How much space is there b/w the windows? B/w each window and wall? B/w doorways/doors & walls?

How wide are the windows and doors/doorways?

How far off the finished floor is the right window?

[Questions include all walls, windows, doors, and doorways.]

Can the DR doorway be moved rather than just widened?

Refrigerator...it will still need to stick out approx 30" to allow the doors & handles to extend past the surrounding counters/cabinets.

Could we have more info about the appliances...sizes as well as what they actually are (e.g., range vs cooktop).

What's to the left (left in the layout) of the refrigerator....Cabinets? Wall ovens? Other?

Drywalled vs cabinetry for pantry:

• Cabinetry is more expensive

• Drywalled is usually more functional and holds much more, as long as you don't make the shelves too deep...12" to 15" are deep enough...no deeper. (You can utilize floor-to-ceiling as well as sides and back wall for storage.]

• Cabinetry, OTOH, contains deep shelves that even w/roll out trays shelves (ROTS) or pullouts can be difficult to access. How wide were you considering the pullouts? (Did you mean a pullout as in shelves attached to the door(s) that pull out when the door is pulled open or did you mean ROTS?)

Is the fridge #14? What is next to it? Are those more windows, further down from #14?

I like the idea of the half wall, with the banquette. That sounds like a great idea, especially with a young child. I wouldn't worry about the window placement, but I do think the peninsula is going to be in the way, especially if you want to add chairs to the banquette and table.

I think if you took out the peninsula, centered the sink under the window and put the dishwasher on the left...it would work really well for you. You could have dish storage in the cabinets on either side of the sink...and I like the stove placement.

On the back wall, from right to left, I would put cabinet pantry, fridge, (don't know what #5 is) but more counterspace and possibly the microwave in this area (above #5, if those are windows further down. As for recessing the fridge, you could, but I don't know that you would need to, especially if the peninsula was gone.

If they are windows on the fridge wall, I'd extend the countertop and base cabinets down to the family room half wall, with maybe shelving in front of the windows. This will give you a lot more storage and make up for the loss of storage in the peninsula.

You should still have at least 6' for each side of the banquette, which should be more than enough space. I know the peninsula looks good in the plan, but I have a friend with a similar layout...and it gets in the way...a lot. Having the space to back up your dining chairs and move around the kitchen will be much more valuable...IMHO.

Also, what style is your kitchen? Are you thinking traditional, country, more contemporary, transitional? Any inspiration pictures? It looks like a great kitchen and will be very inviting and cozy, with the banquette :)

Hi dfzmom-

Boy, you're right - your kitchen looks a lot like mine.

Although we're going in different directions, I definitely think if you're sticking with a pantry in the area of the original, get the cabinet with pullouts - I know how lost things get in that narrow pantry. Or maybe drawers on the bottom, doors w/pullouts over?

Oh, that dishwasher! That's what we could never figure out when we first added a peninsula to our plans. I assume it's currently at the end of the sink wall, next to the eating area? My worry when we tried placing it in the peninsula was that I'd be dripping stuff from the sink to the dishwasher. But it might work fine for you.

Thanks for responding. Hopefully these dimensions make sense. The left window is 35" from the floor and the right window is 41.5" from the floor. In the bottom left are two doors, one to foyer, one to basement, neither of which can be moved.

Appliances already purchased, Kitchenaid: 36" refrig and 24" dishwasher. Will probably go with 30" gas range and I was thinking an over counter micwrowave on the south wall.

img src = {{gwi:2109657}}

Here's our current layout.
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Drummer-I'm sure not what you want to hear but I like your current kitchen and would probably go with a similar layout if we had the width.

The KD at Lowes actually had an island in our plan but it was way too tight.

As far as style we like transitional and have picked out cherry shaker style cabinets. Will probably go with a tile floor and a lighter colored granite.

Thxs again!

Oh and I forgot, we prefer to keep the dining room doorway in the same spot because of flow with other rooms.

Just whining, but the size of your grid makes it very difficult to guess the measurements of anything. This moves the dining room door. Another thought for seating might be a booth backed by shelves on the family room side and some storage facing towards the dining room door. Other than good space for stuff going to or from the dining room, it could make a nice space for a snack area and/or the micro.

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bmorepanic - how I wish those lower two boxes were windows but they are doorways, one to the foyer, one to basement. I know, sorry this is hard to interpret. Can you suggest a program to draw up my layout?

"Drummer-I'm sure not what you want to hear"

dfzmom - I'm confused. :) I wasn't looking to hear anything; you asked for comments on the pantry cabinet, which I thought was a good idea, and your placement of your dishwasher, about which I mentioned my concern. Maybe I misunderstood what you were looking for? In any event, I hope you get it figured out in a way you love!

Different drummer- sorry that didn't translate well:) I meant that I actually like your current layout. And since you are looking for layout feedback in another post that probably doesn't help you much.

How are you doing with your layout?

Forgive me if others have asked this, but is the sink supposed to be on the peninsula? If not, how would the dishwasher in the peninsula drain to it?

Also, why is there empty space between the wall end of the peninsula and the cabinets? In other words, why don't the cabinets go all the way to the peninsula?

The sink is centered under the window. We were told that the dishwasher drain line can run under the cabinet toe kick area to the sink.
Yes, there will be cabinets to fill in between the sink and peninsula. I am not sure how to handle that area so I left it blank when playing around with the layout.

Thanks for explaining, dfzmom!

Still working on the plans over here. Our current layout certainly functions, but we spend so much more of our first floor time in the family room and kitchen that we wanted to make these spaces as usable for us as we can.

Sorry, I don't have software, but here's an idea. I liked bmorepanic's ideas, but they won't work in front of the doors, so what about this?

If you can move the dining room door up a bit, would you be open to having the stove up against the half wall? This would give you possible seating on the family room side, even with the step down.

The sink could go under the lower window, with the dishwasher next to it. You could have storage in upper cabinets, on both sides of the window. If you decide to keep the other window, shelves in front for display would look nice. Then the fridge at the end. If you didn't keep the second window, you could have the fridge and a pantry cabinet...but I like the window.

The banquette could go in the bottom right corner, with room for a small island (maybe with a few stools?) opposite the sink, in front of the foyer and basement doorways. Would this work at all for you?

While you lose a little storage, I like the long, continuous countertop...and the possibility of talking to people, in the family room, while you're at the stove :)

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lavendarlass, that's an idea I hadn't thought of. Thanks for posting it.