Have you considered turning it? This doesn't recycle all of your island cabs - it's not possible for me to tell what your island is made of...

Maybe also consider using a stainless sink top with integral drains or copper or one made from slate or soapstone.

{{gwi:1903568}}

it's a big room - there's lots of space. must be just how it is being used. I can't tell what the right side wall is being used for (the print is too light for me to read).
As long as your work triangle is in tact and close enough not to cause too many steps back and forth.

i guess a prep sink in the island would be the sink part of the triangle. with the big sink moved to the right wall (as in bmore's diagram) that'd give you a bunch of work space on the island and a good amount on the other walls.

would you be putting another oven on the wall the stove is on?
I do like the shelf around the top of the cabs.

so mostly it'd be streamlining and prettying it up? a floor to ceiling pantry added plus even adding some built ins into the cabs you have (slide out drawers etc) would help a lot in making things easier access. I'd stick to just drawers in any new base cabs.

what's your floor? keeping that or replacing?
does your kitchen have an entrance way? 'mud' area?

i'd prefer to have the stove on the wall where you now have the fridge and put the fridge on the stove wall (access to fridge w/o entering your cooking area) but you want to keep the stove where is (understandable with not moving major things around/vents/electrical etc).

I really like what you have to work with, Latimore. It's going to be a great place.

Changing the shape of that island works nicely. As does the rest of the layout, very nicely, on paper at least. Within that busy hub there's a tight space clustered to one side dedicated to serious cook work with: stove-counter-fridge opposite prep sink and big prep area. You can't get much better for cooking. Cleanup area separate. AMAP, traffic on other sides of the work island, where your family joins you.

What I wonder is, does one side of the kitchen have relatively little, or divertible, traffic between doors? If so, that might be the best wall for the stove/cook center.

First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to read this, look at my plan, and assist me.

In response to some of the questions/comments...

The right side that desertsteph mentioned not being able to see/read on the drawing - right now there is a large old butcher block table there, with 3 wall cabs and some shelves above. We do not use the table - it basically collects junk. I think that area could be used much more efficiently.

Yes, this is mostly "steamlining and prettying up"! I'm not opposed to changing things *if* it really makes sense to do it but am not looking to change things just for the sake of change. I think I have a good base and there is no need to tear it all out and start from scratch. I just want to be sure that I am making the most efficient and effective decisions.

I was thinking of putting another oven beside the refrigerator; it seems like the easiest place for a new appliance. I do have a floor-to-ceiling pantry that holds a ton of stuff. If I don't put in a second oven, the space beside the refrigerator would probably be a combo of deep drawers and a good sized pantry cabinet, and/or some kind of built-in microwave as right now we have a countertop MW that just sits on an old dresser!

The floor is pine planks - very pretty, warm color - all the first floor floors are the same material, and it will remain.

The hall door sees the least traffic, so it seems like the cook center is already in the best place given that I need to keep 5 doors into this space. The space between the island and the kitchen table is basically a corridor to the living room, so that needs to stay clear. I briefly considered a new countertop with an overhang on that side but the overhang would make my existing top drawers unusable, so I ruled that out.

We do not have an entry room or mudroom at this entrance to the house; there is a brick patio outside this door. Our laundry room is as long as the kitchen but about 6 ft wide; part of this is a half bath, some is laundry, and the rest is storage and "mud room" functions. There is a lot packed into that little space but it works pretty well. I have aspirations of building a covered stoop at the back since we do use this entrance all the time, but that will be a few years away. I don't think our site setbacks would allow a full mudroom or entry here.

I like the shelf above the cabinets too, although I'm not much of a collector, so I don't know what to put up there. I'm short so it is too high for me to access for storage, and works as display only. I'm having outlets installed above the shelf as part of this project so I can install lighting up there to light the ceiling.

