Did you see Bellsmom's reveal today? I believe its this same layout.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bellsmom Kitchen

dilly - it certainly does look similar; I posted in her thread hoping she'll give some insight as the layout is very similar.

I don't really want 2 open bookshelves on the island, one would be fine. I don't know what to have instead though. Maybe even a glass-front would be better to protect somewhat from dust bunnies.

Don't know how helpful I'll be. I am not very good at reading layouts, I guess. Looks like an exterior sliding door to the left of the fridge? And an interior door to the left of the bump in? And another interior door sort of across from the sink? If that is right, you and I both have a plethora of doors (I have four, plus an open wall), which certainly limits design.

In mine I envisioned the island as the main prep area. The microwave and pullout trash are there. I wish I could have had another drawer stack in the island.

Are you planning to use the island for prep? If I were you, I'd evaluate someplace else for bookshelves and add another drawer stack to the island. It is SO great to have all the stuff you use for prep right there beside you in drawers as you cook.

If there is wall area near a door, you might be able to recess a bookshelf partly into the wall, gaining four inches or so of space so that the bookshelf only protrudes a few inches into the room, thus using an area that otherwise had no function.

I hope you are having as much fun with this process as I did.

Doors - there is a door but it's right across from the range, where that funky corner is in the north wall. We have 3 doors in our current kitchen, which is only about 9x13. Definitely presents limitations.

Island - I do want the island to be a prep area. I specifically did not want any major work centers there (main sink or range). I want to have a big ol' space to spread out on. I don't even care if there is seating at the island and wonder if I could get more bang for my buck if it were reconfigured without the overhang. I'm not at all married to the bookshelves on the island. We have a few cookbooks but nothing we couldn't make space for elsewhere. One thing I want to look into is recessing some pantry height cabinetry into that north wall where it bumps into the room. I'm assuming it's bumped in that way to accommodate plumbing since the bathroom is on the other side of that way, the upstairs bathroom is directly above.

Bellsmomom - is your micro a drawer? I was really wanting a chimney hood (not the one pictured here) but the over-range micro is so much more practical from a space standpoint. Sigh.

Thanks!

This is personal opinion, so please feel free to ignore.

The range wall bugs me a little. Not entirely sure why. Something to do with it feeling unbalanced.

It's really tempting to remove the uppers from that wall completely. Do a metal hood for contrast and to calm it down a little. I think I might try some pantry space under the double window in the corner. Something about 4 feet tall and perhaps not 24" deep. Or maybe use 24" deep and stick a micro inside with a trim kit.

if you don't want 2 open bookshelves, you could make one side into wine shelves. it could be a vertical wine shelf (little boxes going 2 wide the height of the island. could do 2 that butt into each other. don't know whether it would fit 2 deep, though...

as for the layout, it looks great.

if you don't want bookshelves on the ends you could use them for 'pantry' storage. canned goods on 1 end, dry goods on the other end. they're deeper than I'd want for canned goods (tho probably about what I have)but you could have items layered back - front can is chicken noodle soup = 3 or 4 cans of the same behind it etc

if you have a pet you could use the lower part of 1 end for a feeding station.

Yes, my microwave is a drawer. I love it. It takes so much less space than the old one I had, which was relegated to the pantry. I can fit a huge amount in it, and there are lots of pre-programmable functions for defrosting and heating.

You may want to do some reading here on range hoods and over the range microwaves. I really think a dedicated range hood is the way to go. The microwave can easily fit into the island in the space two end bookshelves might take. And there would be a nice drawer beneath it.

Island work centers. Again, I'm a major newbie here, but a prep center IS a work center. I think you don't want the cooking or the clean up centers there.

It is such a huge learning curve to do this planning. But it is SO much fun! And the end product will be yours and yours alone.
Best luck. Hope this helps.

I think your working layout is great but I'm with bmorepanic in thinking that the range wall feels unbalanced. I think it's because the height of the range cabinet conflicts with the stacked uppers on the rest of the wall so it detracts from the overall look. A chimney hood would fix that IMO.

