Is this new construction?

Have you thought about moving the window to the right, centering it more on the wall? Then, you could have double upper cabinets on each side.

I think an island will work well, but if you're worried about the space, what about a mobile island? There are many nice islands that you can move, when you need more room. You could even put a stone or butcher block top on the island, depending on how you plan to use it.

Fridge with pantry units one either side, sounds like a good idea, as long as you have the island for a landing space. Otherwise, you might want to keep a little counterspace, next to the fridge, to set things down.

Your garage exit looks a little tight. If you're getting rid of the pantry, you might want to make a little wider opening into the garage.

Overall, it's a very nice plan! :)

The problem with the island in this plan is that it is a barrier between the fridge and sink. People remodel their whole kitchen just to get rid of doing the laps around the island. If you could line up the fridge with the aisle that goes in front of the stove, it'd be much better. I can't tell if that would put it too close to the garage...but having it on that end of that wall will help.

How wide is the island? Will you have 36" completely clear for aisles, or is that only between cabinet box and cabinet box, and the doors/drawer fronts and the counter overhangs will decrease the 36" to about 33"? If you'll have 36" free and clear, and can move the fridge into a more accessible spot, I'd probably go for the island.

This isn't new construction, and we are DIY'ing so trying to move as little as possible. Was actually looking at fridge's tonight, and I've almost convinced myself to ditch the island b/c the new french door I really want is 2" deeper than what we have now, and it's in the direct line of traffic. Don't want to spend the extra $ on a counter depth. So maybe just stick with our layout as is, no island, with all new finishes? Seems a little anti-climatic, but the layout now doesn't really both me.
Oh - and I think I had decided to do a 21" upper on each side of the window, then on the end there would be 33" cabs on both upper and lower for symmetry.

{{!gwi}}
I don't know if this is any good, but its a way to have an island and possibly a little better flow.

kngwd -- We're having a similar struggle with our layout (which is similar in shape and doorways to yours) and our KD recommended getting a counter depth refrigerator and recessing it into the wall to gain a few inches (for us EVERY inch counts!), and making the pantries on each side 15-16" deep. I know it's a DIY project, so I'm not sure how comfortable you would be doing this, but just wanted to offer it up as an option! We have an island now and I know how much I would miss it if we had to get rid of it in our remodel. Good Luck!!!

your layout looks very similar to what we just finished
this is what we had before and we really did not like the peninsula. There is a garage entry opening right next to the fridge.

and this is what we have now

(measurements are from casing to countertop edge)
fridge to the island is 34"
oven to island is 37"
left wall in picture to island is 36"
sink to countertop is 37
dishwasher to countertop is 40.5

it we were worried about walk way and the island being too small. Everything feels very nice to us and is way better than the peninsula. the fridge is also counter depth.

I hope this helps because we were very worried about the space.

Bmore- I like the way you moved the fridge and expanded the island. The narrow pantry is a great idea, too. There would now be room for seating at the island, right? Very nice :)

I like that idea too! Even my husband is intrigued....guess it wouldn't be that hard moving the fridge over there. Sooo much to think about!!!