Hi again! Well, it's a new dawn in kitchen land and I am ready to tackle yet another day of angst & decision making. Here are some details about our house, kitchen & family that will hopefully help you all to help me. You garden webbers are the most knowledgeable group around!

We are a 4 person, 1 dog family: DH, 2 sons ages 9 & 11, and one adorable boykin spaniel. We are old house people and are looking forward to a classic kitchen that will fit in with the rest of the house. Though craftsman on the exterior, the interior has more formal detailing. We want a casually elegant look (heard that before, huh?).

I try to cook nightly, depending on sports practices, and we entertain a lot - formally in the separate DR and informally: cookouts, dinner parties, cocktail parties (sometimes catered), you name it. I bake occasionally, but not a major part of my repertoire. We are really looking forward to incorporating the casual living space into the kitchen with the addition & terrace- something that older homes generally do not have. DH loves to cook (fabulous leg of lamb!!) when we entertain so, with that being said, we will need to accommodate 2 of us in there at times.

Our house is generally the hang-out house in our group which means lots of people, kids & adults. Kids will have their own TV room across the house. The kitchen will be used as a hang-out/snack/ & at times homework area. I need the desk in the breakfast room because I love having my computer and household command central right there in the thick of things.

Finishes, etc: I am almost completely sure we are going with calacutta gold marble on all countertops (did a stain test and was pleasantly surprised, plus I am an anal counter-wiper/cleaner) and painted wood inset cabinets - darker taupe on the island and a lighter cream/taupey-gray on the perimeter.

I do have elevations for all the cabinetry, but need to enlarge font so you can read measurements. Will post in a bit.

Appliances:

range: 48" GE Monogram DF, 6 burners + grill

hood - 1200 cfm insert (is this enough with grill?) into custom wood hood

fridge: stainless 36" Sub Zero bottom freezer (secondary fridge in mudroom for all the gatorade)

sink - shaws 30"

DW: kitchen aid with panel

MW: not sure. Probably built-in KA architect bc opens like an oven door & it must be undercounter. Debating the drawer but don't like the negative comments I've heard.

This project has required the complete gutting of the existing kitchen/mudroom and demolition of an exterior wall of the kitchen to open it to the new family/sunroom which will lead to the terrace.

Here are some before pics and some scary demo pics:

view from DR into kitchen

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desk ax from banquette

sink wall coming out. note missing door fronts - been living like this for a year.

mudroom from front hall. I can't believe I am actually posting this.

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mudroom windows: fabulous old casements. The cr-p, not so fab.

And now for some scary ones:

thermafoil, R.I.P.

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demo begins & the boys are in heaven

view from DR

Ext. wall coming out, foundation for addition in foreground

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It's gone!

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And last Friday, structural steel to support the opening between kitchen & addition

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Is that a sink on the island? If the big sink remains on the outside wall, I'd move the island sink into the other corner of the island nearer to the table.

If you have a large sink without a window, you can put a plate holding unit without a bottom over it and the dishes can drain directly down--Very European! And these units have some visual firepower as well, so this could be a kind of focal point between the windows.

As long as you have the luxury of the view from the back of house toward the posh hood over range, why not enjoy having it be a symmetrical focal point? Would it have same visual oomph if it were on the outside wall when viewed from inside house corridor or would the windows compete with it for star billing? I think the latter.

I envy you this space, this budget, this adventure. Am delighted to hear about a family that is raising kids to understand what a dining room is and what it is for. Real food, real manners, real conversation. Have fun and may the Force be with you.

I just want to chime in and say that it is so fun to vicariously experience your amazing renovation of your home. I can't wait to see more pictures. Your kitchen and addition are going to be so charming and so functional.

I like where the stove and sink are in the existing plan. Even if it isn't a great view, I always prefer a sink under a window. And I agree that the range and hood will make a stunning focal point looking from the new add on sitting room. Having just served pancakes to my family in our breakfast nook, I'm thinking that having the stove closer to the eating area is a nice part of the existing plan.

I look forward to reading the advice that others have to offer. Your kitchen has all the makings of becoming one of those "all time favorite" GW kitchens!

Based on first post...

Right now, there are pros & cons for both locations for the range.

Caveat: I cannot read most of the printed measurements & labels on your layout so I cannot tell the aisle widths for certain or the widths of the various cabinets. I think I see a 42" aisle b/w the island & sink run and a 44.5" aisle b/w the range & island. Is that counter edge-to-counter edge or cabinet-to-cabinet?

Current location:

Pros: The Prep & Cooking Zones are completely separate from the Cleanup Zone b/c of the location of the range & prep sink with respect to the refrigerator.

