My goodness! A simple solution to something I now realise I was overthinking! Thank you Meris.

people in and out kitchen from patio-where will you "lay out" the food/snacks/beverages..The fridge is way far away-and range or cooking area has to be passed by to get a cold drink or anything in fridge/ I would probably do something like an entertainment section of run with undercounter fridge/microwave/ bar sink/some drawers /all very near the patio entrance. You need zones which I don't see.

Thanks herbflavour. I agree and maybe shifting the fridge closer to the entrance will do the trick. Love the idea about an entertainment area but we don't have the budget at the moment. Will flag this for the future. Cheers.

You could put the frig on the other side of the kitchen, if that works better. It would be better for entertaining, but further from your pantry.

my absolute pleasure to help. :-)

Good advice given already, but whether you have the fridge beside the
pantry, or beside the entry, you will need filler between it and the
wall, to permit the door to open fully. (Unless you have a fridge meant
for use in a corner--my cheapie Frigidaire has rounded edges which will
allow it to open against a wall, except for the door handles. It's not
against a wall, and I didn't buy it for that feature, but I have the
option.) GW thread on fridge in corner. You
have a small area and centering the sink and range might not be as
functional, but I really like Meris' idea to put the range between
windows.

On the island, I'd put the DW on the left, then the sink, then a trash
pull-out. That leaves the maximum area for prep on the counter, and with
the range on that end, all you need to do is pivot to drop items on the
cooktop. I used both herbflabor's and Meris' suggestions to move the fridge closer to
the entry.

Is the window that opens to the deck a pass-through? It would be nice to have a counter/ledge on the outside to set items on, for a helper outside.

I am not sure lining up any part of the kitchen window with any part of the TV makes sense. There will never be a time when you are standing in the space and can see both at once and be positioned to appreciate that they are lined up.

If you walk all the way to either side of the room, MAYBE you could see both the TV and window at once, but you will not be at the proper angle to able to see if they are lined up. From the center, you can either look at the TV or the window, but not both at once.

In order for that symmetry to be visible, you'd have to be standing outside the house looking through the kitchen window. Which you will never do.

Thanks mama goose. Having a pictorial certainly makes it that much easier to visualise. I like all the suggestions made and will discuss with our architect/builder and eventually joiner. We'll have to give the trash pull out a bit more thought as we live in a tropical/humid climate all year round which would mean regularly clearing out the rubbish to avoid the stench building up in the kitchen island. Otherwise, happy to do it and have the hubby empty out the rubbish every day haha. I like the idea of having a built-in roller for paper towels, will look to include this as well. The window is a pass-through but I'm not sure about the counter/ledge as we have two young children (7 & 5 yr old girls) with more planned for the near future. Unfortunately we're limited on types of freezers we can buy from the Cook Islands and if we order anything from especially the US, it'll probably take up to 6 months before it arrives, depending on shipping schedules. I ordered shoes online one time and it took 4 months! :-) I'll see what's available in our local hardware store and will just have to make do otherwise, ship in from NZ. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks Jillius. I guess the thought was to ensure the window was aligned with the centre part of the opposite wall, where the TV will be placed. But I agree with your comments, if anything, having a second window will limit the opportunity to install cabinets/storage cupboards for kitchen items. Thanks again for the comments.

Trash pull-outs are very popular here in the US. I love mine, which is only 12" wide--a smaller pull-out means emptying more often. We recycle and compost so I empty it only a couple of times a week, into a larger covered container I keep in the mudroom.

Clipped corners on a pass-through ledge (and island corners) would help the head-bonking issue. ;)

Thanks again mama goose. We keen now on trash pull-outs and I have our joiner do the needful. We're looking to have rounded corners for the island and will do the same for the counter top/ledge. Much appreciated.

Make sure you come back and show us your kitchen when's it's done. I bet it will be lovely.