And here is a photo of option two with the banquette seating up against the island.

Thanks!

Sara

How many people do you need to seat (regularly) in the kitchen? Is that where you will eat your daily meals?

Am I reading it right (its hard to see) that in Option 1 the aisle between the island and the banquette table is 42"? That's barely big enough for an aisle without chairs - it is definitely "impossible" with chairs.

Funny how you feel that the banquette in Option 2 feels squished. That was my reaction to the banquette in Option 1.

Here are images of banquettes up against islands (ignore the bad cook top placement in the 1st image):

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Little Rock Interior Designers & Decorators Tobi Fairley Interior Design

[Eclectic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Morristown Interior Designers & Decorators Marlene Wangenheim AKBD, CAPS, Allied Member ASID

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Suffolk Kitchen & Bath Designers Amy Birdsong

[Mediterranean Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/mediterranean-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2109) by Saint Helena General Contractors Centric General Contractors

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Atlanta Interior Designers & Decorators Insidesign

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Birmingham Interior Designers & Decorators Jane Spencer Designs

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Bellaire Design-Build Firms Hann Builders

Thanks for the input so far!

SJHockeyFan, it looks as if the aisle is 41 inches: it's helpful to hear that it isn't enough space for a chair! (I think this was a quick draft as we were trying to think of scenarios.) To answer your question, there are five of us in the house, but we do have friends over fairly often. Our dining room is a bit formal and set apart, so one nice aspect of having a banquette separate from the island would be having seating in two places within the kitchen: island and banquette.

Lisa, thanks for the wonderful photos! I especially like photo 1. The banquettes in these photos look great, but I worry that the reality of ours will be a super-messy island overhanging our kitchen table. :-)

If any alternatives to Option 1 and Option 2 pop to mind, don't hesitate to share further ideas.

Thanks again!

Sara

How often do you eat in the dining room? Nightly for dinner? Rarely?

When and how often will eating take place in the kitchen? How many will be present at the same time?

Can you post a close up layout of the kitchen with counter to counter edge measurements?

Sorry so many questions, no answers right now.

Debra, thanks for your interest in helping! The dining room will be reserved for more formal gatherings, so we will be eating in the kitchen the vast majority of the time. My husband and I have three kids, so the usual number is five of us. However, our kids often have friends or we host another family. At these times, we can often extend to anywhere from 6-10 people.

I looked at the drawings, and there aren't many exact measurements yet. I can see that the kitchen space is about 16' 10" wide. The measurement from the back kitchen windows to the bathroom wall of the kitchen (near the dining room) looks to be about 16'. I hope this is a bit helpful.

If we keep the banquette near the window, I was thinking that maybe we can change it to one bench along the wall and a table with open sides. I was also thinking that maybe we could move the fridge to the wall near the bathroom (and move the bathroom in again to include a window) to free up more counter space near the sink and range.

Again, I am completely open to other ideas! :-)

Sara

You might not like these suggestions. Why not use the dining room for at least dinners? You will have more room to spread out and eat comfortably. A thread recently on the decor forum had the Poster redecorate her dining room so that now the whole family likes to eat there. This a low cost option to use the space you already have. Then eating in the kitchen could be use for quick meals when being squished is not such a big deal.

Why do you have to decide this week? Not a good idea to rush into big expensive decisions. Is the contractor rushing you? Remember you are in charge.

To me the size of your kitchen would give you a great functional work space with some limited informal eating space.

See I told you, you wouldn't like it ; )

I think the second alterative has more potential.

Do you have to keep the wall b/w the kitchen and the FR on the right corner. If not, I'd get rid of the cabs there, extend the sink counter all the way to the FR. and move the island a little to the right. Then I'd live with it for a while without a banquet. Maybe keeping the table perpendicular to the island turn out to be more comfortable, and can give you more flexibility.

Btw if you move the DW to the other side of the sink, two can prep in the kitchen w/o having DW in the way.

Debra, I appreciate your honest ideas! :-) The reason for the "rush" is that we are recently bought this house and can't move in until a major renovation is complete. We are juggling two house payments and don't want to do that for long! Your idea about the dining room is interesting. The challenge is that we have an entire formal dining room set from various relatives, and our kids would ruin the furniture if we eat in there on a regular basis. I also love eating in an open family room/kitchen space so that I can prep food or do dishes and still be in the room with my kids while they eat lunch, etc. The placement of the bathroom won't allow us to really open up the kitchen to the dining room. If you had to add a decent eating space in the kitchen, where would you put it?

Sena01, I appreciate your input. The wall between the kitchen and FR doesn't need to be there; I think it's just there as a low wall to support the banquette. The only tricky part with extending into the FR is that we will have our sectional right there facing the wall near the porch. Great point on the DW!

Nothing is simple, right? :-)

Thanks again!

Sara

If you add a door between family room and living room, make it a double pocket door. This way you can completely open the space or close it up. Much nicer than a regular single swing door.

Chispa, your idea about a door between the family room and living room is a good one! We would love a double door, but we need to put a piano there since it is our only main inside wall. I will need to look at dimensions.

Thanks!

Sara