Here is our current (frightful!) first floor:

From Drop Box

Here is our latest layout idea - shows new archway to open into living rm (to see river view) and new sliding door in eating area to open onto new deck, which will wrap around to river-facing side of house & also be accessed through living rm:

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

Here are my elevation drawings - please note that they're rough and that cabinet styles, numbers/positions of drawers, etc. are VERY much subject to change, especially with the wisdom of GW applied!

Here's the wall w/ chimney - "bottom" of layout, wall that is shared w/ dining rm.:

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

That's beadboard as backslpash between upper & lower cabs (which will probably be quarter-sawn white oak), & we're thinking of some sort of message center (thanks again, lavender lass!) & display area in front of exposed brick chimney, allowing brick to remain visible.

Here is the wall on left of layout, with window to street view; our existing sink is on this wall (and we are determined to move it elsewhere!); lower section of pantry unit on right will be for recycling, lower section of pantry on left will be for adult beverages & associated paraphenalia ;^)

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

Here is the wall w/ cooktop - still wondering whether to just have induction cooktop here and double wall ovens on opposite wall (beside chimney), or whether to put one oven below cooktop (possible w/ Thermador; don't know about other brands), or to the left of & below cooktop (hate to lose those precious drawers!):

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

Finally, here are views of the 2 long sides of the island. Upper drawing is of side facing cooktop wall; lower drawing shows side facing oven/chimney wall. Island would be 43" (3'7") x 153" (12'9"), including overhangs, so it's composed of elements that are 24" deep back-to-back with others that are 16" deep.

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

I'm sure I'm leaving out some vital nuggets of info, but if you've gotten this far, THANK YOU and please barrage me with your comments!!

While I really like the overall feel of the kitchen, I'm just not sure about the appliance placement. The cooktop is feeling marooned, far away from the rest of the main kitchen.

Any chance we could flip a few things? Maybe swap the fridge and double oven locations? That would give you a baking area (with windows) and the fridge would be closer to the long side of the island...with message board. Glad you like that idea :)

Then, I'd move the induction cooktop and microwave, to the island, across from the fridge. The prep sink could go to the end, nearest the living room. This makes a nice work area for cooking and prep. You would need an island hood, but you'd also have a better view of the breakfast table and talk to people at the stools.

The clean up area would be where the cooktop used to be...with maybe a plate rack above the sink? You probably won't be standing there that much, since you have a dishwasher and the prep sink will be seeing most of the action. However, it is close to any dirty dishes on the island, the breakfast table and even the baking area!

You could have dish storage on each side of the clean up sink, and more storage on that side of the island. Maybe open shelves? With the stools, still on the end, by the prep sink.

This is just another idea...but I wanted to get your main work area (fridge, sink, cooktop) all together...with minimum walking around. The baking area is still close by...and the clean up area can be a few steps further away, in fact that might be better, when you have 'helpers' in the kitchen :)

From Cottage house plans

Kitchen sink with plate rack above...just in case you like this idea...

From Kitchen plans

All other inputs welcome!

I really like the beadboard on the 'brick' wall. Are you thinking of using tile for the other backsplash?

Just trying to get an idea of your choices...now I'm really curious, with these lovely drawings. They're all drawn by hand, right? Very nice :)

And yes, indeed, we are thinking of soapstone - I keep monitoring the various threads of love & angst on this forum; haven't gotten samples yet. I'm more of a "mixer" than a "roller" when it comes to baking (but not a user of mixes!), so iffy on marble. Thinking of tile for the other backsplash, & for the fireplace wall - maybe something Motawi- or Pewabic-esque (real things probably not in budget :^( ) - or some of that customizable cement tile I posted about a while ago (e.g. Villa Laguna) - in any event, there WILL be color & pattern in more abundance than seems to be the norm these days, but I can't help myself - & don't want to!

I'll have to post some idea photos as well as pix of our existing kitchen (it's really dismaying) - I'm only just learning how to do this stuff, so each step takes forever & when successful seems to be a miracle (& non-replicable).

In my ideal world, we would have a fabulous old Craftsman cottage (circuspeanut & donna2973 come to mind) with natural wood moulding and Stickley & Roycroft galore - in reality, we have a 1930's-begun-&-since-added-onto, very modestly-built "amended" Cape with natural cedar siding (was mint green vinyl when we bought it!) and a seaside-cottage feel (very plain white trim throughout most of the interior). But we don't want a white kitchen! I'm really in sync with the concerns expressed on GW to integrate our new kitchen so that it doesn't feel like one has entered another home when one enters the kitchen; OTOH, this house has had so many odd little things done to it that (to me) it doesn't have a specific-period feel - it's just homey! And, happily, we don't have to worry about resale; first of all, we have no intentions of moving, & also, we're sure that this house on this property (waterfront) would be an IMMEDIATE tear-down, sad to say. "Heavens - NO GARAGE?!" So we feel like we can do anything we want - e.g., I've completely decoupaged the walls of my craft room w/ old maps & nautical charts - years before Pottery Barn started selling their map wall decals! And it makes me smile whenever I walk in...(I'm a mapaholic).

