I inserted the picture for you:

Thank you.

How do you envision using the little space between the pantry and the frig? MW/coffee bar? The room feels a little unbalanced to me. I know you said the window can't move, but can it increase in size? When you do have helpers in the kitchen, is it more for baking, salad making or cooking? Have you purchased your appliances already?

Sorry for all the questions.

How flexible are you concerning the Pantry, island, and all except the window?

What other rooms surround the kitchen? A layout of the entire first floor is very helpful as it helps show traffic flow and room access needs.

If at all possible, I would get that range out of the island. Not only is it a safety hazard having someone sitting behind it, but to properly vent it you will have a vent hood hanging down in the middle of your kitchen. It will probably be an overwhelming presence plus it will block the view from the kitchen to the other rooms. If you do keep the range, then be sure you have at least 24" b/w the back of the cooking surface & the people seated behind it.

I'm not sure how accessible the corner of the Pantry will be. Also, 3' is a rather cumbersome depth. That's what I had in my old kitchen and I found it very difficult to use most of the space so a lot was wasted. I recommend either making it shallower (12" or 15" interior depth which would be a total of 17" or 20" when you count the drywall) or deeper (4' or so interior) so you can "round the corner". Our current pantry has interior dimensions of 41" x 52" and I wish the 41" was at least 48" (which it was supposed to be). Also note that 15" is probably the deepest your shelves should be. If necessary for storing something like a toaster oven, you could go with one small section of 18" deep shelves, but no more than necessary. 12" - 15" deep shelves seem to be the most useful...you can fit 2 or 3 cans deep but it's not so deep that things get lost on the shelves. I would go w/mostly 12" deep shelves.

Do you really need a 6' long desk? Most people find that desks in kitchens are really clutter magnets. How do you envision using it? If you do keep it, will you be able to enforce a "no clutter drop zone" edict? :-)

Ditto Buehl on reconsidering a 6' desk. You are giving away precious real estate there and inviting clutter.

Your kitchen is quite big so it lends itself to many options. If it were my space I'd make the window sink area the cleanup zone (with DW and dish storage nearby) and hog the island purely for prep. Prep sink in the island would add to the function and flow. I'd put the pantry in the corner (extending about 4' either way with an angled door - great use of a corner). That leaves the range and fridge. The range/cooktop goes on the window wall (= out of traffic and better venting options) balancing the cleanup area. You have enough room on that wall for 2' clear either end of the run and a good 4-5' between sink and range. Perfect secondary prep area.

On the side wall after the 4' corner pantry you have 8-9 feet open. Fridge goes there - a good location for both the prep areas and for the snack seekers. With the remaining 5-6 feet you could still put a large desk there (I'm cringing as I type that). Or do a MW/snack zone and a smaller desk. Or a baking zone and a shallow message center open toward the family room (I would do that).

Are you having a range or wall ovens?

Great space. Could become a really really great kitchen. I would LOVE to have a space like yours.

Can't add much to the helpful comments made above. While waiting for answers to the questions others asked, here is one rough alternative:

I've been working on this on & off today...and it's very similar to what CelticMoon described! (Great minds..:-))

Just my experience, but really think before putting seating at a raised bar behind a range. Stuff gets pushed off the end of the bar and/or all kinds of junque accumulates there and I've never seen dh move so fast as when he ignited his newspaper - it dripped over the edge while he was reading it.

You lose lots of nice workroom by raising part of the island. Seat heights are difficult for the elderly, the very young and people with disabilities.

People often say they want to hide the view, but people's eyes are generally at 5-6 feet tall and the bar is at 3'6". And usually, the very people you'd like to hide the sights from are the ones seated at the bar.

First of all thanks for the replies. Nothing is set in stone at this point the appliance haven't been purchased yet. I just know which ones I plan on getting. (The electrolux wave touch dual fuel range and the samsung 29 cu ft fridge, not for sure but maybe the electrolux dishwasher, any comments?) The space there between the pantry and refer would be a good place for the microwave, but the coffee maker needs to be closer to the sink for me. Unfortunately the window can't change at all. We just resided the house and that is actually a new window. The helpers just come in randomly it could be cooking baking or whatever. The reason I have the range in the island is because I really like it there now. I am not really connected to the 6 ft of desk (my husband was afraid of clutter there) but I would really like to have a spot to put things from the mail and a phone and printer and such. I don't really have to have the pantry set that way either, but would like a pantry.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I like buehl & celtic's layout suggestions. If you scoot the MW cab 6" towards the fridge, there'd be room for a shallow message center facing out towards the hall. Better yet, now that I see the house layout, you can fit a small message center/desk in the lower right corner by the laundry and leave the MW where it is.

Thank you for the smart floor plan suggestions. I should also note that on my floor plan that there is a french door and a window in the the dining area which I didn't mark, the dining area is opposite the kitchen. I just am not happy at the idea of my back being to to the dining area when I am at the range. The range is located almost there now so that is what I am used to(one of the things I am happy with). Is there a way with my layout that I could have the range in the island and be safe? I have also played with the idea of running the island from one wall to the other so it would be really long, that would really get me to the modern/contemporary kitchen look that I like so much. I couldn't really figure out how to lay out the fridge sink range(no wall ovens by the way). I really wanted a raised bar not really to hide the mess but for some separation from the dining area because that will be the only dining space. I really appreciate all of your suggestions. Robyn

I just wanted to warn you about the raised part. I have a range behind a raised bar. Even though dh could see me there cooking, he still ignited the newspaper. We have a 20" depth on the bartop.

