I think the 15" space between fridge and freezer will look and feel like a cave. Mock it up to see how it feels in rel life. Putting them together and putting your coffee station on the end - open to the side - would make the space a lot easier to use. Now you have a nice line of crown molding along the whole run. I'd open the upper cabinet to the side as well (24" wide, 15" deep). Drawers underneath would also be 24" wide and 15" deep.

Your 6" bases on either side of the stove will be expensive, and not terribly useful, and they decrease the usefulness of the drawers on each side. A 27" drawer is much better than a 21".

Same with the 12" upper - I can see where you're going for symmetry with the 27" uppers on each side of the hood, but squeezing in the 12" upper doesn't gain you anything. I would put in an easy-reach upper with a longer right leg.

Speaking of hood - especially if it's gas, you hood should be wider than the cooktop.

Is there a prep sink in your plan? I'm not one who thinks everyone kitchen needs a second sink, but in this case, I think you do -- the sink is so far from the refrigerator. I think the best layout functionally is refrigerator-sink-cooktop, so while I think its great that your cleanup area is separate from your prep and cooking area, I also think you need a water source either on the island or between the fridge and cooktop.

I also wouldn't do two 6" cabinets. I have one 6" cabinet and while I use it, it isn't the most functional cabinet. I'd scoot the range over 6" and make one 12" vertical cabinets (cutting boards and cookie sheets). I see that that might throw off your upper cabinets, but I'd try revising those (I couldn't care less about symmetry, though).

Like annkh, I think 15" between two 33" columns will feel cave-like. 15" isn't a very useful countertop space. Yes you can fit the coffeemaker, but that's all you can fit, and where will the water come from (the fridge?). Also, aesthetically, even if you do decide on the 15" space between the columns, I wouldn't drop the cabinet above that space. Instead, I'd line up the cabinets above the entire space, and I'd carry the fridge and freezer trim across the bottom (all the way across).

Thank you so much for your feedback. Really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Annkh- I googled the easyreach and I'm going to add it to the design. What do you mean by a longer right leg? I hear you on the cave like coffee station. We were thinking the same thing but DH and I both love the look of the broken up fridge and freezer. Wondering if we can get a few extra inches of space to make it less cave-like. Having it on the end is an option, Dont know if it can be open on the side- will have to check on that.

I asked for a spice rack, which is why my KD added the two pullouts by the cooktop. The other is supposed to be a thing for hanging spatulas, ladels, etc. http://www.rev-a-shelf.com/p-497-base-cabinet-pullout-organizer-with-blumotion-soft-close-stainless-panel-sink-and-base-accessories.aspx Will reconsider if you think the 6" is better spent added to each side cabinet.

Ive read on GW that the hood should be larger than the cooktop but my current KD, my former KD and two appliance stores felt that the 36" was perfectly appropriate. Of course they gave me the option with the caveat that its more expensive, takes up more space, etc. Keep in mind I'm not a hard core cook. I'm going to have 6 burners but cannot fathom having more than two going at once (one for the spaghetti and one for the sauce!). Will give it some more thought.

SJHockeyfan... we dont have a prep sink on the plan. We didnt consider it because we thought it would be cost prohibitive. I'll talk to the KD to see what kind of $ it would run.

I'm not too worried about symmetry either. Just want to make sure I've got storage for everything.

Any thoughts on the size and shape of the island? Where would you put the prep sink? What do you think about the banquette size?

TIA!

I don't have an island or a banquette, so I can't help you there.

Attached is an old thread about upper corner cabinets. There are two examples (willtv and fsteph) showing easy-reach cabinets that have one side longer than the other. It's not something available in every cabinet line - in fact, those might both be custom. But it's worth checking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Old thread about easy-reach

I echo annkh to put the fridge and freezer columns together and move the 15" cab to an end, facing the side, similar to this:

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Falls Church Kitchen & Bath Designers Cameo Kitchens, Inc.

I have a 29" wide cab between wall and wall ovens; I can't imagine one half that wide. If you keep the cab in that location, make it tall storage.

I also second sjhockeyfan's advice to add a prep sink to the island. It will save you steps during cooking prep.

Have you considered storing your spices in a top drawer? See the link below to a thread on that topic for ideas. I'd also ditch the matching pull-out on the other side and store the utensils in a drawer. Those 2 changes will save you money, which will help off-set the costs of adding a prep sink to the island.

Here's an image of a spice drawer, courtesy of houzz.com

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Louisville Kitchen & Bath Designers Mike Smith / Artistic Kitchens

And here's an image with a wide drawer divided between spice storage and utensil storage.

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Beaufort Kitchen & Bath Designers Distinctive Designs in Cabinetry, LLC

I would not do a seating overhang at the bottom end of the island. That location is a prime landing spot for items coming out of the pantry, fridge and fridge, and - if I'm reading your plan correctly - it's also a prime landing spot for plopping down bags of groceries prior to putting them away in the pantry, fridge and freezer. It wouldn't be a very fun place to sit, IMO.

Here is a link that might be useful: Do You Have a Spice Drawer You Love?

Thank you Lisaa! All great points.

The seating on the fridge side I envision to be secondary seating during a party. I'll likely do stools with no backs and they will live seamlessly under the counter. When we entertain, they will be very useful. Since the seating is mostly in front of the freezer, I don't anticipate having to open and close it all that often.