Anyway, I'll attempt to post some "inspiration"-type stuff & be glad for any more ideas/cautions/magic wands.

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

I hadn't seriously considered having the cooktop on the island, but this arrangement seems to help with several problems: gets cooktop, fridge, prep sink, & one oven in close proximity; moves fridge closer to eating/fireplace area/living room (in fact fridge would be back @ location from our first layout plan attempt from February, but w/ lots more changes that keep it from being marooned across a barrier island); puts a second oven (& maybe a warming oven) adjacent to "baking area"/dining rm staging area; and allows more upper cabs because vent hood is over island rather than on wall. I did move the MW drawer to the other side of the island from where lavender lass suggested, because of my (sheepish look here) tendency to repeatedly re-nuke my coffee - want easy access from the table (coffee purists, forgive me). Anyway, here are revised sketches showing wall elevations - first, Wall "A" (brick chimney wall):

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

Next, Wall "B" (wall w/ window):

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

Wall "C" (clean-up sink/DW wall):

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

And, finally the island (we added a curved overhang to the end to try for a bit more seating):

From Kitchen Interior Elevations

I would truly appreciate any & all comments - Thanks much!

I'd still shorten the island and get it out of the traffic (and view) line through the house, even if it meant moving the prep sink across from the stove. I believe you passed on that one, though, and the sink is really good where you have it.

The only other issue I'm remembering probably is either fulfilled or acceptable as it: You really wanted a view of the river while you were working. (I suggested something like that you can overdo exposure to anything and that being able to see it out there now and then as you walked around the kitchen would be as satisfying as always working facing it.) Are you happy with the main work area off the view line? Or can you see the river as you glance out off the deck side of the house?

BTW, it's so nice that your house is safe with you. I almost always like evolving, folksy old houses a lot more than the predictable unbroken-in new shoes they're replaced with.

Seriously, the microwave makes a lot of sense where you placed it on the island. It's close to the main sink and the table. I don't drink coffee anymore (mostly tea) but my mom reheats her coffee in the microwave, all the time :)

Hi again, Rosie - such encouraging comments, and I really appreciate your remembering & being sensitive to our goals w/ respect to views. Actually, if I removed or narrowed that "spice pullout" to the right of the cooktop, we could shorten the island back from the traffic line - I'll definitely try that. And while the prep area no longer faces squarely through the living rm to the water, I think that it would be more-than-OK, given the glass expanse in doors to deck & your notion of the repeated happy encounters w/ the view as one moves w/in the work space. I did have a question for you from previous thread: you had mentioned a scary "close call" w/ a basement stairway - may I ask which side of the basement doorway (as one is standing in front of the door) would be best for the hinges to be on, in your experience/opinion? Thanks in advance for that and for all the times you've responded - you've been so helpful & supportive.

And hello again to you, bmorepanic! Good questions about the microwave - it's been a pesky issue. Yes, I do frequently use our MW (22 yrs old & counting - guess we'll never bet on that lifespan again, from what I hear) to steam veggies, as well as to serve my coffee-reheating habit. One of the few efficient things about the layout of our existing kitchen is that the MW is on the counter right behind my chair at the table - I can reach back w/ my coffee mug, nuke, & retrieve w/out even standing up! Not that a little more excercise would be a bad thing - I will indeed consider your suggestion & would love to hear any others you have.

JeannieMer, hello & again I'm SO thankful to you and others who take the time to read, consider, & then actually propose layout changes. In many homes, having the cleanup sink & DW where you've placed them would make lots of sense; our planning is self-complicated by the fact that we're trying to move the cleanup area away from that wall! Given that, I'd be grateful to see what else your obviously-logical approach to things could come up with - please post more ideas!

From Kitchen plans

From Kitchen plans

From Kitchen plans

If you do an image search (google, yahoo or other) for 'kitchen island cooktop' you'll get a lot more photos!

Rosie, thank you for posting back on the door issue - glad to think that at least one of our existing inconveniences (basement door swing) could become a helpful safety feature!

Any other thoughts from the layout gurus here?