Ok, so tomorrow my beloved and I are buying our dream house. Ecstatic feelings!
Only problem is, the kitchen (and I am firmly on board with the modern notion about it being the heart of the home, the most important room of the house) is kind of a nightmare. Luckily, it's a buyer's market and we got a great price on the house which leaves a healthy renovations budget. Let's spend it! Of course, we plan to live there for a couple decades (at least), so the primary reason to renovate is to create a room we will adore spending tons of time in for many, many years to come. But, it will help convince my down-to-earth fella' to spend more on better materials and appliances, IF I can make the case to him that they are a solid investment in the home, in the long run. I have very funky, striking and colorful/eclectic tastes .....but again, thinking long run, home investment upgrade, I agree I should keep things 'classic' in terms of the kitchen materials, and use interchangeable accessories to dazzle my senses and accomplish my personal stamp of personality to the space. I do, anyway, love black/white/silver (silver or mirrored glass mosaic tiles are awesome). Then you are free to throw a splash of color (red! yellow! orange! change it up every month!) with curtains, etc and liven things up as much as you want.

I have been reading a couple hundred articles about the pros and cons of surface materials for the walls/floors/countertops/cabinet faces.

I have saved a dozen photos here on houzz to a kitchen idea book to give an idea of features I love:
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4489931/thumbs/Kitchen-ideas

I want to know if you guys think I have enough room for an island or peninsula. Those couple steps lead up to the dining area, and the wall you see with the fridge and freezer embedded will be removed partially or entirely (we still need to find out if a pipe can be rerouted to avoid leaving a pillar remaining after the majority of wall is removed) to open up the space to the dining area/fireplace (and living room is just beyond the fireplace there, so half the living room will also be visible from the kitchen when the wall is removed).

So, we need a place to house the fridge/freezer, and I want as big as I can fit in. I would LOVE an island with the cooktop/hood to be on the island so I don't have to face the wall to stir the food in the pan, but can carry on conversations with others in the room or in the dining room once it's all opened up. I think I need to remove all the cabinetry and start from scratch...

Do I have room for an island? Any suggestions on how to get everything I want into a relatively small space there?