I can't see your drawing (I often can't see pics on my work computer), but I instantly thought of a thread I saw yesterday with pics you might like to see. Her new kitchen includes a breakfast nook with booth-type seating, and it's just adorable. She also has a lot of trees around her house, as you describe.

I love mountains and forests, so your new location sounds divine to me. I hope you'll continue to post here so we can see your progress.

Here is a link that might be useful: New house in the Carolinas

Looks good to me so far. I would use the area either side of sink for veg prep zone--foods move logically from refrig to sink to chopping to range. Store knives to the left of sink.

If you put a pull-out breadboard/cutting board in the corner between range and sink--perhaps on right of range--you will have a wonderful stool-sitting or standing prep area. Reach to the right and here are your just-washed veggies and meats and such. Work them over on the cutting surface, then transfer them to the left all ready for the pan. I'm a retiree with a new kitchen who's doing a lot of cooking from scratch as well as processing of garden produce. We did a mirror image of this work pattern in our new kitchen and I am really glad of the convenience. Being able to really tuck your legs under your work surface improves the comfort and allows you to keep working and stay off your feet if you need to. Having a window there will help with the claustrophobia potential.

I would use the area right of the pantry for baking zone, with baking supplies in drawers underneath. If you want things to be really convenient, put another of those pull-out breadboards on this left side of the range as well. You can plunk stuff from pantry onto the board even when you've got mixer and processor and stuff all arranged on the counter there. And you have an offload surface for grocery bags if the pantry door opens on the right. And it allows you to launch baking pans into oven and out again to a suitable receiving surface.

florantha, reading your post, I envisioned something out of a Disney movie, everything flowing along with the help of little birds and forest animals. LOL. You sound like you have a very efficient kitchen!

Thanks for the link, red eared. Actually, that house is only about 5 miles from our property in SC! I correspond with Dr Jo Ann from time to time, and think their house is stunning.

Florantha- That area to the right of the pantry might be where we put our restored Hoosier cabinet, instead of built-ins, so the baking zone is spot-on. And I like the idea of seated prep- I work on my feet all day, and suffer from plantar fasciitis, so sitting sounds good!

Red Ear and FlGargoyle: No, there aren't any little critters to speed me on my way, sigh. But the efficiency of prep in our kitchen is proving to be wonderful. I just love my pull-out boards. There are 4 in the room, with the one at baking station quite wide. I suppose I should have bragged them up on the 'what do you love about your kitchen' thread, but they're part of the bigger "I love my layout" theme. As I think about it, the corner breadboard makes my seated position almost a diagonal, since I can swing an arm over to either side so easily.

We have a second work triangle on the opposite, long side of our G-shaped kitchen which should allow a second, standing person to do some of this kind of washing and chopping, but I haven't even used it in that way yet--no big parties until we're a lot farther along in this work. And DH hasn't had time to cook alongside me [for reasons I won't go into here].

What's really good about the pull-out boards is that they are so versatile--chopping, pounding, sitting close to work if you have sore feet or weak eyes, lowering the surface by nearly 2 inches, accepting a vice crank such as for pasta machine, increasing work area at a moment of immediate need, retracting the work surface so things look cleaner (but don't forget to go back and clean it soon!), accepting grocery bags or dirty dishes bused from the dining table, accepting a hot casserole or bread pan. One absolute rule at our house: no onions, garlic, or meat may be used on the baking breadboard--to prevent odors and tastes from carrying over. I think I will make a new rule also: no meat pounding on any board except the one in the corner by the range. That should help the other 3 preserve their surface so I don't have to replace more than one.

FlGargoyle: don't neglect to buy a long gel pad mat for the sink run and for the range run. This is as important in your design as any other factor. I have foot and back problems so rugs and good shoes are a necessity. Don't worry if they're not magazine fashionable--this is YOUR space. I'm also pleased to say that we've found that it's no real hardship to just keep one of our backless stools on the inside of the G instead of the hall side of the peninsula, ready for me to hook out a foot and drag it wherever it's needed. (I got new stools that have more weight to them than then ones in old kitchen and now DH's lab dog can't knock them over, a real plus for the new wood floor. )

Have fun with your plans. Am eager to hear what others say about it. Do you have more specifics to share?

