink. A vertical obstruction there would drasticlly cut down on the modest amount of working room you have on that very important section of countertop. Working against a vertical obstruction/wall chews up horizontal utililty because of the elbow-room issue.

Despite the big island, with its counter, I think you may find the kitchen works/feel quite "small" because of the arrangement of the sink and stove around a short corner run from each other. Two people simultaneously working at those critical activity centers will be pretty close together; if either one steps directly backwards they'll collide.

Have you considered a range and a second under-counter oven in the island? That would offer more room around the cooking surface and the ability to move the cooking surface down the counter run, away from the tight corner with the sink.

Have you considered using the under-island storage as your pantry (or part of it) freeing up more room around the cooktop? This would allow you to keep the wall ovens, but still move the cooking surface and have more room it.

Or can you use the wall along bathroom as a shallow pantry, removing the need for a pantry from the working areas completely? That would allow keeping the wall-ovens, plus add separation and counter space around the cooking surface. I think a wall of shallow pantry cabs (you could break up the monolithic appearance by having shelves for cookbooks, etc.) is really handy to have. Deep pantries are a pain to keep organized and pullout pantries are very expensive for the space because of mechancis involved. A shallow pantry with adjustable shelves is da bomb, IMO.

(I thought of suggesting you have a small siting area against that wall - in addtion to the pantry - but the space adjacent to taller stools around at raised counterheight is unpleasant to be in, much less sit at lower level in, it's kind of a spatial black hole.)

You have plenty of room for a well-sized and functional kitchen and ONE eating arrangement: either the big island with raised eating bar or a dining table and chairs, but not both. If you went with a table and chairs, I think you could also find space of a one, possibly two, stools tucked in around anormal counter height island, (as perch places for cook and friend), but not what you have drawn for five places and the raised, angled, diner-style...

There is no real room for a nice sized table and traffic paths. Only a tiny table will fit there. THe island is an awkward shape, and provided redundant seating that eats into the space needed by the table. I'd square it up, and maybe only include a couple of stools. That can give you better clearance for the table. But, that area is still so small that to have a traffic path through it to the exterior may mean doing a banquette bench along the long wall. If you did that though, you'd have some space left over for the pantry at the end. And if you went to a range instead of the cooktop and wall oven, you'd have more space for multiple kitchen participants.

I agree with all the others regarding not chopping up the work space with a corner pantry, and I would take GreenDesigns' idea even further. The best overall, most efficient layout also happens to be the least space consuming and almost always easiest to fit in: A corridor kitchen. Or a corridor-type L+island.

Your current layout has enough work space for a half dozen cooks, literally. What you really need is more space for dining. Marketing people cannibalized the square footage of those units for an oversized kitchen because they think people want them, not because it's right for the space.

I'd chop off the L counter and narrow the island so that the kitchen was 10' wide at most, 9-9.5 preferably. Or turn it into a straight counter + island. I'd play with layouts to decide which I liked better.

thanks for all the input! The island definitely won't be that big - 2-3 stools, max and it'll be one level. I'm not sure if we'll have a double oven or include it in the range - what would you suggest? thanks again :)

What's really important to me about having at least one oven in my range is that puts it under my vent hood. I don't know about you but when I broil fish or meat, I need the venting., Or even just when I roast bones for stock - I definitely don't want to smell that all over the house.

I also frequently cook something that requires both stove-top and oven cooking. I would hate carrying the pot accross the kitchen. In addition I use my oven at a low temp to keep one part of a dish warm while I complete the rest, or for addtional portions. Wouldn't want to carrying pancakes or sauteed chicken breasts across the kitchen to keep warm while I finish the rest.

I have a big range with a second oven, though, so I can see the appeal of a double wall oven. That's why I suggested a range and an undercounter oven. if you used the undercounter oven as your baking oven there's no need to worry about needing a vent hood for it. Who would want to vent the delicious smell of spice cake or apple pie, anyway?

Some people worry about the height of the ovens. old-fashioned stoves often did have low ovens. But my range has legs that are 6" + high, so the floor of the oven (which still higher above burner assembly, etc.) isn't really low. The broiler is in the top of one oven, so slightly below waist level. I would definitely consider the design of the range before getting one. But not all of them are back-breakers. I find it very convenient to pull out the oven shelf and be looking down into my pan. I had a wall-oven once and I was always burning my arms on it somehow.

But YMMV, for sure.

HTH

L>