When cooking, most of the time is spent prepping, not cooking...or at least standing in front of a range while the cooking/baking is going on. I'd rather have my back to the rest of the kitchen while I'm cooking and face people while I'm prepping...since more time is spent prepping. The island also is so much nicer to prep at b/c of the large expanse. Homework, crafts, baking, etc. are so much nicer being done a large expanse of counter. A range breaks that up into small chunks that I would definitely NOT want my children doing homework at...b/c of the safety issue...and raising the counter doesn't help...it can actually make it worse b/c now things are teetering on a smaller depth of counter and are likely to be pushed off. With 24" of counter, it might be OK for someone sitting a drink or snack on it, but I would not want my children working or eating a meal there!

BTW, when working at a range one should be focusing on what is going on on the range rather than what others are doing...at least that's my opinion...especially when working with flames!

If you are set on a range in your island, then seriously consider NOT having any seating in front of/behind it or for approx 12" on either side. That means about 12"+30"+12"=54" of island should not be used for seating. Think of someone sitting behind the range while cooking on the back burner(s). The person sitting behind it potentially will have hot steam, grease, fumes, etc. wafting into their faces. If they lean over, they are now leaning over a flame...or if they want to show you something (homework, a piece of artwork, etc.) not only are they reaching across flame, but what if they drop it? Regardless of what you tell them, children will reach over the top of the range...as will adults, most likely.

Remember, too, that you will have a rather large and much more expensive hood hanging down in the middle of the kitchen. An effective island hood for your 30" range will be approx 36" x 27"...if not bigger.

We just want to be sure you are making an informed decision based on the realistic dangers of such an arrangement vs your preference for having the range in the island.

i would think hard as well on the raised part of the island. We were going to do that as well and ended up being talked out of it from people on this site who indicated that it does not provide the room to spread out, put a newspaper, etc. For us, the right decision was one level. What are you going to do for ventilation?

If you're dead-set on a range in the island, we'll work on it with you...after all it's your kitchen! We just wanted to be sure you were aware of the numerous negatives to that location.

So, off my soapbox and on to your layout!

Where is the entrance to the house that the family uses on a daily basis? The front door guests use? There appears to be an entry in the Dining Room (that is what that room on the top is, correct?) Is that a common entrance?

A Message Center is ideally located near where the family enters the house on a day-to-day basis since that's where the mail, keys, etc. will be coming in to the house & where your family most likely will drop it!

I'm assuming the window wall is the wall on the right, correct?

Now that I see the layout I need to go back and look at what I suggested...it looks like there's a wall opposite the sink wall, I thought it was open to another room. It may not be until quite a bit later tonight as we're in the middle of re-doing my parents' hall.

Happy New Year, I didn't mean to leave you without any answer, we had a new years party and so I was really busy before and really lazy today. Thank you again for your warnings. I have thought about the stove and the grease flying all over and it is a problem. Although it hurts me I know you are right. Maybe putting it along a side wall would be better. I like to prep right next to the range where I can just cut my veggies and toss in the pot. The kitchen is open to the dining area. I posted my layout but maybe it wasn't quite detailed enough. I will do a better drawing tomorrow. For now my day is over.

I have done much thinking about my kitchen the last few days. I have come up with I do not want a bilevel island but I do still want the range on the island. I would like a pantry and an actual desk I have rentals and would like that info easily reached, so I would need each side of the desk to have a file drawer. Nothing is set in stone in this part of the house. I can move most plumbing and I could move the walls and bath, I am just trying to work with the layout we have now somewhat. The water heater cannot move and we cannot move windows or doors (I now realize we should have had our whole plans before siding, but its too late now and have to work with what we have). We also want the kitchen in this area because we like it to be central. The back part of the house we want for a family/rec room. I don't think I mentioned before that we also like to entertain. We also like the wide open doorways or hallways it just feels good. To me it gives an open feel but still having some separation. I just realized while doing my preview that I forgot the kitchen measurement on the longest wall is 19'4".

Any ideas? Also the back part of the house is going to be a rec/living room

llrobyn, don't worry about the window! Your kitchen will be beautiful even if it stays put. I like the idea of the sink centered under the window.

I really love the diagonal pantry suggested by buehl; it gives so much storage and turns the corner into an asset.

Have you looked into having an induction cooktop instead of a range? This would somewhat mitigate the safety concerns of having flames on the island. It is a flat ceramic surface that does not get very hot during cooking, as the pots are heated via electromagnetic induction. You can stick a piece of paper in between the pot and the burner, turn the burner on high and watch the water in the pot boil rapidly, yet the paper is only warm when you pull it out. Also people rave about wiping up boilovers--no cooked-on mess. I have always preferred gas to electric, but the reading I've done about induction had led me to prefer it, ever-so-slightly, over gas, which is amazing because I love gas so much. The temperature control of induction is amazing; you can even melt chocolate (on some units) without using a double-boiler.

Another reason induction would work well for you is there would be no combustion products to vent, and far less stray heat to vent. The only venting you would be concerned about is cooking aromas and oil--definitely important to vent, but easier for a vent over an island to keep up with.

There are hotly debated threads on the appliances forum, so definitely try a search on induction there to see both sides argued well. But for your kitchen, I think it's well worth considering.

And if you're even thinking about it, don't have your wiring done yet, as you'll want a dedicated hefty circuit to it. the website below has good info. about figuring out how much electrical load your circuit will need to reliably supply whatever model you may choose.

I'm planning on getting the Thermador CIT365EM. I love the silver.

Here is a link that might be useful: Induction cooktop information