I'd say yes to the extra 2' in the kitchen so you can have an island. We did a 2 story addition 2 years ago, and ended up late in the design going out an extra 2'. It impacted the price much less than I thought it would, and had a very positive impact on the space.

I'd also say yes to the dining nook, mostly since you envision yourself there; I do believe in trying to make our visions become reality! (I too thought of Dr Joann's gorgeous space when I read your post.)

It sounds like an amazing property and I hope your build goes wonderfully.

I'm visiting GW in between preps for tomorrow's big event. DW has to work tomorrow, and we are having company, so I'll be busy!

Details about the kitchen? Heavy cottage influence, with white painted beadboard cabinets, and a coffered ceiling with tin panels in between the coffers. I'll hang some old fashioned schoolhouse globes from the 10' ceiling. The floors will be native hardwood (from our land) and the counter tops are yet to be determined. We're on a desperately tight budget (the goal is NO mortgage), but I'll be doing all of the work myself, at least on the inside, so I can get as fancy or plain as I want, so long as I have the energy to do so.

The house is a small (1200 sq ft) cross-gable design, so that all of the major rooms on the main floor have windows on three sides. We like light and ventilation! There will be a full basement with a walk-out in the back.

Despite loving to cook, we entertain rarely, and only in small groups, so we don't need a giant kitchen or appliances. 98% of the time, it will just be the two of us, but for us, food is a celebration of life.

While I think Florantha makes some excellent points, I would like to see the island....with maybe the fridge moved to the back wall, by the pantry. While this plan is very nice, the fridge is blocking some light and views and you have to work around it to get to the alcove.

If it were on the back wall, with the prep sink on the island, I think it would open up your space more. Just a thought :)

First, what are the various dimensions? I see the kitchen is 21' wide, but the other measurements are either missing or not what's needed. For example, the 14' includes the depth of the wall, not wall-to-wall.

When I ask about dimensions, I also mean the Nook dimensions. Are you planning benches on all 3 sides? If so, I'm not sure you have room for that, but w/o dimensions I don't know that for certain.

Second, in which direction could you "extend the kitchen another 2' and and have room for an island"? North? West? East?

Do you have your heart set on a corner pantry? If not, I would suggest making it a straight pantry on the South wall to gain workspace around the range. Unless...you have plans for the counter area on the south wall. As it stands, it's "wasted" counter space b/c there's nothing useful close by...no sink and refrigerator for prepping, no range for cooking, etc.

Actually, now that I think about it...maybe you could: Move the refrigerator to the south wall
Make the north wall almost all windows
Make the Nook a bit wider (if necessary) by extending a another 3' or so west (in place of the refrigerator)

OK...rather than continue with a long drawn out explanation...something like below.... I didn't know which way the kitchen could be extended, so I didn't do one of those... If you do add an island, I would probably move the prep sink to the island in the range/refrigerator corner.

Here's the suggestion....

"...dining nook...I would build in a table and booth-type seating, with windows all around..."

"...blank area on the right will have a small table and chairs..."

So, you plan to have two sets of table/chairs in very close proximity to each other?

Might it not be better to combine them into one...OR...consider a "sitting room" instead of the Nook or the DR (the area on the right). With a comfy chair or two and maybe a small bistro-type table.

If you line up the nook with the east exterior wall you will save a lot of money by not having that corner notched out.

I have a comment regarding your nook with the built in booth seating. If your great views of the mountains are to the north, sitting in the boot would require you to turn your head to see them since you'll be facing either east, west or south. I say scrap the booth idea, make the wall straight and all windows. have a nice table in your table space and enjoy your coffee while not hurting your neck. Just an idea.

Although I kind of see how having the booth jetting out into the "wilderness" would create a sense of being surrounded by nature.

Tough call I guess. I guess either way, you can't go wrong.

Now we've got the plow in the ground- lot's of things to think about!

I see your point about the fridge- it does kind of get in the way.

