Sorry, don't know why pic didn't post...here it is.

Architects are not kitchen designers.

In that plan, imagine yourself making a meal. You walk to the fridge, catch the next bus to the sink to wash your meat, produce or hands, prep on the only stretch of counter that you'll use (between sink and range), get something else from the fridge or pantry, wait for the next bus to the sink, and on and on. Now that you're so tired from all that bus-riding, you burn what's in the pan a little and go to take it off the stove. Wait--there's nowhere to put it, because all you have is a tiny sliver of countertop between the range and pantry door. Maybe you have a convenient potholder in that triangular cabinet? Hope so. It's the ONLY thing that could possibly fit in there.

Of course, through all these bus trips you're also dodging all the traffic that goes through the kitchen.

But wait, there's more.

Where are you going to put anything in that kitchen? There's virtually no room for uppers. Oh, OK, we'll put everything below counter. Some people do that--in drawers. Uh-oh, there isn't one single place in the whole kitchen to put a drawer where it won't bang into the neighboring drawer.

Same will happen with the dishwasher, as it helpfully bangs into the knees of whoever is standing at the sink.

I don't know why architects waste their time and your money designing kitchens. They should just put a little cartoon pot labeled "Kitchen" and leave it up to somebody with a clue.

It's not impossible to design a kitchen with a bay. But not that way.

Personally I'd lose the bay. What "looks nice" in a ten second home tour has nothing to do with what will keep you from wanting to stick your head in the oven the first time you try to cook in it.

I think your instincts seem right and you should follow them.

I'm going to have to use the bus analogy with my DH, maybe that will convince him. LOL. Thanks. Lots of things to think about.

Also, draw on your diagram the wasted space between every cabinet. There is a triangle of emptiness between each box every time the countertop takes a turn. You can't use it but you're paying for it.

HTH

If you want a bunch of angles, put them in the eating area. Make that more of a separate octagonal addition to the main house. Angles waste space. But, if you put in a large round table, it could be a nice sunny focal point as long as you paid for good windows to keep the heat gain to a minimum.

For the kitchen, straighten things out. You'll get a more efficient space, and even though it's smaller, it has more storage and better workflow.

We are thinking of expanding the kitchen by 2 ft. That would put it at 16 x 14. We would then put a cabinet on the wall after the bay returns - giving me another upper cab. The pantry door will be moved back to the hall. Lose the snack bar and put in a 4 x 8 island. Does that work?

Option 2: Lose bay - kitchen becomes 13 x 14. Keep snack bar. Bay gets added to nook, which makes that room 16 x 13.

Option 2: Lose bay - kitchen becomes 13 x 14. Keep snack bar. Bay gets added to nook, which makes that room 16 x 13.

Simething like this? A 20-25 sq ft bumpout does make a world of difference. Lots of possibilities with 14 ft width vs 12.

I opted to lose a corner (cf deedles thread), made the island narrower than 4 x 8 to get better passage clearance. Wrapped the seating for comfortable communication. Option for island base cabinet facing range.