I’m planning a kitchen remodel and have been considering layouts, would be happy and appreciative of any ideas.

This is what I have now. Its actually not a bad layout except for the little peninsula thingy sticking out, but I think it can be improved upon.
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Working within the existing walls, I’ve come up with a rough plan that I like. It’s not showing on the plan, but the pantry in the interior corner stays in this plan.
{{gwi:1675875}}From January 26, 2012
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However, I’m also really tempted to knock down the walls and open the kitchen up into the living area for one great big open space. I love the idea, but the layouts I’m coming up with just don’t quite feel right to me. My best option so far:
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Cabinets in both plans are merely estimates constrained by Ikea’s choices since I was using their software. In real life, I’m not limited by Ikea’s cabinet sizes. I have already purchase some items I either wasn’t willing to wait for or found a deal on-- a 30" cooktop, a 36" french door counter-depth fridge, and a 39" sink. I would have to have a very very good reason to give any of those up.

Constraints; any interior wall can come down, I’ve already confirmed this with a structural engineer consultation. The stairs are to the basement and aren’t moving, but I can take down surrounding walls and put up half walls or railings or whatever if I want. I’m not willing to move exterior doors and windows. I am willing to move plumbing, electric, ventilation, though the less the better-- the basement ceilings are all finished, so access means tearing into them. I prefer to keep the footprint of the existing the kitchen area the same even if the walls come down because the flooring is different between the two spaces, and I’d like the flooring transition and space transition to match, if that makes sense. The double wall ovens are not absolutely necessary, but I’m finding that I like having them, and since they are in good working condition, if I keep what I have, that’s something I don’t have to buy.

How I use my kitchen; I live alone. I cook most of my own meals from scratch and with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Usually make something large on the weekends to eat for lunch all week and then fix myself dinner in the evening. I bake bread but not much else. Might be baking bread and my weekly meals all at once, which is where I’m finding I like the double oven set up (and I *love* not having to bend down to use them). I rarely entertain, except for the boyfriend. When he’s over, he might be helping, but mostly I cook in my kitchen and he cooks in his, so he’s more likely to be *in* the kitchen keeping me company but not doing much of anything except fixing us drinks or fetching something from the fridge or pantry for me.

I remodeled the kitchen in my last house about 5 years ago or so, and did the design and most of the work myself, so I have a pretty good idea what I’m getting myself into and have experience thinking through how I use my space (and was very happy with the end result)--- but that was a *much* smaller space and I did not consider removing walls, so I have a lot more flexibility this time around-- a good thing, but more challenging, I think.