Random thoughts I have looking at these:

Are the open shelves a money savings thing? (You'd never mentioned a desire for them.) Do you have something in mind to fill 6-7 ft of open shelving that you'll want to have as a view from the great room? I'm not an open shelving person, so I see the negatives... Whatever is on them becomes part of your decor, and they are a cleaning chore.

You have the pantries labeled for dish storage, but the location of the open shelves would be perfect for them...right by sink, fridge, and dishwasher.

In the first one, you have tall pantry cabs adjoining cabinets with open shelves above...This means there'll be a blocked corner to the right of the pantries? (when facing them)

The blank wall beside the range area in the last plan could be a place for artwork, a calendar, grocery list, etc. Blank wall is not all bad...I wish we had more in our house!

These aren't bad ideas. I am looking forward to others' opinions. My head seems to be spinning lately and I'm not trusting my opinion! ;-)

The open shelves are money saving, but I also really like the look of them. Makes it feel more comfortable, open and not a big huge wall of cabinetry. I realize I may have to pull things down and wipe the shelves, but that doesnt bother me.

For the 2nd and 3rd plan I guess I could put the dishes in the open shelves. That would work. I know I was going to put coffee supplies (syrups, sauces, coffee, sugar), nice mugs & saucers, some canisters maybe and I wasnt sure what else, but now you have me thinking the dishes would fill the rest. Then I can use the shallow storage for mostly pantry stuff and the not so pretty dishes, kids cups, etc.

So on the 2nd & 3rd plan, which do you prefer? The prep sink with butcher block counter beside or blank wall?

On the 1st one I have the shelves running sraight into the corner. And then I start the hutch as a seperate piece. My coffee supplies would probably sit back in that corner on the counter which shouldnt be too hard to reach if the adjoining hutch is only 15" deep.

Thanks rhome :)

In the first one, does the sink look into the family room? I'm not sure I like the feel of dirty dishes stacked up there. It also seems narrow for splashing dishwater. Also where does the doorway by the fridge go in #1? Traffic through that doorway with the fridge open could be a problem.

As for #2, the 15" cabinets on either side of the stove seem pretty narrow. Is there some sort of lazy/super susan or corner cabinet that could make the space in the corner more efficient for pots and pans?

As for the D shaped counter, I'm not a huge fan style-wise, but having a long straight bar seating area in my kitchen. I can see the advantage of the D in terms of people looking at each other while seated.

What is on the south side of the kitchen? I assume you can move the doorway wherever?

I LOVE #2. I know you have two small children and are thinking of having more -- me too. So with that, I'm thinking of how my family would use the three kitchen plans you posted and #2 just seems the most single cook, multiple cook, and single cook with visitors friendly.

I happen to also love the look of open shelves -- wouldn't work for me for various reasons -- but I get the appeal of how it looks.

The reason I like #2 more than #3 is because of the greater counter / working area. I understand the countertop next to the cooktop / closest to the pantry is only 15", but I'd rather just have 15" (instead of #3's 30") and all that extra room (where #3's blank wall is). I also think the extra sink can only come in handy.

Absolutely, the blank wall could be terrific -- a pegboard to hold your pots and pans with a fun scene painted on it -- pictures of your children, your house, your pets, whatever. But I guess I'm just a sucker for counterspace!

#2 I would put the clean up sink and dishwasher under the open shelves and the prep sink in the island. This is so you can face the kids and/or company while prepping instead of facing a corner.

acc0406 - in #1 the sink would overlook the great room, which is meant to be casual and I assume where we will spend most of our time. That sink area would have a raised backsplash and maybe a small ledge across. The traffic by the REF is coming from the garage/mud room/laundry room/basement and two secondary bedrooms (kids rooms 4 & 8 y/o). The dining room is north of kitchen and family room is NE of kitchen.

in #2 I could start a lazy suzan there instead of the 15" cabinet. That may help with storage. The D shaped island isnt my first choice either. I prefer straight lines. I just thought maybe it would make more space between the main sink and person sitting across from it. If I can do a rectangle, a rectangle it will be ;)

The south side of the kitchen is a hallway, so the entrance to the kitchen can pretty much be anywhere.

Here's the general layout of that area...

rmkitchen - Im SO glad you like #2. Im liking it too. I think more counter would be useful, along with the prep sink. And I wasnt planning to have upper cabinets there so I could always do something interesting above the prep sink and butcher block. The only thing Im not sure of is having the main sink in the island. Im hoping its ok. Ive seen lots of photos with the same set up and it looks pretty, just hope it functions well. I do like the unbroken run of counter behind the island though.

bmore - I could do that, but I thought the prep sink was more convenient closer to the stove so Im not walking back and forth. Where under the shelves would you place the main sink if I was to do that? Dont forget, I do need space for my coffee peraphernalia :)

I like bmore's idea of moving the sink and dw. I'd center it on that wall or under the shelves - if you did shelves above the sink. I like the idea of an big work space on the island with the prep

acc0406 - I guess the reason I was putting the main sink in the island was so I could see into the great room (fireplace, TV, socialize) while cleaning up and not have to face a wall. I find myself in front of the sink alot and I hate how it cuts me off from the rest of the world. So which is better, more workspace on the island or clean up in the island? Im torn...

That is a great question, twogirls, about where is the ideal placement for your clean-up sink and dishwasher.

I also think your explanation was really insightful, that you (now) find yourself in front of the sink a lot and hate how it cuts you off from the rest of the world.

