Here is a picture of the current layout.

Couple things to note, the room labeled "Dining" in new layout is currently the family room. Thanks!

You plan to have the sink, stove and fridge on the same wall? I don't think the fridge will work well as you show it. The doors will not be able to fully open unless you have big fillers on each side (for a sxs fridge). I think there's a better layout, but maybe one of the GW pros can give you some suggestions.

Thanks dilly, I agree with your comment. One possibility is to change the layout of the entryway closet and have the fridge there and closet opening facing the front door?

Hopefully this post picks up some traction from the GW pros ;)

There is not enough space between your proposed range and sink! That is the most important real estate in the kitchen.

You mentioned open concept. Will the wall on the left side of the kitchen (where the range and fridge are in your current kitchen) be coming down? That would be important to know.

I would do this:

1) Keep that bank of separate cabinetry on the right in your current layout. Put the Fridge there. MW goes next to Fridge.
2) Keep your slider, or change it to a single door, or close it up - just keep a separation between the new Fridge wall and the top wall.
3) Get rid of the peninsula. Make island longer, going farther to the left. If possible, I would get rid of the wall so the island can be a little bigger. If you need a post, you can incorporate it into the island really nicely - do an image search. Can also do a dummy post on the other side of the island to balance it out if asymmetry bothers you.
4) Sink and range go on top wall.
5) Optional, but do it if you can: Put prep sink on the right side of the island, near the fridge.
6) Optional: you can do something cute with the left end of the island if you wanted something there.. some people flare out an island by widening the end with a half circle or circle.

You won't have the most room between the sink and range on the top wall, but since the island and all its lovely counterspace (and hopefully a prep sink) is right across the aisle, it's fine.

Angie, yes the wall to the left of the kitchen will be removed. We plan a fireplace on the far left wall and had planned for some bar stools on the peninsula. The sliding glass door would be moved also as the new layout indicates (essentially moving the kitchen to the right). Can you explain a little more about distance between the range and sink?

tracie,

Couple quick questions please:

The slider will be moved to the original location of the dining room.What do you mean by "keep separation between the Fridge wall and top wall"?

I like the idea of extending the island, but the peninsula was meant to incorporate a breakfast bar/seating. My concern is if we eliminate the peninsula and extend the island, it will protrude into the living area on the bottom left of the layout. Can you give me a better idea of what you are thinking, perhaps a sketch?

Thank you for your comments, hopefully after a couple more comments, I will try and make some edits.

Here are some pictures that may help.

This post was edited by dazraf80 on Mon, Dec 17, 12 at 9:59

Well, invariably, you wind up doing most of your prep work between the range and the sink. How much room did you leave between sink and range in your proposed layout? It looks like maybe 24"? I used to have about that, and it drove me nuts! (Not that it was a long trip, but I digress....)

I am curious: Where do you find you prep most of the time in your current kitchen?

Right now, we mostly use the island. Your point is well taken, one of the biggest issues we are having right now is prep area.

bump...

Hi dazraf, here is a very rough sketch of what I was thinking. As I was doing it I thought it would be great for you to have a pantry, so I put it next to the fridge (denoted by the "P") and put a drawer MW in the island ("MW") which pulls out towards the fridge. "S" is the prep sink.

bump...

Thanks tracie, I like the look you presented and will be considering it.

Anyone else have thoughts or suggestions on the layout?

How would you feel about taking your current plan (in which you removed the wall to the left of the kitchen), and putting the sink on that peninsula? The range would stay on the outside wall, giving you an "L" kitchen.

Can you shorten your peninsula and put the fridge on the wall next to the basement stairs (will need to modify this wall/closet)? Then you can move your range to the other side of the window, where the fridge was.

Angie, great idea I have been looking at some pictures of peninsula's and really like the look having the sink there. We were originally thinking of having a multi-level peninsula (higher part would be for seating on the opposite side of the kitchen), but putting the sink there in a single level sounds like a great idea!

controlfreakecs,

We are going to try and move there fridge there now (currently a hallway) and see how it looks. We plan on removing the existing closet to free up the space prior to doing anything else so hopefully that helps in making some decisions. I am going to throw the ideas into sketchup and provide an update.

