Hello!
We are embarking on a remodel of the back part of our house which includes the kitchen. Right now we are in the design phase. We hired a designer to draw up the plans, but so far I'm not thrilled with his first attempt. I have a design I came up with on my own that I like better, but there are still a lot of things I am unsure about.
Some info about us: It is just the 2 of us and this is our forever house. We love to cook and entertain, and we have house guests over 10% of the year. We don't use our dining table unless we have guests, yet we would like to be able to have large dinner parties/host holiday dinners occasionally (but we prefer to optimize the layout for us). When we do have guests, everyone gravitates to the kitchen, and I never leave the kitchen.
Since this is our forever house, I want to do this right! We are already planning on removing lots of walls and moving/adding windows
Design Goal:
-A well vented powerful range 36" range. I spend as much time at the stove as I do prepping; therefore, I do not want the stove in a place where I have my back to everyone.
-A beverage area with an espresso machine and bar (hubby's wish).
-A large prep area and a prep sink
-Seating for 4-6 in the kitchen area (preferably on an island).
-Lots of natural light
-A door from the kitchen area to the outside, so that when we grill/eat outside, running in and out of the kitchen is not cumbersome.
-An electric wall oven for baking.
-A functional layout!

Fortunately there is no second floor over most of the space we wish to remodel; unfortunately, it is a low second floor and there is a part that juts out into the kitchen leaving a permanent "soffit" sticking out into the kitchen. (see https://www.flickr.com/photos/31161231@N08/15135438383)

Here is the existing first floor layout and my proposed layout.
There are more pictures that may be helpful (including my designer's first proposal) here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31161231@N08/sets/72157643022410294/

I would greatly appreciate any advice/ideas/feedback.

Thanks in advance,
Robin