My finish plan is:
*keep the floors
*cover the ceiling with an anaglyptic wallcovering that looks like tin tiles which will be painted white
*install crown mold all around, painted white
*paint the cabinets white, add a "light rail" piece of trim to the bottoms, switch out the hinges with something less obtrusive, change the pulls on the drawers to bin pulls, and change the door pulls to new ORB/white porcelain pulls
*paint the wainscot and trim (now blue) dark brown, picking up on the darkest brown tones of the floor and the dark brown fleck in the laminate countertop
*paint the walls a very light cream/yellow (BM Pearly Gates, I think)
*I'd hoped to replace the countertop to the left of the range with Corian to match what's on the right. It's probably 20 years old and it looks great, but this CT is so old that I am having trouble matching it. I am still looking at options here - would like to use something white/light colored but have also considered the Ikea butcher block for economy reasons, although I am not sure I am up to that DIY project
*I bought subway tile for the backsplash at the range, but I have to replace the CTs first because they are not currently at the same height (only a fraction of an inch off, but against the lines of the tile it will be really evident)

I guess my biggest question is - is it worth it to consider moving the sink? Would I gain the same benefit by undermounting a new sink at the existing location on the island and having a butcher block piece made to cover half of it to expand the prep area? That would certainly be less expensive, but would it be as effective as the combination of a main sink and a prep sink?

I appreciate your time and your thoughts. Thanks for your help!

Latimore,

I've been reading--probably many of us are--but haven't had anything useful to say. But I've been thinking about it more, so...

I was also thinking butcher block for where you can't match the Corian. A word about Ikea--it's a great bargain, but I believe it isn't true butcher block, but rather is along the grain (not end grain). If you're not chopping on it, the Ikea should be fine. Is it really that big a project to install? I think it would be easier than papering the ceiling!

I really like the pictures you've shown, but have some reservations. It doesn't solve some of the "design problems" you're starting with, but should be a nice sprucing up without a huge investment. And I think that if you've lived with the layout for 5 years and are happy with the aisles, etc., well, you know what you like. What does concern are the new traffic patterns you're creating. They don't work as well as the old ones!

POINTED QUESTION: Are you just trying to put in the Clarion? Looking for a space for it? I sympathize! I tried to get it into my kitchen, but it just didn't fit. This new plan is mucking up the workflow, however. You have the large sink with the drainboards on the farthest side of the room from the stove, so it's not a good prep area. And you have the DW (of necessity) next to the small prep sink in the island, so the new sink isn't a great clean up sink either. It's a place to dump dirty dishes from the dining room, which then have to be moved to the island.

I don't know what your budget looks like, though you did say you'd spend for function. I don't know if this would be too much, but what I'd do is put cabinetry and a nice countertop where you have the new sink pictured, and put a small bar/prep sink there. It could be a shallower counter than you'd need for the farmhouse sink so need not stick into the doorway so much. Put a single bowl sink in the island, smaller than your current sink, to give you more worktop. Also, if possible, slide the sink/DW over toward the range so that you have a longer piece of continuous worktop for prep.

What the above does is give you a second sink bowl in a separate position to free up island top space. I'd make the right side cabinetry for glass and dish storage, at least partly, so that it can be something of a snack/beverage area. It's still not an ideal prep area since it's not near the stove, so the island sink is still the major work sink, but it gives an alternate work area.

And, yes, some sinks even come with fitted cutting boards made by the manufacturer so you can use them as worktop. :) I think you're going to get the biggest boost from the new fridge and ovens. And you can definitely make something useful on that unused wall. But other than the worksurface issue, it sounds like the current plan is working for you, and the biggest issue is making more continuous space on the island top.

Thanks for the additional input, plllog. You nailed it. I need more countertop space on the island - but the only way to accomplish it is to downsize or move the sink.

My reservation about the Ikea BB is that I have to buy the big island size Numerar pieces - 2 of them - and cut them down for these small counters, because my CTs are 28" deep and the standard CT depth piece is only 25-5/8" (and that big piece is not long enough to cut them both from one piece). There would be so much waste. However, there are probably a hundred uses for those scraps, so maybe I will consider that further.

Yes, I think I am just trying to work in the Clarion, but it's just too big. I like the idea of it but it is not working. I like your prep sink on that wall idea. I had the same thought... but am not sure how much use it would get. Our dining room is currently unfinished but I could see that it would get more use when that room is used (the next project after the kitchen...)

I want to put soapstone on the island - eventually. I like the combination of wood and soapstone and it feels right for the house.

I'd welcome more comments. Thanks very much for your help!