Here is a draft, still working on the details but like where it's going.

Hi all, here are some updates to the floor plan. Comments would be greatly appreciated!

One big decision is whether to keep the dividing beam between the current living room and dining room (please see first picture in post dated Fri, Dec 7, 12 at 15:02).

The contractor has suggested we do a flush beam (~$2k in additional cost) in place of the current structure. The question is, is the cost worth the change or does the beam provide an aesthetically pleasing separation.

Please keep in mind that our ceilings are 7.5ft high, so the bottom of that beam is at 7ft. Thanks!

Having the sink and DW on two different runs is really poor design. You'll be twisting and dripping constantly. And you still only have 2 feet of prep space between sink and stove. I hate to say it, but this seems worse than what you currently have!

You could move your sink down and make it a corner sink (I have one and love it actually!) and keep the DW on the peninsula - though you'll need to put something between the sink corner and DW (12" space at least).

Your sink and range are still too close together. Either do what Kathy suggests, or remove that door you added and move the range down there. Keep in mind how you will travel through the kitchen -- Food Storage (Fridge) ---> Sink ----> Range, and that you want as close to 36" of primary prep space as you can get, if not more, which should be located between a water source and the range (or in close proximity like an island across from range).

Thank you for the comments. I would like to have the door somewhere in the kitchen in order to have rear access.

What if I moved the sink to the left peninsula with the DW in the peninsula as well? Then I could center the oven on that wall giving more space between sink and stove top.

The dimensions of this kitchen have been extremely difficult to accommodate an effective kitchen. This design came from out GC and now I am beginning to question his design sense!

bump..

any thoughts on the above (moving sink to peninsula)?

What about the island option tracie.erin offered? That doesn't make the seating protrude into the living space any more than the peninsula does. And it has better flow - though I would think about putting the sink and DW on the island and eliminating the prep sink.

Also, you mentioned wanting to leave a door in the kitchen to access the rear. Can you do that from the sliders you show behind the breakfast bar? B/C if the sliders and the door go to the same deck/patio/whatever, then you only need one of them. It's just as far a walk to go out the sliders as it would be to go out the door. If you closed that door, you'd be able to move things around on that long wall better.

I don't like the fridge in the little alcove with your latest plan, either. It has no 'landing space' by it. Imagine getting all the stuff out to make a salad - you'll drop half of it my the time you get to a counter.

Yes, move the sink to the peninsula with the DW to the outside. Then do a shallow pantry/glass dish hutch combo on that wall facing it. Move the fridge to the far side, with enough of a broom closet next to the wall to let the doors open. That gives the range a straight shot to the exterior for easy venting and give you double prep zones in the corner between the sink and the range as well as the island. If you want to increase the utility of the island, add a small prep sink there as well, but be careful of the clearances between the island and fridge.

KathyNY76,

We looked at the option of a longer island and would love to have been able to do that. The biggest issue the width of the kitchen. If you look at GreenDesigns drawing, the door that swings open would actually only leave a few inches of space between the door and island. The current island is only 30" from the base cabinets as it stands now, hence why we are considering eliminating it.

The issue is the drawings I posted show a little more room width wise than what is actually there. My apologizes for this. For a better sense of what I am referring to, here are a few pics reposted.

This is facing the wall where the peninsula is shown in the drawings. The wall is not load bearing.

This is facing the same wall from the kitchen.

There is currently 30" of space between bottom cabinets and island.

This is facing in opposite direction. We usually use this door to come into the house.

So given the above, any changes in opinion?

Then eliminate the island in favor of a rolling cart that can move where you need it. But the last design posted with the sink on the peninsula is the most functional so far. The biggest bonus to it is that it gives you the dish storage on that wall, as well as gives you a lot of prep space between the sink and the range, where it's most needed.