Cook side

Cleanup

Island will have an 18" bank on each side with a 36" drawer bank in the middle

12X14 doesn't seem all that big when you get right down to it

Get rid of the muffin top island portion and just square it up. Small kids and older people alike find it difficult to climb onto bar height stools. Counter height is better. The thing not shown, and that is VITALLY important, is how the island fits into the space, with it's clearances.

Really from the measurements that you show, (168") you don't have room for the seating that you show. You need a minimum of 48" between the island and that fridge, and that's with no seating, and a counter depth fridge. For the major traffic way, you're gonna have to account for people going through there, and that needs at least 54", and you'll still bump into people sitting there when carrying something.

Take that 168" and minus the perimeter counter with the counter depth fridge there at 30". You now have 138" to work with in the middle of your U. Subtract the needed aisle space of 102 for both sides of the island. . You only the 36" cabinet, and that's not counting the standard overhang. And that's with no seating. If you want seating on one side the room you have left for the cabinet is a 15" cabinet, with 15" of overhang.

Sure, you can narrow things down, and have people squeeze their way through THE major traffic path into the home, but why would you do that on a new build? Same with the pinch point around the fridge. If you don't have 48" of room in front of your fridge, you'll have created a congestion zone.

This kitchen would be much better traffic zoned if you switched the legs, and then created a peninsula out from the wall by the dining area for your seating, and put a prep sink in it.

May I suggest, that since you are swapping the mud room and the pantry, put a small, high window in it.....I have one in mine, and it makes out so much more enjoyable to be in the pantry.....I know it seems like a small or insignificant detail, but I promise you it isn't.

If you're the types to keep things orderly, I'd recommend not having a door either. I have base cabinets in mine and open shelves on the wall. You can see it from the kitchen and I can't tell you how many people tell me they love my pantry.

I'm concerned about the narrow drawers on your cooking wall - I'm guessing the ones on either side of the rangetop are pullouts, but what about the ones beside those? You may be better served with fewer, wider drawer banks on that wall.
Staggering cabinet heights, depths, and island heights seems like a lot of variation. I started off assuming I'd do all that, and was guided toward simpler structure which I now prefer.

I got so much helpful advice here, perhaps the arguments in one of my early threads for a one level island will also be persuasive to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: my plans link, note cooking wall and island

If you went with Hollyspring's floorplan, wouldn't you have to relocate the pantry so you could access it from the kitchen?

Just move the door to the kitchen. You lose a corner, but that's not a big sacrifice.

1. ditto to 1 level island.

2. I would skip the narrow vertical pullouts flanking cooktop, but make those 3-drawers wider. Put the spices in the top drawer, way easier than to have to bend down to those space-wasteful/expensive pullouts.

3. where will your trash go?
I would swap for more drawers. so much easier to pullout drawers than to swing open doors and bend down to reach for stuff.

4. I would get rid of the 2 tiny/narrow uppers flanking the windows, and make the windows wider. My window-wall is 23feet long and it was the BEST part of my kitchen.
AND bring the window down to the counter!
My kids use my windows as a drive-up window and "order" ice cream while they're playing outside.

5. Are those double ovens, or will one of them be a microwave? if not, where will your MW go?
I suggest you read about speedcooker, ie. the Advantium. It is truly loved by my husband. frozen nuggets done in 7-10minutes from the freezer.

good luck,
Amanda

Holly- Do you think opening the fridge is going to block too much traffic, with the peninsula?

Msmatt- Do you want the wall oven because it's easier to reach or is it more about having drawers under cook top? If it's the drawers, what if you keep the plan by builder....with drawers in the island? You'd have room for a 36" range, maybe with the two ovens. This would give you a great cooking area, with clean up on the other wall. Just an idea :) {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans