You will get used to it. I added on to my kitchen and we still have yet to do the demo of the old part. The plumber reconnected my existing sink to the new plumbing along with the dishwasher right next to it. I walk 20 feet to put my dishes away in one on my only cabinets left. I am totally used to it now. Of course, my new cabinets will be right next to the dishwasher when I am done, but it doesn't really even bother me anymore.

Sure, you'll get used to it. But you won't like it.
And every time you have to put away the dishes,
you'll either do it and grumble, or postpone it and live out of the DW...

But if there's no alternative, there's no alternative.
Well, let me rephrase.
There's ALWAYS an alternative.
How bad is that? In other words, what's the trade-off?

Some trade-offs might just require a mental readjustment --
like keeping your dishes and glassware in drawers instead of uppers - which many here have and LOVE.
Others are for aesthetic reasons -- like storing your dishes in a beautiful hutch. (Maybe you could store your less-used dishes far away?)

What are your trade-offs?

That got me thinking.

Even if I somehow made room around the DW for plates/bowls/silverware, that still leaves the problem of the fridge being far from those items. BUT, I can move the fridge closer.

Would it be poor design to have the fridge between the sink and the range?

(Of course that means the stove would be against an interior wall, which means more difficult duct install, but I guess that would be my yucky, but do-able trade off).
Plan 1:

Bringing fridge closer:

Do not move your dishwasher away from your sink. Can you even imagine soaking dishes and walking a distance with them to load them. Also, you would have to have plumbing hooked up on that wall. Your dishwasher needs to be located next to your sink for convenience. Do you have to have such a large window over your sink? My plan was originally drawn up that way so I could take advantage of my river view from my sink window, but I just knew I wanted some uppers on that wall so I redrew it.

Yes, the window is there, and our kitchen isn't as light as I'd like it as is, so I don't want to mess with the window at all.

I would not ever move the dw away from the sink. It would just be moving the fridge closer to sink.

Sweeby, you always say it better.

Needsometips, I traded adequate efficient storage around our dishwasher for a door to the garden and a sweep of over-counter windows, both must-haves and more than worth it as it turned out.

I made it work well enough for us by arranging storage for most of the many fussy, hard to carry little items in each load (glasses/cups and silverware) within a one-foot-weight-shift to the closest storage. Silverware a shift to the area between sink and stove, cups/glasses a shift in the other direction across from the coffeemaker and still convenient to the sink. OTOH, dishes and serving bowls, which are larger/fewer/more carryable, are on the far side of the stove toward the table, where they are now convenient for serving. Prep utensils/knives/bowls, etc., are the weakest point, a full back-pivot-step-step to get in position to put them away, but really just not much of a bother, and they're now exactly where we need them for use.

That sort of thing. A combination of making sure I wasn't making four trips the length of the kitchen with a bunch of cups and glasses clutched to my chest and of point-of-use storage for other items. Not perfect, but overall we find our tradeoffs very satisfactory.

I don't understand why you need to store the dishes at the ref.

A very attractive layout -- and for the most part, very functional.
To asnwer your question though, I would not move the fridge to the space between sink and range. That's too big of a trade-off in my book, because that invites foot traffic into your work area, splits the kitchen, and doesn't really solve the problem.

I'm guessing your plan was to store your dishes in the hutch?
That can be very pretty if your dishes are attractive. And as Rosie said, some items are relatively easy to carry (like a stack of plates).

Oops! Gotta run --

I wouldn't want the dishes too far from the dishwasher...too many little things to carry that won't stack...and I sure wouldn't want some dish items stored in one area and others stored across the room.

I'm with Bmore in wondering why having dishes close to the refrigerator is necessary.

First plan: I can't remember all the details of the layout enough to know if you could move the range a bit to the left and keep dish storage on its right, where they'd be handy to the dw and the table.

Fridge moved plan: The fridge is large to put in between stove and sink, but I think if you did a down-to-the-counter upper to the right of the fridge, it could make an amazing dish storage/cleanup area.,.and the splitting of the kitchen could be advantageous in how it's divided into zones. You could even do different types of countertop if you so chose. It does limit access to the fridge, though, from the family room. If you made the hutch area a beverage center, would it include a small fridge? That could solve the problem.

A quick rendering of what I meant. I know it's probably not even close to the right styles or colors....

I wouldn't go with option two. That puts the range behind the people seated at the island. At 48" that aisle is small to have seating to begin with (since it is a working aisle), with the range there it could be very bad.

I have to agree w/Sue36. Actually, since the countertop overhang will be approx 1.5" plus the range will stick out another 2 or 3 inches, that will make the aisle approx 4" narrower...which means you now have approx a 44" aisle w/seating that also has the range & refrigerator...which will make it a main working aisle.

