This is purely a stylistic suggestion, but I would try out a single fat post, maybe a bit tapered on top of the bookcases instead of two skinny ones.

plan 1 looks really good..love the wall with frig-the appliance recedes that way and with the island and the cabinet fronts on that wall gives a really classy feel. Wouldn't take a walk in pantry over what you've got in plan 1. The whole thing seams together well and is so great looking.You've been workin' it-fabulous effort.

Only problem with Option 1 is the glass cabinets, the wall that they replace is a load bearing wall with a header in the ceiling right above them so I would need more support that what is shown. Not something I was aware of when I initiated that idea. Not sure how to work around it either.

One issue with 2--it leaves little storage for dishes and glassware by the DW.

Cosmocat, I am studying your plan in great detail, as you pointed out it is similiar to mine. I too am faced with dilemna you have with fridge. For both our plans, you enter the Kitchen and the first thing you see is the place where you have fridge in Plan 1. I am resisting putting my fridge there because although it is the best flow for my space (and maybe yours), it is not the the nicest thing in the room. Plan 4 doesn't sit well with me for some reason, I would not do sink on island, but maybe I am just so used to sink by window placement. I like your walk in pantry idea, but with your big laundry room, do you need it? My kitchen designer today suggested that I recess my fridge into the garage, placed where yours is shown in plan 1 above, to give me a wider aisle leading to door and for island seating (54 to 60" aisle recommended for aisle with seating). Maybe that would work better for you than pantry? Decisions, Decisions....

You show an 11'4" dimension line across the kitchen in #3, but have 10' 4" in cabinets and aisles (and grid squares). I thought you had more room for aisles than you're showing, so did the math.

I like #1 or the variation of #1 with the walk-in.

Yes the correct measurement is 11feet 4inches.

Nix option 2 and 3a - thanks marcolo for pointing out the lack of dish shortage.

Dilly - the view shown into the room in #1 is actually from the family room. The entry is on the same side of the house as the dining room - it is indicated on the two hand drawn images. The appliance wall here for me would actually be somewhat hidden which I like.

Herb flavor - would you like it as much without the glass cabinets?

So walk in pantry or not? What I like about it is more the small butlers pantry like area. Necessary? Probably not. Doable yes.

The room divider has an upside down feel to it that commands too much negative attention. Could you add some kind of weighty moulding at top? or at least a band of contrasting paint (that matches the cabs) which runs along ceiling? What if the pillars on this matched the stone pillars on the far wall in another context, perhaps as noted above, a full-width support instead of two little ones?

What will you store on the top of this unit? Something really big, I hope. A big sculpture?

Oops, sorry, those glass cabs will most likely not be there because it replaces a load bearing wall as described above and needs more support to exist. But honestly may not be doable.

I like Option 3 the best. I also prefer the refrigerator location in Option 3. It looks to be the most functional layout of the lot.

The problem with the refrigerator on the opposite end of the kitchen from the range (on the sink wall) is that it's now inaccessible to the Prep & Cooking Zones without either running around the island or doing a lot of zone-crossing...refrigerator-thru Cleanup Zone-to-Prep Zone and back; refrigerator-thru Cleanup Zone-to-Cooking Zone and back. It's especially an issue b/c you have such a narrow aisle b/w the island and sink wall (it looks like 36"). Imagine doing all that running back & forth with a DW open and/or someone else working at the sink. In that location, the refrigerator is also pretty far from the MW and most foods that are MW'd come from the refrigerator or freezer.

OTOH, with the refrigerator on the wall near the garage, it's right next to the Cooking Zone and easily accessed from the Prep Zone (the counter b/w the sink and range). (If you plan to use the island as a Prep Zone, I recommend a sink and, possibly, a wider aisle b/w the island and sink.) It's also right next to the MW. Personally, I like having all the appliances nearby that I need when prepping & cooking...without having to navigate around obstacles...things or people!

The other advantage of having the refrigerator (and pantry) near the garage is that when you bring groceries in, you enter the kitchen right where they need to go to be put away.

Island...you will have only a 9.5" seating overhang.

1.5" overhang + 24" cabinets + 1" decorative door on the back of the island = 26.5"
36" - 26.5" = 9.5" seating overhang

You also have a rather narrow aisle behind the island (only 40" to the back wall).

Even though you're skimping on the seating overhang, people will still take up the same amount of room in that aisle as if you had at least a 15" overhang...the stools will be pushed out b/c you can't fold up your legs to fit under the overhang, all you can do is have the stool farther out into the aisle and then lean forward...or maybe "straddle" the island (legs spread to "shorten" the distance b/w your hip and knees). With the minimum overhang, it's still recommended an aisle behind seating be at least 44".

If that aisle b/w the island and back wall is going to be as busy as you say it is, you may regret it over time. My SIL has a 36" aisle b/w her refrigerator and island with a 12" seating overhang on a similarly located aisle (door to garage w/DR on the left and FR straight ahead)...and she became so frustrated w/the lack of space b/w them plus all that traffic that she removed the stools from the kitchen. It's not that the refrigerator is there, it's that if someone is sitting at her island, no one can pass by without forcing those sitting to get up and move out of the way....and they're a very thin family!

