Kitchen designer's design.

I like the KD lay out much better. I would hate to have my sink crapped by the ovens that will be hot as well.

I agree with the kitchen designer.
Though, have you considered 2 under counter ovens? (range/oven?) Then, you can have counter in both places.

I prefer the KD's plan as well. The other plus it offers is that it's a shorter path between fridge and MW. Or maybe you never have left-overs left to reheat at your house. ;-)

How wide is your doorway? And how much wall will you have between opening and ovens? Hubby and I attended the local Street of Dreams show a few weeks back. One of the kitchens had the ovens in the doorway to the DR but with very little wall between opening and ovens. I measured - there was only 33" from oven handles to the counter on the other side of the doorway. Poor, poor planning. If you're willing to give up a little bit of the counter area to the right of the fridge and you can move or widen the doorway, I encourage you to do so to give yourself a larger buffer in that area.

Our proposed layout is basically the same as yours (the KD one). Great flow!

I would hate the ovens right next to the sink like that. After living with just a few inches of counter between the sink and refrigerator for many years, one of the main goals of our reno was to open up the area around the sink...more counter space on each side. You have virtually no landing space on either side of the ovens. I think you KD's design is much better.

Having the Ovens by the range is better also because then the DW can be to the Left of the sink, instead of right in the middle of prep/cook area (between sink/range, since your prep sink is at the other end of the island. Think: where will you pour out hot pasta water?

Wow, thanks all for the quick responses! I did not expect there to be such a consensus for one over the other, and this of course right after I told the contractor to put the ovens to the left of sink.

One thing I neglected to mention is that in the KD's plan, there is no pantry in the kitchen, which is very problematic, that is a must-have (that's where the ovens are in the other plan, bw dining room and kitchen door). If we put the ovens there, not sure where pantry goes.

To respond to some of the points raised -

I'm not clear on why it's bad to have hot ovens beside sink? Seems like it'd be much worse to have them beside fridge, which is where several people suggested they go.

I'm also not sure I understand the point about the dishwasher placement? How does the placement of it affect path to sink? It really seems better on right, as it will have more room to open.

Anyway, thanks again for all the responses. Welcome any questions and further responses.

Today's kitchen planning doesn't think so much in terms of "work triangle", but more in terms of work zones: prep, cooking, cleanup. It's best if those areas don't overlap.

Your primary prep zone is between sink and stove. Putting the DW to the left of the sink keeps the cleanup zone out of the prep zone.

The question about pasta water should have said "How do you dump a hot pot of water if the DW is open?"

What's the small space with two arched doorways, at the lower right of your first drawing? Could you use that for pantry space?

Finally, how high are your ceilings? How high will the cabinets go? Taller cabinets provide a lot of storage - especially is you put extra shelves in the uppers.

The KD's design is head and shoulders superior, however, the aisles look too tight for an island. This looks like a kitchen that's just trying too hard for that island. A peninsula coming out from the sink wall would be more functional, and add the ability to have some casual seating.

Can you take down the wall that incorporates the first "arch". If you can, then the short wall would be the perfect place for the pantry.

Could pantry go to the right of the fridge? In your layout re dishwasher placement...what will you store in the upper cabinets above and around the corner from the dishwasher? If that is storage for anything that goes in the dishwasher, it looks like you will not be able to reach those cabinets to put stuff away when the dishwasher is open.

Have you thought about where you will go with a sheet of cookies or a roasting pan right out of the oven? It looks as though you just have inches on each side of the ovens in your layout and if you turn to the island there is the prep sink and maybe a couple induction burners maybe, not sure what those are. That can be a real issue.

If you're worried about the oven doors opening into the doorway to the dining room, wouldn't you have the same issues with pantry doors. I know I am in my pantry many more times a day than I have my oven door open.

Sorry to be blunt, but I would despise having the wall ovens to the left of the sink like that. It looks weird, I'd feel crowded at the sink, and it ruins would is otherwise a very handy stretch of counter.

I'd also remove all the upper cabinets from the sink wall and just have them on the stove wall (let the window breath a bit more), but if you kept those uppers, I'd not see those and think, "What on earth?" the way I would with the odd double oven placement.

What is this, and can we put the pantry or the fridge here instead?

Suggestions:

1) As others have said, if the chef doesn't like the wall ovens where the KD suggested, under counter ovens are always an option.

2) I agree with others who said the walkways around the island look too tight. If having a counter right next to the fridge isn't that important to you, you could put the fridge here:

And then the wall the fridge was on could be nothing but 12"-15" deep pantry cabinets. That would free up more space for walking around the island and give you a magnificent pantry.

3) If you did suggestion #2, you could also widen the doorway into the dining room, which might make the chef find the placement of the wall ovens in front of that doorway less objectionable.

4) What is with the two arches that are just a couple feet apart from each other? I've never seen anything like it. How is the space in between them used, and what is beyond the arches? There is a lot of potential for putting something there that would benefit the kitchen, but we'd need to know the constraints.

Just in case there's not a reason to have the second arch, here is an idea:

Jillius,
Great design!!! Love the way the oven and fridge are situated with a counter in the middle.
Homepro01