Are these existing windows? If you put in a single exterior door (rather than the slider) could you switch the fridge and range? Maybe have enough room for the range on that wall and still have prep space on each side?

If you did this, could you move the sink over towards the fridge and have a bigger window? This would really bring some light into your kitchen and maybe room for some herbs in that window?

I think this would give you a lot more prep space, between the sink and range and the dishwasher could go between sink and fridge, with trash on the side closest to the range. I like the island and the banquette is a great idea! Don't forget about the table...it's easier to use a pedestal table with a banquette :)

I posted this on my kitchen post where you asked, but if you don't look back there, there's the info you asked for on the wall demo:

I looked up what the GC charged to demo the retaining wall and put in the support beam. It was $2,400. I have no idea if that is a typical amount or not. There were additional charges for rerouting plumbing and electricity, but those are combined with the total plumbing and electrical charges for the entire kitchen, so I can't include them. It might have added another $1000 or so.

This is why I love this forum!

@bemorepanic - I refuse to remove uppers, LOL. I like the "topless" look but functionality wise, I just can't do it. I'm hoping as taggie said, a chimney hood will fix that. I'll ask the KD if he can draw that in instead. There is a door in the lower left corner that goes to the dining room (there's a picture there now in the drawing) so the pantry shelving under the window wouldn't work.

@kwhah - great idea, in fact I love your idea + desertsteph's on idea for a small extra pantry shelf, and one for our ever-growing wine collection

@lavender lass - yes they are existing windows. They are taller than what appears on the drawing as I never did give the KD the height of the windows. I also agree about the idea of going to a single exterior door if it would give us more space. I do like the fridge near that door so that you're not looking a a wall 'o fridge when you look into the kitchen from the dining room. The wall the KD put next to the fridge creates a little entry way from the back, which I like. I'll have to see how much $$$ it would be to change the window size. It might already have to be raised to accommodate a counter so we'll see...

@Bellsmom - thanks for the ballpark figure. It's hard to put together a budget when you don't know what things cost!

Thanks for the feedback, more is always welcome.

How much room do you have between island and banquette area in the northwest corner? I did a little guesstimating and I think you may have 107" between island and west wall and 67" between island and north wall. Not sure how you plan to set up the banquette but my suggestion is to go with a 42" square or round table (round would make it easier to scoot past that protruding wall and onto the bench on the west wall) that overhangs a 24" deep L bench by 4". That will give you 45" between table and side of island (if my guesstimate is correct), which is sufficient for an aisle that does not include back to back seating. If your banquette bench and table extend along the north wall, overlapping with the island ... well, it doesn't appear that you have enough room to do that. Does this make sense?

lisa - I think I know what you are saying. Do you think there's not enough room for a banquette? I was not planning on having a very long bench along the north way. Maybe only 48"?

Ugh. Maybe the island should be smaller? 96" seems quite long.

This is what I mean (not drawn to scale).

The dimension from table to island edge is a guesstimate. You may have more clearance, you may have less. I was estimating that the aisle between range perimeter and island was 42" (counter to counter) and the island was 46.5" wide and you also had a 42" aisle between CD fridge (at 29" deep) and 96" long island. I've no idea how close my guesses are and I could easily have made false assumptions. If you give me more information, I can help you figure out how much clearance you'd have between island and table.

Do you already own a table for this space? If so, how large is it?

Thanks for the drawing lisa, that helps. I'm sure your assumptions are correct, as correct as mine would be. This room does not yet exist so I can't even measure it out to double check. We do not have a table yet.

I have to look at what the recommended aisle widths are. It's starting to seem that the island does need to be smaller, eh?

The room doesn't need to be built yet for you to check the measurements, the dimensions for the space are on the plan. Or at least most of them are. I can tell the dimensions for the fattest part of the room: 181-something (I can't read the fractions) by 274". What's missing are the depth of that protruding wall (is there a fireplace on the other side?), the dimension of the right wall, and the aisles between island and perimeter. Did the company who drew this plan up not include those measurements in the plan? Seems like they should.