I don't know what to tell you about the seating...except not have it...and I know you really want it. I guess this will have to be one of the compromises you make in your kitchen; we all have to make some compromises when our "wants" aren't compatible with what we have to work with.......

Dimensions....in option 3, the arrow goes b/w the wall and the cabinets...not to the other wall. However, when I count boxes, that 11'4" measurement appears to be DR/FR wall-to-sink wall. If that's the case, I think you have a little less space than you realize. (The refrigerator wall cabs appear to stick out no further than the DR/FR wall, is that correct?)

11'4" = 136"
25.5" sink wall + 36" aisle + 36" island + 40" aisle = 137.5"

So, one of the aisles will be 1.5" narrower than you show...which one? The work aisle really needs the full 36", minimum, and the busy aisle also needs as much space as possible... [Of course, if you have 0" counter overhang, then the overhang doesn't count and you're back to the 36" and 40" aisles.] Another compromise somewhere?

Good luck!

BTW...you're probably not receiving emails of follow-up postings, even though you checked the box requesting them. This is b/c you don't have the email option turned on in your profile. See the "Read Me" thread for more information. Scroll down to the post with the subject "Getting Emails Sent To You...3-step Process".

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

oops! Sorry! Wrong thread!

#1 or maybe the variant with the pantry. Hard for me to tell without seeing a fleshed out rendering or without seeing #1 on your graph paper. It sounds to me like you really want the pantry.

Hope DD is doing well.

Thank you all for really bringing up some valid points to consider and really make me understand that the fridge works better on the garage wall. And to figure out a way to make the island work better.

Uugghhh, sorry about the measurements. In Option 3 (the most accurate), the wall to wall measurement is 11 feet 4 inches. Where the fridge is, that back wall sits back 28inches - so from behind the sink to back wall of the MW is 13 feet 6 inches. Currently I have 44/45 inches along the sink to island and 39 from the island to the MW wall (which right now works just fine) but there is no seating. Right now if the oven is open (currently floor plan has it in the place of the MW) then people walk around the island by the sink to go around.

The cabinet company I plan to go with is a hometown make your own and offer custom sizes at a reasonable price. Maybe I can have the cabinets on the island a smaller size? Maybe 18 or 21 inches? Giving me more seating room and the possibility to change the overhang. And shorten the overall width of the island?

I also considered dishwasher drawers that won't eat into the traffic space as far as an open DW door.

Walk-in pantry thoughts?

No one can really tell you whether you will need or like a walk-in pantry or the wall of cabinets better. Both VERY useful. Just different. I sometimes need the deeper floor space/flexibility the walk-in offers for bags of grain, big packages of paper towels, boxes of bulk items, etc. And we keep the floor steamer in there, which, at this point, leans against the side wall. None of that would work in cabinets. But not everyone has the same needs, and/or can keep some of those things elsewhere, like in your laundry area. I don't think you're getting a clear answer about the choice, because it's yours to decide. :-)

Option 3 has you walking around the island whenever you want to access the pantry. Putting the pantry door to the left of the fridge, adjacent to the laundry room door makes it easier to get to it from the work zones. How about presenting both plans, with a pantry wall and a walk in panty, to the contractor and get a ballpark quote? It may help you decide. I'd vote for the walk in if it falls within your budget, but with the door to the left of the fridge.

Option 3: You don't have to walk around the island from the Cooking Zone and it's not much of a walk from the Prep Zone. Options 1 & 2 don't even have a pantry! In my experience, having to walk around one side of an island to get to a pantry is better than no pantry at all!

I'll be back later with some possible solutions to the issue Cheri brought up....I'm in the middle of running our neighborhood's annual block party today!

You are all so helpful! Thank you! Want to move in with me until I get thru the remodel? I need a little remodel angel on my shoulder. Oh, wait, that is what GW is!

Part of what I like about the walk-in pantry is that it breaks up that garage wall. Plus I'll have a small pantry near the fridge for immediate access stuff. In previous revisions (last year) I had the wall where you mentioned Cheri and didn't like the look of the two doors next to each other (the laundry door and the pantry door).

And rhome, dang, I have to make decisions? hmmmmm...I think I've decided I want a walk-in, but like Cheri mentioned I'll present both options to the contractor, and maybe that will be what finalizes my decision.

Thanks Cheri, DS is doing well.

If you don't like the way the doors look together, than I agree with Buehl. After studying the layout a bit better, you really don't have to traverse the island as much as I thought.. Plus, if I remember from way back when, there are many items unrelated to the kitchen that you would like to store there, so it should work well for you. I think I'd skip the "butler's pantry" bit and new opening to the DR in favor of a totally enclosed pantry with more useful storage. I'm assuming you don't do much formal entertaining. This looks like an awesome kitchen!

So glad to hear that DS is doing well. :)