By adding two feet, I meant to the North (top) of the drawing. I could go wider, but would rather not. I should have explained what is at the bottom of the page. There is a 4' wide hallway to the bedroom on the left, and it is open (5' wide) to the living room on the right. I can't go into that space at all without blocking the hall to the BR.

The nook was going to be a table in the middle, with a bench seat on each side. Inside dimensions are 6'X6'. Because of our sloping ground, the nook will be some 10' above grade. The mountains cover almost half your line of sight, so either seat will see them without having to turn your head much. Nothing says you couldn't pull a chair up to the end of the table as well. As for the notch- I have to see how that will work out structurally. The nook is basically and add-on, as if there had once been a window there. It won't be over the main foundation, but supported on piers. The opening at the top will be a load-bearing lintel, since it will be supporting the gable end of the house. I had planned a lower ceiling in the nook to make it more intimate, and to make room for a lintel.

It certainly would be easier, and more flexible in the future if I make a seating area with a table, instead of a dedicated nook. And of course it will save money keeping it all within the main envelope.

What if you moved things around a bit (more like Buehl's plan) and put an L of windows, on the two sides of the dining area? It wouldn't be quite the same as the nook, but you could have built-in banquette seating on two sides, a nice round pedestal table and still pull up a few chairs. This would give you your beautiful mountain view, but keep your construction costs down.

I like your idea of the bench seating, with coffee and the morning paper. Very nice :)

Okay- here's an interpretation based on our discussions. The fridge has been moved to the south wall, the nook is gone, and a prep sink has been added. Somehow, there's room for a lot more windows! The table shown is actually a bit bigger than the one we have. I like having nothing tall on the north wall. Now we have two work areas. It's a hike from the main sink to the fridge, but the main sink will mostly be clean-up, with the prep sink being handy both to the fridge and the stove. Being on septic, there will be no disposal in either sink. Should be a rounded corner on the sink counter, but haven't figured out how to do that in SketchUp yet........

I like it! It looks a lot more open, between the main sink and the table, where all that light can bounce around the room :)

If your refrigerator is a standard depth, I would recess it into the wall a few inches...as much as you can. Even gaining 4" or so will help decrease how much it sticks out past the counters. You do need to have the doors stick out past the counters/walls/cabinets, though, so they open fully for cleaning (past 90 degrees).

As to the corner b/w the range & cleanup sink, I like it with a 90 degree cut instead of a diagonal. It looks more open and gives you more floor space to work in that area if needed. However, if you prefer to mimic the prep sink corner, then you do have enough room to do it.

You might consider 30" deep counters...

The refrigerator should be fine. Prepping will most likely take place b/w the prep sink & range and they are both fairly close to the refrigerator.

i was gonna mention putting a window to the left of the stove - but you did. as much window as you can put in with such views you'll have!

if your heart is set on that bump out for a 3 direction view give it a go if it won't add a ton to the cost.

also, if you can put in a CD fridge that'd help, otherwise I don't think a fridge sticking out is a problem. it's a fridge, they often do that. I have read people who have the CD fridges say that they like the greater width than depth tho. I would also! less depth to lose food in...

You say it's a hike from the main sink (which is your clean-up sink not your prep sink) to the fridge but, if the room is 14' and each counter is 2' your walking distance is 10' and that's what - 5 steps? Not very far at all. I like this layout really efficient with lots of counter space.

I hadn't thought of a deeper counter- especially alongside the fridge. There's plenty of room. I wonder how a 30" deep pantry would work out? I guess it's not that long of a hike to the main sink; I'm just used to our tiny galley kitchen we have now. It's 3-1/2' from the fridge to the sink- and they're across from each other!

Well- time to start making some noise in my old kitchen- I've got a LOT to do today! Have a great Thanksgiving!

how's it going?

Thumbs up for deeper counters!! I can already tell I am going to love my 28" counters and I am not even fully using my kitchen yet!!

Sorry- Haven't been on in a while! I'm still thinking pretty much in terms of the last sketch I put up. The counter next to the fridge will be 30" deep, and I've added a window seat on the east wall, where the table is.

We're hoping to break ground in March or so- I'm still tweaking the overall design of the house, and trying to figure out where the money is going to come from!