Also, I can't make out how your island is constructed. Are those 24" deep cabs backed by 12" deep cabs or ? How deep is the seating overhang? The print is too tiny to read, which meant I had to guess on the depth of the island.

NKBA recommended aisle widths are 42" for a one-cook kitchen and 48" for a two-cook kitchen. Some posters go with less (rhome has 36" between island and range top and loves it) or more. NKBA recommends 44" aisles for walk behind seating and 36" aisles for squeeze behind seating. Again, some people go with less. I have 40" between island and kitchen table for a major pathway through our kitchen and it works for us - but there aren't any cabinets opening into the aisle nor is there seating at the island. You could do a mock up (cardboard boxes or table and chairs strategically placed) to know whether you can get away with less than recommended aisles but if you've got the room, don't skimp on aisles. IMO, of course. ;-)

Do you need that wall next to the fridge? If you can eliminate it, you'd gain 4.5" on that wall.

Uh, I just realized something. There's no interior door to this space! At least none is shown on the drawing. That's kind of a crucial detail needed for feedback.

Lisa- I believe there are two interior doors...one in the southwest corner (by the windows) and there's another one in the middle of the top wall...I think next to the banquette.

What do you think of the idea of switching the range and fridge, replacing the slider with a single door and moving the sink over to the left a bit (with a bigger window) and giving more prep space around the range? If this worked, then a bit of the left side of the island could be trimmed down (making it easier to access the fridge) and giving more room for the banquette.

Just an idea :)

This truly is one of the best forums ever. All of you have such kind and insightful feedback. Threegraces, you are blessed!

lavender lass is right - there are 2 interior doors.

melsey - I could not agree more, it's truly amazing.

I'll be having an appt with the KD this week. I have a lot of great feedback to bring to him. I'll update after the meeting. Thanks!

Here's a new layout to view. I wanted additional storage and did not care if I lost the double door to the backyard (down to a single) since we're planning on building a mudroom off of that door eventually. That little pony wall the KD put in to hid the fact that the panel will have a seam due to the height of the ceilings. I'm actually ok with that because I do think it gives the entry a somewhat separate feel which will be nice until said mudroom gets built (could be a looong time). The KD put a table in to represent where the banquette would be.

Things I'm still unsure of:
1) The open bookshelves on the island. Not sure I want these, especially not 2 of them
2) I really do think I'd rather have the micro on the counter instead of in the island
3) Not sure if the aisles are wide enough. My guestimate is that they are about 42", maybe less between the fridge and island? I would be willing to give up some of the island size.

Be back with a few more pics...

I looked at my parents' kitchen which has similar dimensions and realized an 8-foot island is far too long. It almost makes this kitchen look like a galley kitchen, not something I want. 6 or 7' seems long enough when I actually measured it out in real life vs looking at a drawing.

threegraces, can't help with the layout as my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp but I found Cliq too on the web after considering the Ikea Lidingo door. Did you get any of their samples? I want a painted white door but when the samples arrived, I actually liked the real wood dark brown cab better but my kitchen is very small and the white will be better. They also don't have the mullion style door I wanted. I did a mock layout myself and was surprised at how expensive it was, even after their sale discount, but I did love the vent cab that goes over the stove with the little shelf . . . one can dream.

@catlove - I only ordered the linen and white in Rockford and loved the white. Exactly the not-too-creamy, not-too-stark color we were looking for. Hubby and I both instantly picked that one. I have no desire to have stained cabinets so I don't know what those look like or how they compare to painted.

I believe they do customizations on the doors as there are some in their gallery pics that aren't in the catalog. I'm surprised that you're surprised at the cost. Yes, more than IKEA but they are already assembled and 30-50% less than other price quotes we got from local kitchen stores (including a custom shop). At then end of the day I wanted a white painted Shaker door and dovetail drawers and IKEA didn't have those. I'd be willing to let go of the drawers and willing to assemble cabinets for a door I loved, but alas, it wasn't to be.

FYI - it appears (can't say for sure) that Cliq and 6 Square are the same company. If you want to actually see the cabinets, find a 6 Square dealer.

bump