I like the idea of closing in the beverage center yet keeping it in the middle. Between the columns. Def going to get rid of the two 6" drawers- nice to know we'll save some money there, and make the lowers larger. Thank you for the pics of the spice racks in drawers. Looks perfect :)

I'll have the KD price the prep sink as an add on.

I think you should mock up a 15" wide space blocked in on both sides and see what you think. I think it will be a very cramped beverage center and not very practical.

I strongly encourage you to move it to the end, turn it sideways and deepen it to a standard cab. It will be much more useful as a beverage station, esp when you entertain.

Check out the beverage station around the corner from the main kitchen that RealHousewifeofNJ has. Yours won't be as wide but a set-up like hers will be more functional than what you're planning, IMO. It's possible that more than 1 person could actually be at it at the same time, plus they wouldn't have to get out of the way when someone wants to access the fridge or freezer. A person takes up more than 15" of counter width; advice is to plan for at least 24" width per person for working and for seating.

Moving it also puts the fridge closer to the prep zone, which is a good thing.

Even if the seating at the end is only for use during parties, double check that you can find a stool that will fit completely under a 12" seating overhang, legs included. I looked some months ago and I don't recall finding a stool that took up less than a 14" deep footprint. I'm not saying you won't find one. I'm saying that your goal of having a stool "live seamlessly under the counter" may not as easy to achieve as you hope.

Here is a link that might be useful: RealHousewifeofNJ's dark cherry kitchen reveal!!

Great point on the stools Lisa. The Pottery Barn ones I wanted are almost 16".

I love the corner beverage center in that kitchen. My worry in my space is that it will look like I have a coffee maker in my family room. The spaces are so close together that we need some sort of separation.

What if the beverage center was between the two columns but it's inside floor to ceiling cabinetry just to break up the 66" of stainless?

I know that people are concerned about the fridge being too far from the cooking but for our family, it works. We are fridge to table types or fridge to microwave.

DH nixed the prep sink but still working on him!

What if the beverage center was between the two columns but it's inside floor to ceiling cabinetry just to break up the 66" of stainless?

Do you really want to have to open (and keep open) a floor-to-ceiling door just to make a pot of coffee?

I'm not really following the comments on the stools, but if you were looking at the Pottery Barn Tibetan stool, I can tell you that I have two of them under a 12" overhang and they fit neatly under, even though technically, the legs stick out a little (I have plenty of aisle space so its not a problem). If you want a picture, I can take one later.

I really think you should mock it up. 15" is quite narrow and if you make it a floor to ceiling cab, the opening will be narrower than 15"; 13.5" wide if you're doing frame-less cabs and about 12" wide if you're doing face frame cabs. That's barely enough width for most coffee makers, let alone trying to maneuver around it to add water, coffee or set a cup down to pour coffee into it.

This idea needs a bit more thought, IMO.

Obviously the space between the columns here is a bit more than 15" (just a bit!) but this is the look we love

https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchendesignscom-kitchen-designs-by-ken-kelly-inc-contemporary-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~54084-Kitchen-Designs-by-Ken-Kelly-Inc-contemporary-kitchen-new-york

This one is interesting. They have an even smaller space but they used cabinetry to break it up between the columns

https://www.houzz.com/photos/rancho-santa-fe-traditional-kitchen-san-diego-phvw-vp~87298-Santa-Fe-traditional-kitchen-san-diego

Thank you for the stool info sjhockey. The tibetans were the ones I was looking at so that's great. If we keep the overhang over there, which seems like an unpopular choice, we'll buy those for sure!

Is there a thread with guidelines on space requirements between aisles if there's seating, if there's no seating, if there are appliances that open, etc? Did a search but couldn't find one. If I have this info handy, I can be sure the island is where I want it to be.

Thanks so much!

Thanks guys. I'm hearing you loud and clear on my teeny tiny beverage station. My keurig does fit (and I only fill the water container once a week) but I agree it needs thinking. I'm going to ask the KD to mock it up on the end, open on the side, to see how it looks.

I'm also going to see if we can find a few more inches to make it work if we do keep it in the middle.

When I was in the throes of designing my kitchen and oohing and aahing about everything, I made a few tiny decisions based on how much I loved the look and told myself it would work. Two years later, those choices are sometimes an annoyance.

A year later when I planned a bath remodel, I wanted one of those counter cabinets with an appliance garage for my blowdryer. It was 15" wide. I mocked it up with boxes and found that it would be extremely difficult to manuever in those 15".

Ask yourself what the incentive is to go to that little space to make coffee when you have plenty of counterspace around your sink. Its cuteness? I have coffee supplies and mugs in a 13" wall cabinet. I have to place everything just so and move things in and out very gingerly. One of the problems is the hinge takes up room so you can't place things directly on the sides and slide them out. You also lose an inch or so to the cabinet box, so factor that out of your 15".

If you keep it, put a trash pull-out in the base for the K cups. I would also change the in-your-face diagonal wall corner cabinet that's in a busy work zone to an easy-reach cabinet.

The problem with doing what you want vs what you see in those pictures is that in the first one, obviously, there's a heck of a lot more space, and in the second one, the space (which is still too narrow IMHO) is used for display, not function. I'm getting claustrophobic just thinking about it!

Thanks so much. We will mock it up and see how it feels. FYI- the uppers are inset so it'll be even more narrow.