have you read the thread posted by Marcolo on p1 or 2? It steps you thru the flow of food - from fridge to sink/water to stove.

what's the open space on the right? table area?

what is the distance from the island above to the dw? the stove? the fridge?

I'd like to see the entire floor plan to make any big suggestions. I wonder where the groceries come from, among other things. Just as an example, you could move the slider to the right, extend the ref wall a bit and get a bigger kitchen by a foot or two.

Also, think on what furniture or treatment you want to give the dining area - if that's what it is to be. There are all kinds of options available and mainly, remember that the whole thing back there is one organic area.

There is an argument for stuff comes out of a ref and next moves to a sink. We are mostly a two person household - so at least 50% of the ref stuff does not do that. In any kitchen, try to optimize your layout for what works for you. Different people have different feelings about working in a space. If you are the only chef, a peninsula might be an ok idea but remember that others come into the kitchen to use the ref, the micro, the toaster and stuff like that. Sometimes, a different person does the dishes at the same time that the chef is working.

It's an interesting experience to get a partner to help track the way you use your current kitchen. It helps to know how you cook instead of how you believe you cook. I'd like to believe I'm very organized and preppy, when in fact I'm more improvisational and last minute. In practical terms, this meant that the closer the ref was to the range, the less wandering I would do.

Yours is not a bad plan for the kitchen. I'd probably do something more like attached - certainly not a refined plan, just for communication. Roughly, I'd add another entrance and reduce the opening back to what I assume is a living area. Move the slider right a little and consider moving the sink and window also towards the right. I have changed the proportions of the room so that more is kitchen and less is dining. The island is a different shape, a bit narrower and longer but without stools. Since dining is right there, it doesn't seem to be a burden to carry a quick meal over to the dining area or to converse with people seated there. It gives a nice space for assembly, cooling, rolling out dough or food buffet.

I added a prep sink/pot filler/pot emptier right beside the range - no lugging filler pots anywhere. It also puts water on the other side of the room so snackers aren't walking behind the range. I'd put every day foods in the cabinets next to the ref - so cereals, soups, snacks, etc. that are mostly grab and go or used in making stuff like sandwiches. The uppers next to the prep sink I might make open shelves, maybe a bit deeper than average and keep staples there in pretty containers - flours, sugars, herbs, caffeine and booze. Spec pot drawers for the base cabinets and use that for additional food storage.

The dining area - maybe some extra storage and a banquet with some chairs on the aisle side.

So, its just to spark additional thoughts for you as you make your next thousand decisions :) Good luck with your project.

In either of the plans shown, you could put the mw on a shelf next to the fridge in an upper, or in a mw drawer next to the fridge. Both would get it off the counter, but still be handy for quick reheats.

I've sketched a peninsula plan for you, bringing it out a bit into the eating area. I also narrowed the wide walkway to the room at the bottom of the page to give you larger cabinets to the right of the fridge.

I have mixed feelings about putting the sink on the peninsula, but it does have some advantages:
-You could put the dishes in the cabinets next to the fridge, which would be great for setting the table and for getting breakfasts and snacks without anyone needing to come into the work zone.
-You could have a really great baking area under the window looking at the yard.
-Nice social interaction with the people sitting in the kitchen while you cleanup (but some folks estimate this takes very little time--not quite true in my kitchen, don't know about yours.)

I left the corner pantry because it makes really good use of the space, keeps extra foods on the periphery, and holds a lot in a little bit of space.

Your kitchen plan can be improved upon. As bmorepanic wrote, it would be very helpful to see the rest of the first floor lay-out. It would also be helpful to know more about you: how many in your family, if you have kids, what ages are they, how many cooks, do you like to bake, do you entertain, etc. See the sticky post at the top of page 1.

In the meantime, here are two more lay-outs to consider:

Following marcolo's great lay-out suggestion of ice-water-stone-fire order (see link below), I moved the fridge to the other side of the sink. I couldn't tell by your plan but I allowed for a standard depth fridge, which will save you money (counter depth fridges are smaller but more $$). I pulled the sink run counter out so that the fridge looks more built-in. You'll appreciate the extra deep counter behind the sink.

I moved the slider over to allow for more counter between fridge and sink and a wider upper cab between fridge and window. A 15" wide drawer base could store silverware, dish towels, plastic wrap & foil, etc.

I could have opted for a BCC (blind corner cabinet) in the corner but they are on the expensive side and don't always offer the best type of storage so I chose to void the base cab in the corner. This allows for 2 drawer bases, 22.5" each, between corner and range, perfect for storing prep utensils, knives, casserole dishes, Tupperware, etc.

The 36" W drawer base on the other side of the range can be used to store pots and pans with the top drawer split between spices and pot holders & trivets.

The 36" W pull-out pantry cab provides approx the same amount of storage as the corner pantry.

Eliminating the bottom portion of the U means the island can be longer and that the top aisle can be quite generous (the 43" from island to fridge is from counter edge to fridge door, not handles). IMO, a 36" aisle between island and wall is sufficient because there aren't any drawers or appliances opening into this area.