Cons: The Prep & Cooking Zones are far from the trash pullout. Prepping & Cooking create more trash & recyclables and for a longer period of time then Cleaning up, so you want the trash pullout (1) easily accessed from all 3 primary zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup) OR (2) one in the Prep & Cooking Zones are and one in the Cleanup Zone OR (3) if neither (1) or (2) are possible, then it should be located so it's most convenient to the Prep & Cooking Zones. I would switch the DW & trash pullout.
Any Traffic coming in from the what appears to be the family entrance that enters the kitchen from the Kitchen/Mudroom door will go right through the Prep & Cooking Zones to get to most of the house. This is an issue b/c you could have someone cooking on the range while traffic is going past. I don't know how much traffic that will be... I would suggest a 48" aisle b/w the range & island to help with this.
The Prep and Cooking Zones are directly across from each other. While this can be good if there's only one person prepping and cooking (i.e., one cook), if there are 2 or more, there isn't much work or floor space to accommodate them.

Possible Con: Since the end of the island is the best location for the Prep Zone (to the left of the prep sink & in front of the range), the workspace in the Prep Zone is rather limited...it looks like 24" (I can't read the measurements or labels, so I'm not sure).

Range & Sink Wall Switched:

Pros: The island will now be completely available for the Prep Zone, adding much needed workspace.
While the Prep & Cooking Zones are still directly across from each other, there's more floor space so more than one person can work there. However, I would have a 48" aisle b/w the island and range so multiple people can work there w/o running into each other as well as to have more space for traffic.

Cons: Traffic from the Mudroom via the Kitchen/Mudroom door that heads for the Sitting Room will pass through the Prep & Cooking Zones.
Zone-crossing is now an issue b/c to access the refrigerator from the Prep & Cooking Zones, you have to cross the Cleanup Zone.

Possible Con: I think there is less work and landing space on either side of the range...I don't know for certain this is the case b/c I don't know the measurements. Which location would have more space?

***** Something to keep in mind when considering views (good & bad) ***** 70% of the time spent working in the Kitchen is spent prepping (Prep Zone)
20% is spent cleaning up (Cleanup Zone)
10% is spent cooking (Cooking Zone)

So, maximize the view for prepping!

MW: What negative comments have you heard about the MW Drawer? I'd far rather be able to open a drawer and simply look down and/or lift a dish than have to crouch down to peer inside and have to reach inside and pull out and then lift up a dish. Additionally, with a drawer, you don't even have to remove the dish to stir.

Wish you all the best on your adventure.

Personally, I can think of a few things I would do in the floor plan. Because I don't really know you or your family, please take everything with forty grains of salt.

I'm seeing a couple of possible problems, particularly with entertaining and having informal groups.

One is a spacing issue - there isn't enough room between the island and the corner going into the new sitting room. That corner will be a drag even with small, informal groups and gets worse with more people, more food and more drinks. It is THE WAY you want guests to circulate from the formal dining, informal dining and sitting. You WANT them to go that way - so making it small and crowded with seats is probably not so wonderful. They will go anyway, but by walking through your work area.

The island basically faces the wrong direction - in that I'd rather face the new seating area than the old breakfast room. Both when cooking and when seated at stools.

The cleanup area is on the wrong side of the room - long walk for a table setter or dishwasher emptier.

It is too tempting for everyone using the mud room to cut behind the chef.

Possibilities, and you have thought of one ...

Do put the range on the little window wall and put cleanup on the sink wall. Move the prep sink to the other side of the island - near the sitting area. Play around with the island shape to get what you NEED from it (this list or some other).
-- reduce the corner contention
-- nice large single height prep surface
-- prep storage and trash underneath the surface
-- any seating closer to the cleanup sink, facing towards the sitting room, perhaps stools on the same aisle with cleanup
-- perhaps a very small scale chef's stool on the range side for doing long, tedious things.

Assign some kinda convenience score to having the ref accessible to others or adding a drinks ref in the breakfast room or moving the ref closer to the new prep area. This may be one of those choices where the pluses and minus of every option balance out.

My choice would be to move the ref closer to the foot of the stairs and add a drinks station in the breakfast room. I'd alter that storage in the breakfast room to include a coffee area with glasses and cups stored nearby. When having entertaining, just add a great big bucket of ice to have the official bar.

This is like what bmorepanic was describing.

Range and sink wall switched, frig moved to be more convenient with no crossing of zones, prep sink moved for more space. I shrunk a couple of inches off of your sink wall elements to fit a tall something to the right of the DW to help balance the frig.