Oops - posted two of the same pix - here's another view....

Island will also be our dining table.

I like the layout...Good zone separation and work areas. The window to see your view is a good call. Think of prepping or baking projects there where you can gaze out... Nice!

I think to 'break up the wood' I wouldn't do any valences at all. And since your upper corner cabinet only has a cabinet to one side, I, personally, wouldn't do the diagonal front. I might leave that as solid doors (creating an L like down below) or have it be open shelves (picturing colorful bowls or cookbooks for hominess and pizazz), and put glass in the dish cabinets over the dishwasher end instead. This would give some more visual interest to that side of the kitchen to try to balance the tall cabinetry around the fridge.

best wishes!

rhome410 - You and I must be on a similar wave length, because I was having this exact conversation with DH last night - thinking that the corner cabinet might appear sort of off balanced.

It was my idea to begin with, because I like the look, but I think in the end, it might be scrapped or revamped and a glass opening put in elsehwere - like on the end as per your suggestion. I also had an L cabinet before and was hoping for more a bit more accessibility from the angled version. I like the "openness" glass creates.

Thanks, glad to hear another feel the same way about that diagonal cab.

I agree about the diagonal cabinet. It looks out of balance.

I would not have any bridge over the windows at all, particularly the dropped, segmental arches. They are weighty like frowning eyebrows, and almost block the view rather than frame it.

Other than that the layout looks thought out and functional.

I am going to echo the others...I think that the wood over the windows is a bit too much. The layout seems very logical and well-thought out. Your corner where the diagoal is now will be a real focal point. It needs something special.

My vote would be to nix the valances (not a fan of them in general) and to do open shelving in the corner since you have so much cabinet space to work with. Another idea might be to put cabinets there, but since you can't go up to vary the height, bring them down to the counter. You could give that space a hutch-like appearance. Here are some pics to give you an idea:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0115443014141.html (scroll down to finished pics)

http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/?action=view&current=wholekitchen2.jpg

Might be the perspective of the rendering but the upper doors by the dishwasher look a bit out of proportion to the doors in the rest of your uppers (and even the lowers). How wide are they? You might consider going with a 3 door 2 cabinet set up in that space.

Do you have your seating planned for the stove side of the island? That seems very awkward to me. It seems like that side should have drawers or cabinets, and the stools should be on the outside.

Here's the overhead of the layout. There is now an esisting peninsula running right down the center of the space with overhead cabinets, which chops up the room and closes off the kitchen.

The bottom 1/2 of the layout that's blank is our family room, and the flat screen TV is on the opposite wall, so that's why the seating is on the back side.

Personally I'd rather have the seating on the other side, facing the kitchen, but the chairs would then be in the walkspace to the sliding door to the back yard.

I think there is enough space to move 4 chairs around the island and then I'm thinking of getting 2 tall folding chairs to have on hand if we need them, rather than dealing with 6 chairs which we don't need on a daily basis.

a few more to help the big picture....the wall does not end by the slider. There is a corner fireplace and a 12 x 25' family space in that area. Wish I had an overview of the entire space to show, it would be easier.

I'm also still concerned about the cabinets over the sink -I'm trying to utilize as much upper cabinet space as I can, but keep it balanced.

Below is the reason I want to move the sink and put in another window: to have a view out the back to the pool and valley (and to be able keep an eye on the grandkids as well.)

instead of just this one on the side...

I would much rather have the chair backs in that walkway than in my way while I work at the stove...That would actually be a deal breaker for me. I want to be able to turn and work at the island, not be tripping over stool legs, and have the potential of others sitting in my work path. Grrr. ;-) THe grandkids (and others) can hang out and chat with you while you work if the seating faces the stove.

What a beautiful view of the mountains you have, worth every penny to move the pipes!

I don't care for the eye brow valences, but I do like the straight ones. To my eye the corner cab looks unbalanced, and I'm not sure the room needs a focal point to compete with your windows...If your kitchen were my kitchen, I would move the stools to the slider side, it just seems that stools on the cooking side would clog up the traffic path and be awkward for conversation, I'd be talking to the back of people's heads while cooking etc. I'd also consider moving all of the pantry to the left side of the frig so that the eggs and milk don't have to travel so far to the counter next to the range.
Good luck with all of your decisions!
Jeannie

It looks like you have a really wide walkway between the back of the island and wall leading to the slider. I would never want stools behind my stove. I imagine turning with something hot to place on the island and knocking into a little body. If you have as much room as it appears; I'd get stools like ou depict (backless, slide under the overhang) and place them on the walkway side for sure.