The island is long enough, IMO, to include a prep sink. I left it clear in both plans to provide a large expanse of unimpeded counter for baking projects, to increase storage and to save some $$. That said, a prep sink would help your kitchen accommodate multiple cooks more easily.

You could either do a MW on a shelf below the counter or a MW drawer in the island.

I expanded the seating overhang to a generous 18". I opted for a 45" aisle between range run and island so that you would have at least 42" between range and island (ranges tend to extend beyond the counter edge). Oops, I forgot to note the island depth: it's 43.5".

I liked bmorepanic's suggestion of banquette seating so I included that in my 2 plans, too. A 42" x 60" table will seat 6; expanded to 84" long, it will seat 8. You could also opt for a 42" x 60" table that expands to only 72". It will seat 8 but slightly more cozy than an 84" long table.

I left the bench very long so that it's easy to slide in and out around the table and so that you have plenty of seating when you expand the table. I added cabs on each end of the bench for more storage. One could serve as your Command Central (cell phone charging station, bill sorting, school paperwork, etc), the other could store trays, table linens, etc.

Here are some photos to give you an idea how this might look:

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Palo Alto Interior Designers & Decorators Sustainable Home

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Plymouth Interior Designers & Decorators M B Wilson Interior Design

Plan B is a variation of the above:

I increased the span between far right wall and fridge cab. This increases the aisle between table and fridge door, which is helpful if this will be a busy aisle, but it decreases the counter between fridge and sink and decreases the width of the upper cab between fridge and window.

The 2" spacer next to the DW could be a 1" spacer or it could be 3"; it will depend on your cab construction. You will need a spacer of some kind here, though, in order to hold up the end of the counter.

Instead of voiding the corner, I added a Super Susan corner cab and an easy reach upper cab.

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Alexandria Kitchen & Bath Designers Southern Kitchens Inc

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[Transitional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2112) by Melbourne Kitchen Designers & Remodelers kitchens by peter gill
The type above has the door attached to the Susan.

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[Beach Style Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/beach-style-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2110) by Ridgeland Kitchen & Bath Designers Center Point Cabinets

If you haven't already, take a tally of your kitchen goods, determine the best place to store them in your kitchen - for instance, prep utensils in your prep area, dish towels near sink - and how large a drawer you need to store these things. That will help you determine whether a Super Susan is the type of storage you need or if you're better off voiding the base in favor of more drawer storage (that was the case for my kitchen).

Here is a link that might be useful: Looking for layout help? Memorize this first.

I want to thank all of you so much for all the wonderful information and the links you provided. I have a lot of thinking and reading to do.
The next few days I will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and I'm going to make note of how I function in there.
I've attached a photo of the whole layout and I'm definitely thinking I might need another access to this kitchen. I will come in from the garage, through the mud room, then thru the living room to reach the kitchen. Another option would be to go around the side of the home to the back porch then thru the slider, but with the rain here in the Pacific NW, so I'm not sure I will do that. In our current home we rarely use the front or back doors. It's always thru the garage to the mudroom.
And I absolutely love the idea of the built-ins and the banquette seating.
Thank you ALL for your help..I have some studying to do.

I absolutely think you'll want a shorter path from garage to kitchen. Both of my plans will accommodate a doorway on the bottom wall.

If you opt to add a prep sink, I encourage you to add it to the top end, not the lower end of the island so that you can use the lower end of the island to set down bags of groceries.

I made a tweak to your laundry/mud room to shorten the garage to kitchen walk, to streamline the space and to eliminate view into the mudroom from your great room.

I started by shifting the closet by 90 deg and moving the mudroom entry to the back hall. This would allow you to leave the doorway open the majority of the time and it affords a bit more privacy to anyone using the powder room.

The closet is wider than the one in your plan, possibly a 5' or 6' closet.

I also shifted the garage entry to the right, consolidating the various cabs to one long stretch with the W/D and utility sink on the other side. You'll have ample aisle between these two spaces, which is good because W/Ds keep getting deeper, especially if you get front-loading models.

Big plus with this lay-out: no doors opening against cabs or against anyone's legs standing at sink next to W/D.

Plan B is a slight variation of Plan A. I moved the W/D and utility sink to the top wall with ample counter and cabs next to them.

In their place on the lower wall, I added mudroom bench and cubbies (couldn't tell if that was part of your current plan or not or even whether you would want them). Here are some inspiration pics:

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[Contemporary Laundry Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-laundry-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_753~s_2103) by Wooster General Contractors Weaver Custom Homes

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[Traditional Laundry Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-laundry-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_753~s_2107) by Princeton Architects & Building Designers Knight Architects LLC

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[Traditional Laundry Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-laundry-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_753~s_2107) by Marietta Design-Build Firms Phoenix Property Resurrections

I meant to add the suggestion of adding drawers to the banquette bench, like this:

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[Contemporary Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2103) by Huntington Architects & Building Designers Katharine Jessica Interior Design, LLC

The other option is lift-up bench storage but I don't think that's nearly as convenient to use as drawers. Use the drawers to store seldom used items like turkey roaster and holiday platters.