I want to ask you about your current food prep -- what do you see? Are you facing a wall / cabinetry or do you have a vista? What is that vista? Do you like it? Do you mind it? How long are you typically prepping food?

I hate the idea of you being isolated and with your back to people as you're cleaning up. Do you handwash a lot? Would you be willing to put more things in the dishwasher? Do you wait until later at night to do your clean up or do you do it right away / as you go?

The only right answers are those which are yours. The way the rest of us prep / clean is totally irrelevant when designing your kitchen.

But it is awfully fun to get to virtually cook in someone else's floorplan! I'm going to continue to follow your plans.

and to spend other people's money....

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you have mentioned how you are trying to save money on cabinets and are now looking at a 48" range. Have you priced these out yet? I've done a fair amount of research on these and the "low" price I've found on a variety of brands is about $5500 and upwards from there. Then, there's the ventilation that's required for a range that size. I'm sure you can find hoods for less, but many seem to be around $2000. I just want you to be aware(which you already may be and if so, please disregard) of the cost of going with this set up. It will more than likely cost more than your cooktop and double ovens. Good luck!

rmkitchen - See, I dont feel like I am prepping as much as I am cleaning up. Im a clean as you go type person. After dinner I like to rinse all the dishes, put them in the DW and handwash all the pots and pans. Ive always handwashed the pots and pans, not sure what most people do. That way everything is clean for the next day without waiting for the DW to fill up. Maybe I should be using my DW more often? We are renting right now while we build so my current kitchen set up is a small U. We're talking 8X9 at best. So, Im facing walls around the entire perimeter of the U.

malhgold - Yes you're right, they are pricey. Between the DO's ($3K) the CT ($1500+) the DO cabinet ($1K) and the cabinet under the stove ($400+) Im thinking it will almost work out to be the same? Am I right?

Here's one more. So now, which one is best out of the 4?

Hate to be the bearer of sad math news, but Malhgold makes a good point:

Cooktop ($1500) + Hood ($1000) + DO ($3000) + DO cabinet ($1000) = $6500

48" range ($5500-9000) + hood ($2000) = $7500-11,000

Plus you are probably putting lowers and maybe uppers where you would have had the oven, so you may still be spending part of the $1K you subtracted...That's why I didn't subtract the cooktop cabinet.

Maybe this is good news if you really wanted wall ovens?

Aren't you back to lots of cabinets in this last plan?

Also, are you planning granite counters? Do things like jogs and arcs add to the expense of fabrication or difficulty in finding 'affordable' slabs? (I'm asking, because I don't know, but thought granite prices might have to figure in here, too.)

I think plan 2 above could work with DOs if you go back to that...The oven could go in the middle of the pantry wall...and the cooktop wall could shorten, since the cooktop would be smaller. I guess that puts them back in a walkway...

What about omitting the prep sink in plan 2, adding a cooktop where the prep sink is, and putting double ovens on the wall where the range is. You could tinker with cabinet design to fit budget. With sink centrally located between fridge and cooktop, do you need prep sink? If you spend most time cleaning as opposed to prepping, I'd focus on that.

Well, ok the cooktop and DO may be a little cheaper depending on what I get. I have the opportunity to take advantage of a GE employee discount. So, that being said I could get a 48" GE Monogram range with 6 burners and a grill for $5500. However, I can get the discount on whatever, so the cooktop would prob be like $1500 and the DO $2100 if I go Monogram. Im so confused about the appliances, I just started that venture. The hood would be under a grand if it was 36" and heck I can get the regular priced $2300 Advantium for $1500! So what do I do, Advantium & single oven, Advantium and DO, no Advantium just DO, Cooktop or 48" range.... totally confused. Im not sure if I can use the Advantium as my everyday MW and bake things with a 9 X 13 or cookie sheet in it like normal as well.

So if I was to go back to CT & DO in plan #2 I could put the DO on the hutch wall or set it up like acc0406 mentioned. I think I would like a prep sink though. While Im not prepping a whole lot now, I feel like I will be spending more time in the kitchen when its not a tiny black hole. Im still torn about the main sink. My DH doesnt like it in the island. I guess thats why I drew plan #4.

On plan #4 I can get rid of the little jog in the island if its costly. That island is only 3 ft wide so I was just trying to gain more width for seating. One thing I could also do is make the island itself shorter and just adjoin a small regular table to it for seating. Not sure how that will look with our regular dining table only feet away. In #4 I could make it run REF, 24, CT, 24, DO - on the rigth side. The DO would just open in front of the hutch. Im counting around 16 -17 cabinets in either #2 or #4.

So its down to #2 or #4. I love the feel of #2, but I dont know what to do about the main sink. In #4 the seating may be too tight. So what should I pick? And what should I do about the appliances?

To move the sink out of the island, what about #1 with sink toward dining area? What about putting a cooktop/range in the island? (With 2 young children, I was uncomfortable with that idea). Cost aside, which set up do you prefer - range of CT/DO? Is it worth trading off somewhere else to get the one you want?

acc0406 - I think if I put the main sink in the peninsula it would be too far from the dish storage. And I am definitely trying to stay away from the CT/range in the island. Too dangerous with the girls.

Im not sure what I prefer. I see the benefit of two seperate areas, but I like the look of the 48" range and the grill I could have in it. We live in Ohio, so it would be nice to be able to grill in January ;). I could always do a 36" with 4 burners and a grill? I lose 2 burners though.