I think it would be nice to have a big island next to the family room. If as you said, you're going to do most of your eating at the island, I think it could work really well. If you eat many family meals in the dining room, it could get to be a real drag. In my previous house, the kitchen had a nice sized peninsula and was 15 feet from the dining room. The family ended up eating almost every meal in the kitchen at the peninsula and we entertained in the dining room. It worked well. If you do go with the "flipped" setup, consider planning for a nice sized moveable cart, counter or smaller portable island island (possibly butcher block) that can be used to transport food and dishes to and from the dining room.

I'm not sure what rooms you have, but we ended up choosing a flipped plan that sounds similar to yours, where the kitchen is a decent distance (20ish or more feet sounds about right) from the formal dining room. In between them we have what we're calling our "family dining" room where we'll put the kitchen table.

Our thinking was that we would use the family dining area for most meals and as you said the dining room is used for large groups. In the case where we have that big a group we'll be eating all over anyway, so hopefully it won't matter. I think the main time we'd notice the distance is if we wanted to entertain for 6-8 in the formal dining room, but we don't really do that much.

Anyway, we haven't finished yet, so I guess we can't say for sure, but I'm sure hoping that our choice to flip the kitchen works out!

We moved our dining room to enlarge the kitchen. We had an area in our large sunroom that was seldom used, so we put the dining room furniture (which was also seldom used) in that area. Now, we have more room in the kitchen and a more functional layout, but we still have a "formal" dining area. I had the same concern as you, because the new dining room is about 30 feet from the kitchen. We've only used it a few times since the reno, and it's worked out fine. I probably wouldn't even mind it if we ate there more regularly. Much better to have the right layout every day with a teensy inconvenience a few times a year.

In our remodel, the kitchen addition puts us a greater distance from our dining room, too. To try and create a sense of connectedness, we are putting a "butler's pantry" along one wall in the new hallway that will go into the dining room. Gives me some additional storage and counter space for buffet, etc. and may even add a beverage fridge in the base cabinet here. Construction has begun on the addition, but this portion is still on paper so don't have any photos.

To me it would depend on the route of the path, rather than measured distance...Do you have to go through doorways, around corners, through another room, etc? Or is it a straight shot? We use our dining room nightly, and it's set at the far end of our 19-foot long kitchen...So the table is about 23 feet from the front of the stove, and about 15 feet from the close side of the main sink....But it's a straight, clear path, so not a big deal at all.

i have had kitchens with similar distances and and it was not a problem, especially since, like you, i only use it for large gatherings - however, i would look at the distance from the oven or stove, not the sink - i rarely, if ever, move from the sink to the table, but often from the oven and stove to the table...

My dining room is a bit removed from the kitchen. What we have between the kitchen/dining room is an open pantry/beverage center in-between the two. What I like about that is there's a single FPDD, small sink and ice-maker in that space, along with cabinets for glasses, cups, dishes and flatware that I use to set the dining room table. (I don't have to bring dirty dishes back into the kitchen this way, since I can wash them close to the ''source''.) We use it quite often for groups of 4-plus, and I actually like having space between there and kitchen, so I don't have to visually address the cooking mess. Considering how you're going to use the dining room, I think you'll like it just fine.

Our kitchen and dining room are right next to each other, but to get to the dining room from the kitchen sink is about 15 feet (and through a doorway and around a corner). It's not an issue to me, and we eat all our meals at home in the dining room.