I'd move the fridge over to the wall near the DR entrance and put the range/wall oven on the wall beside the pantry.
Since you would like the fridge to stay try putting the wall oven at the DR entry area and the cook top to the right of the DW.
What do you think?

I could move the fridge. The main reason I want to keep the fridge and sink where they are is because plumbing is roughed in for them, and I want to try and make it as painless as possible since I am already a pain in the rear!!! My only concern with the suggestion on cooktop next to dishwasher--would there be enough room?? And where will my dishes go? I know that sounds ridiculous looking at how much cabinet space I will have compared to our current home! But, where would a cabinet for dishes and glasses go if I put a cooktop there? Also, something strange--I haven't seen a microwave over a cooktop, just over a freestanding range. Is there a reason for this?? I actually really like the look of a bumped out cooktop and cabinets surrounding it. Don't think I'll have room for something like that though...

It sounds like you have more concern with space around your range, so if you put it on the fridge wall that gives you plenty.
Ask DH what he thinks, it may not be hard for him to do! If you need to move the plumbing now would be the time and it's actually closer to your sink & dw that way. Plus you can get quite a bit of upper cabs in there without losing them to the range hood/vent.
I don't think you will have much space with the range on your sink side that is why I suggested moving the fridge. I like to have lots of counter space but it may not matter to you as much since you have an island.
Have you considered re-arranging your island so the seats face the DR door? The way you have it looks a bit squished with a fridge to look at. Do you have enough room towards the mudroom to put in 3 chairs there?

DH says whatever I want is what he will do...which makes it all more difficult since I don't know what I want!! Wow, I never thought about moving the island. That might eleviate this situation with having an obstacle from the sink to the cooktop if I were to move the cooktop/ovens where the fridge is now. I wonder if I'd have enough room to flip it?? Right now I believe there is 3.5 ft surrounding the island for walkway. I think I will play with moving the island around or making it a tad smaller. Thanks for your suggestions! Keep 'em coming if you got them : )

Many things go from fridge to sink, and you've got an island directly in the way... This worries me. A common path for activity is fridge to sink and prep to stove. You don't really want to be running back and forth around the island too much. There are people here who have remodeled their kitchens to resolve this very problem.

Things I would consider: A) Put pantry on the sink side of the room, put wall ovens where the pantry is and slide the fridge down a bit, leaving more room for the cooktop on that wall. But that additionally puts the island between the sink and cooktop.
B) Corner cooktop?

Unless I'm misunderstanding the plan, you don't have room to turn the island without getting rid of cabinets on the side of the room.

What is at the top of the plan/opposite end from the dining room doorway?

The nook area is at top/opposite the dining room. I didn't bother posting that portion of the plan because we are having a built in corner bench, so it eliminates the option to do any cabinets/appliances/etc. there.

It would help if we saw the whole area...including where/what the other rooms are.

I know you want to keep the island clear, but if you had a prep sink on the side opposite the main sink it would help w/work flow.

Does the pantry have to stay where it is?

Is it a "must have" to seat 4 at your island and a walk in pantry?

How long is the wall from the corner to the half-wall? And, how far is it b/w the two walls? How wide are the door openings?

We have 3 kids, plan on having one more. So the 4 seats at the island would be ideal. We don't have to have the walk in pantry, but each time we came across a pantry like it, we really liked the idea of having one like it. There were so few things my husband and I both liked with no disagreement! : ) I will post the whole first floor plan. The great room is different--the outside wall is a large window, and the fireplace in the great room will be on the Master WIC wall. The house is surrounded by a wrap around porch. Sorry it's so big, I don't know how to downsize it on my new computer.

Door opening to mudroom is actually a 3 ft sliding door, I know it doesn't look that way. Actual walkway opening to great room is 6 1/2 ft.

I hate to be the one to bust your bubble, but the island isn't going to work at all. To have stools in a "working" aisleway, you need to have about 5 feet from counteredge to counteredge - 2 feet for the occupied stools and 3 feet for you at the countertop. When stray people walking through and have the NERVE to want to use a stool (takes almost three feet to get into or out of a stool) WHILE you're loading the dishwasher even 5 feet will be dicey.

Is there a reason you haven't considered peninsula designs?

Do you really need to have stools when you could carry on a conversation with people at the dinette table in a normal tone of voice?

Where is the hang out space for the family? (Or where are you hoping they will all hang out?) I ask this for fridge placement, and also for island stool situating. Kids (and guests) will invariably need to get drinks and stuff out of a fridge, and if you site it where they can access without going thorugh workspace so much the better.

Do you use the dining room frequently? What about moving hte doorway from the kitchen into the dining room so it's more on an edge? And your pantry is HUGE (maybe I am envious) - do you need all that space in the kitchen devoted to it, or can some of the pantry "stuff" find a home in the mudroom?

Somwhere I have seen the idea of putting down flour or cornmeal or something and seeing the way people actually move in the space throughout a day.

I know our old kitchen design had just 2 feet of aisle space between cabinet and "island" - the 3.5 feet we have now is incredible. I can unload a dishwasher AND have someone walking behind it. I am in heaven.

Good luck with all this!

Nica

I completely agree with bmorepanic about the stools around the island. At the very least, they need to be on the other side to keep from getting in the way in the work area.

I would prefer a peninsula in your case though. I think it would be a much better use of your space. Here's one possible layout that would keep the sink and DW close enough to where you had them that plumbing shouldn't be much of a pain to move. Make the peninsula longer than your previously planned island (I stretched it in this pic to approx. 8 feet--you should really plan on at least 24" per stool), stick your stove in that 4'3" space you originally planned, and you have a very workable kitchen.

Here are 2 ideas........
{{!gwi}}
HTH

Like bmore, I have to wonder why you need space for the kids in the kitchen at an island, when you have the builtin seating so near. In our kitchen we'll do something similar to Saskatchewan Girl's last plan...A table for seating and a couple stools at the end of the island for helpers. Her fridge location is better for a couple of reasons, but the island is still a big interference when getting to and from the sink while cooking. And I'd leave at least 18" of counter to the left of the sink.

I would NOT give up the idea of a walk in pantry! I could only fit a 3 1/2' x 4' one in our house, but am looking forward to having it over cabinet storage...Much more flexible. I'd sacrifice the room for it in the kitchen unless you can rearrange the mudroom to have it there. (One option for doing so: Move closet to beside door and deepen the current closet to become the pantry)

I thank you all for your suggestions!! I am going to sit down and think about it all. Our initial plan that was drawn up had a penisula, and perhaps there was a reason for it all along. I just really like the way the big island looks, so I had the designer put it in instead of the penisula. I've never had either, so I appreciate your help on clearance/walkway, etc. We didn't plan on doing the built bench in right away in the kitchen, so perhaps we'll just have a table and chairs there for now? As for the dining room, it will serve as a playroom unfortunately, at least till the kids get a bit older (currently 2, 5, and 8). Thanks again for all of your help!!!