Congatulations on the new house!

I don't understand the aversion to soffits. I capitalized on mine by adding them all the way around the room to make a trey ceiling.

Usually, the recommendation is to live in the house awhile and get a feel for how you function in it. For better feedback, you should post a floorplan.

Thanks, closing was 10 days later than planned, but nonetheless, our dream house is ours!

Funny you say that, I TOO don't mind the soffits at all! I can see where it's "nice" to have the 42" uppers or space on top of your cabinets, but I'll find something to do to make ours pretty. I just don't mind them.

Our actual kitchen remodel is a year or two (or 6) away. For now we're just painting cabinets, removing 33 year old backsplash, getting 11.75 linear feet of Formica installed and updating range (doesn't work), hood and dishwasher (leaks). Thinking that the flooring MIGHT end up sheet vinyl again. Not sure I want to remove that floor, subfloor, ect. AND, there is some beautiful vinyl/laminate out there that seems a "wee bit" retro to me.

SO, I'll likely head over to floorplanner.com soon and make an official floorplan and post it. That is something I've really wanted to do for a while, marked with outlets, plumbing, ect.

Thanks!

Hmm... It is best to live in the space awhile before remodeling but, I gather you wanted to get started now!

Please post a floor plan to make it easier to see your traffic layout.

Without that... I would keep the w/d set on this floor. I am guessing that your bedrooms are on the second floor? If so, that is TWO flights of stairs to deal with laundry baskets, UGH!! Maybe you can find a stackable pair to place in a closet.

Definitely recommend tweaking that bathroom layout!

Kitchen... what about making your space more of a U shape kitchen? Keep the sink in its current location, move the frig over to where the range is currently and do a cabinets along both sides of the frig for storage or pantry items.

Move the range to opposite the frig on the space that is opened up right now or maybe make it into an island with a cooktop and oven stack on the wall next to the frig??

Look forward to seeing your layout.

I agree with earth_pal. That is the best layout if you can't move the powder room into the old laundry room and open up that space. The only other move I would make is to move the dishwasher to the left side of the sink to get it out of the pass thru area.

I like the soffits. You can use them to highlight your cabinets. Just get rid of the valance.

This is be fun since you have several options of what you can do.

I agree about living in a space for a while to figure out it's quirks, how you use it and how you like to store your stuff. I wanted to tear into this latest house when we moved in, but a loss of my remodel money in a stock market account forced me to wait 2 years. Yes, I hated the kitchen everyday, but I was able to pinpoint exactly WHY I hated it, like the only oven in a blind entry, no place under the counter for trash, narrow passage between pantry and peninsula that created a bottleneck in the traffic flow. Well, I know this isn't about me, but you get the idea. The list gets pretty long when you have time to really think about things.

Is your "front" room going to be your main hang out with the den as an office? Or is it just a sitting room with the den as a TV area? How do you THINK you're going to use the space?

Hmmm, the toilet thing is bothering me. I've got kids who almost never shut the door, so if it were my house, neighbors, UPS guy, whoever would get an eyeful LOL! Is there space on either side of the toilet where it can be turned? How about a wall where a doorway could be opened to the den?

A top view floorplan would help. Or pictures from all the entries.

Do you really want to trudge up and down the basement stairs with heavy baskets of clothes? An uninterupted lenth of counter top makes a great folding table. If you've got kids watching TV in the den, you're right there. Is the house a single story or two story with a basement? If it were my space, I'd keep the laundry there and get front loading stackable w/d. I'm not too sure about the back door though. Will it be used as the primary entry from the garage/parking? Does the Den door have better access? Maybe this one could be walled off. Or if it's the better entry, maybe stack the units and create a coat rack/shoe storage.

I kind of like the range in that location as your main traffic looks like it is now on the right side, a continuation of the hall to the den to the dining area and front room. If you close off the back entry, that will limit traffic too, out of the main cooking zone. Most people work left to right, so food gathered from fridge, placed on an island or cleaned/prepped at the sink, then move to the range to cook. I'd center the range on that 67" wall. A 30" range centered would give you 18" of countertop left to right. Or a 36" range with 15". It's a little tigher, but still doable. That's mainly a personal thing, I'm not a fan of cooktops/ranges in the island, I love having A LOT of prep counter. I'm not sure the range would work in the old fridge space. It looks a bit tight, maybe only 48" or so?

How about budget? To be honest, just about anything can be accomplished with a well padded budget, but for the rest of us... well, concessions have to be made. How about inspiration pics? What's the style or look you're going for?
Here's some from my personal inspiration file. A LOT of white kitchens ; ).

Here's one with a mudroom or similar next to the range.

Here's one on a slightly larger scale. You don't have an issue with supports, but the walk ways are similar. Note the prep sink in the island and the fridge and pantry on the right.

Here's one with the cooktop in the island and fridge on the wall.

I do not have any advice for the layout of your kitchen. So sorry I'm not of help.

Kathec--can you tell me where that last picture is from? I would love to know what that backsplash is. I am planning a kitchen of similar finishes and have been debating backsplashes and I LOVE that with the black/white/cherry.

Thanks!

I would add an island with a stove top on it, or move the stove top so it's centered on the wall it's currently on.

Sorry countrygirl217. I haven't been good about saving the info, just saving pictures of the stuff I like. More than likely, it's a GW'ers kitchen OR one of their inspiration pics. Or, when I foolishly thought I could afford soapstone, it might have been from one of the soapstone supplier websites, although a quick search didn't yield anything.

You could try posting it to see if anyone claims it or recognizes it.

So, so sorry I couldn't be of more help!

Kathe