With the first layout, at least the range isn't right in front of seating. I would find it dangerous to have seats in front of the range...you'll be dealing w/hot foods, boiling water, a hot oven, etc. and you don't want to have someone back into you w/a chair or you back into someone sitting there. (Think about the blast of hot air that comes out of an oven when you open it, I don't think you want to expose someone sitting directly in front of it when that happens...especially when they'll be so close!)

There's actually a reason why a table in the middle of the kitchen has fallen into disfavor recently...it's a "barrier" and often there's not enough room to work around it when there's someone sitting at the table. I speak from many years of experience...I grew up w/a table in the middle of the kitchen and my mother's kitchen still has it. Every time I visit, I'm reminded of these issues as I try to get by someone sitting while working at the counter or trying to get into the refrigerator!

With island seating, we say you need a 54" to 60" (preferably 60") aisle if the seats back to a working aisle. We also talk about avoiding a "barrier island". The same goes for a table on both counts. Yes, you can move a table & chairs out of the way, but if it's a large table & several chairs or people are sitting at the table, this won't be feasible.

I'm afraid I'm with Sweeby on this. It's absolutely silly and unreasonable of me, but I grumble to myself every time I have to walk those 4 whole steps from the dishwasher over to where I store the glasses. (oh, gee - can you imagine how rough my life is - 4 whole steps! ;). Besides all those broken down cheap drawers, it's one of the reasons I'm excited to be doing a remodel - and it's been one of the hardest things to work out in our kitchen design.

Seems like I opened a whole can of worms... (Sorry about that!)

You know, Buehl's got a great point about the big farm table in the middle of the kitchen. It is a barrier and a constant walk-around. But that table and the hutch also contribute to an old-fashioned farmhouse look...

What do you have now Tips? Where is your water? Your DW, dishes, etc. What rooms are next to your kitchen? And what kind of dining options do you want/need?

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I was putting away dishes this morning and thinking about your post. And while yes, my plates, glasses, cups and silverware are within 2 steps from my DW, my measuring cups, collanders, knives, baking pans, mixing bowls, serving platters, barbecue tongs, whisks and ramikens are all over the place! (Where they're handy when I use them.)

So maybe those of us with large kitchens are doomed to 'the DW hike' no matter what we do...

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In your kitchen, it seems your big window and farm table are what's limiting your dish placement -- those are the trade-offs. You can't have uppers right there because of the window; and you can't use base cabinets because of the farm table. So those are the trade-offs...

I'm going to slink away now... ;-)

Since your sink isn't centered under your window anyway, couldn't you just swap the sink and DW? That would put the dishwasher a lot closer to the dish storage and give you a wider expanse of counter between the sink and stove to use for prep work. That might also require nudging the stove down a few inches so the DW door wouldn't interfere with the cook, but it seems worth it to me.

This is also their dining room, I believe. The table used to be crowded over by the sliding doors, with a too small island where the table is that housed the cleanup sink and dw. Many folks on a former thread convinced her to move the table to a roomier area and get her kitchen situated on the perimeter.

Needsometips, maybe you can find the previous discussion about your plan that explains the makeup of your family, the current use of the room, and the need for the table there. I don't think anyone will sit at the chairs except for meals, if I'm remembering correctly. I'd think if they did, it'd be at the far chairs, not the near. It's not the perfect set up, but is an individual solution.

I'm with holligator - Consider moving the DW to the left side of the sink. I'm a rightie, and I think loading to the left of the sink is easier anyway. I know people have strong opinions on DW to the right or left of the sink but, if it will get you closer to the dish storage, you might find that it's worth it.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover how perfectly my kitchen layout accommodates DW-to-pantry transfer. It was a last minute adjustment to the layout, without much consideration of the relative benefits of a right or left side of the sink DW.

Actually, she has a DR north of the kitchen...it's through the door on the top wall.

That was the first thing I checked b/f talking too much about the table!

My mother also has a DR...that has the DR table pushed against the wall under the window (it's one of those tables that the ends drop down...drop leaf?) She has her treadmill in there right now. The DR table is only used for holidays. But, in her case, you have to exit the kitchen, go down the hall, through the LR and finally into the DR. There is a pass through b/w the kitchen & DR, but the DR is very inconvenient to get to otherwise!

Here is a link that might be useful: Feedback on my layout?

i'd use the upper cab to left of sink and base drawers for everyday dishes. use the 'hutch' area for special dishes, serving pieces, decorative items, cookbooks, etc

Hmm. I remembered a lot of conversation about the necessity of the table and how it needed to be large enough for guests and larger meals, etc... Guess we need you to come back and chime in, Needsometips! :-)