I have almost the exact same layout, even where the sliding glass door and the family room/big screen TV are. I think you would be making a big mistake to put your stools on the "work" side of your island. You need that L-shape walkway from your dishwasher to your refrig to be as clear of people as possible. And, I constantly use that side of the island for food prep.
Our island is square (side at right angles)on the sides of the L-shape work space, but then on what would be the other two sides (if it were square) it is rounded off in an "arc" shape. Thats where our three stools are. They are swivel so they can also be turned to see the big screen TV. Since the island top is a rounded arc shape, the people sitting at the island are not completely backwards to the family room/big screen TV.
Hope that makes sense! I guess you would say the island top is "rounded wedge shaped"
Jill

Gorgeous yard!!

With not much to look at through the original window, what about closing up that window altogether and making an even larger one by the sink. Then you could move the stove over to be centered more on that counter run. I think you then may have room the put your stools around the end of the island by the refrigerator. People sitting at the island can look out to the pool and also see the TV for the most part. If you still want light coming in from that original window, you could add some little fixed windows above your cabinets.

Yes, it's close to being a dealbreaker, as it is my DH's idea to place the stools there, so he can watch TV. I didn't care from the get go about the stools being close to the range, unfortunately the issue of granite overhang for the barstools comes into play here, as well as access to the cabinet/drawers underneath.

We're down to the last details and I don't want to overlook the possibility of seating access all around the island.

Here's a few more pix of the walk space. The blue tape shows about where the island will go and the existing carpet will be cut back about 12" before the new tile goes in.

Wow - let me see if I can break the record for most photos in a thread...lol!

and the last one shows how close to the counter in back where the range will be. It's about a 46" walkway.

Thanks for all of the constructive input - it's great to have different posters ending up thinking quite similarly. We definitely have some food for thought before these plans are ready to go.

As far as the "old" window placement, it will be made smaller - 42" and we kind of rely on that one for light (as the house tends to be dark) and ventilation on a nice So Cal evening. Dh has already ordered the windows, so that kind of nixes a different treatment there. I wish I had posted earlier for some of these ideas!

I am a HUGE fan of kitchen walkspace as our kitchen now is a very small "2 tushie" kitchen.

Can he see the TV from sitting at the overhang on the fridge end of the island?

I would have to do whatever needed to be done to move the stools to the other side of your island (including telling DH to go watch the TV in the other room LOL!). I think you will find it really hard to work when others are sitting there.

Have you considered a TV in the kitchen?

I would absolutely not have the stools in the cooking aisle...extremely dangerous!!! What's more important, the safety of the cook(s) and people at the island or being able to watch TV???

Well, I guess my thinking (since he seems to really want this) was to leave the stools on the sides (4 anyway) and then pull them around after the meal is cooked and we can eat facing the TV or across or on the sides.

The biggest thing is that he would like to put the drawers and cupboard openings on the family room side. If we have an overhang all around - that eliminates drawers altogether since we wouldn't have full access with the overhang.

I think there's a remedy, just trying to hash it out. I already know that I don't want the stools in the cookspace when I'm working.

I'm not clear, no island at all if you can't see the big screen from it?

How about open shelves in the corner with a smaller TV in it?

In my kitchen, I can see the living room TV from my prep space and from my peninsula, but to hear it, even with surround sound in the living room, the volume has to be up very loud.

We are adding a 19" or 22" TV in the kitchen to make the viewing easier.

You really will get very tired of not being able to use that side of your island, or having to walk around to get anything stored in the island.

As for moving the stools around. It sounds good in theory. If you do most of the cooking and cleaning, you will be the one moving the stools around to where they belong, when they belong there.

TV over the fridge and flip the seating?

Well, here is my feeble attempt to show the floor plan and the way the whole kitchen/family room plays out.

and here is another KD view looking FROM the family room (TV wall) into the kitchen...

Before we go any further, what are you storing in the cabinets on the other side of the island? The cabinets that you say you want facing the FR...

You're right, if you need access to cabinets on the other side, an overhang will be a hindrance to access...

For architectural interest and to break up the cabinetry, you could consider doing some glass front uppers. They could flank the range or perhaps the window. Or you could even do a glass front upper that comes all the way down to the countertop on the right hand side of the sink.

As far as the bar stools on the range side of the island, I, too feel it's a big mistake. Can you point out the negative effect this might have on future resale? You could just put a flat screen TV right on the island - maybe even put in an outlet specifically for this. I also like the idea of a screen over the fridge or in the corner.

I'm thinking a TV in the corner so you can watch too while you cook!

Point of view from the black stool near clean up is almost exactly the view from the recliner.

This may not fit - It's hard to figure out how much two-d space there actually is in a perspective drawing. This will be more expensive - it moves the office door as well as adding a new door.

{{!gwi}}