I am in a kitchen right now with the layout of the sink and stove as you want to make it. It is the most dysfunctional kitchen I have ever cooked in and I've cooked in some pretty dysfunctional kitchens throughout my life. (I'm officially a senior too)

DON'T DO IT!

There is nowhere to put food next to the stove. You need a minimum of 30" between a stove and sink for prep space and 36"-48" is even better.

I'm sure the gurus here will be able to come up with something better.

I'd move your garage door entrance out of the kitchen and into the living room. That could open up more possibilities.

I like karenseb's idea of moving the garage entry to the LR. If you can recess the fridge, I think you can have a shallow pantry on the front door side.

Would you still need electric on the island if you have one on casters?

Oh wow - great ideas! This is getting bigger and bigger though and I don't really have much of a budget for it. Would prefer not to have to move the door into the garage. I like this layout though. What do you think if I got a stand alone range and put it where ou have the cooktop. And ditched the wall oven all together. Slide refrigerator over where you have the wall oven. And leave the door where it is into the garage?

And the Island on Castors is brilliant - may be able to avoid all the code issue with that? Im wondering how large an Island can be, and still be on casters.

Congratulations on your new home! Exciting.

In our last house we had the door to the garage moved about three feet. It wasn't as expensive as I feared it would be and it made all the difference.

I suggest that you not remove the wall between the kitchen and the entry. A proper entry is so nice to have and I think it's more valuable than the cost of removing the wall. I'd actually attach an "Island" to that wall; it might help with the cost of running electrical work too.

9'1" Is actually the perfect width of kitchen for an open plan with peninsula/island. And I think a fridge-sink-range L shaped configuration with island like this is one of the best layouts.

Here's a suggestion I drew up in the Ikea planner. The planner froze up before I could capture a 3d image or a link for you in case you want to tweak the plan yourself. If it comes back I'll add it later.

This is really good feedback and ideas. Thanks you all for saving me from what sounds like a great big corner stove mistake. Benjesbride, your idea of leaving the entry way wall reminded me of a similar house I saw on zillow that is the exact same floorpan as mine (in mirror image). I actually got the idea of blocking up the window from this house. I think though that the doorway....all by itself looks kind of odd, so that's why I didn't consider this option. It looks like they took down part of a wall, and just left the doorway standing, which is what i would also do with this plan. Any thoughts on how to make this more natural appearing?

Heres a link to multiple photos of their house. They did not move the garage door.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/5321-SW-2-ND-PL-Cape-Coral-FL-33914_rb/

If you could move the garage door the opposite direction from what
Karen and sena suggested, you could recess the fridge into the pantry,
and have the pantry open on the other side.

If you use a range rather
than separate oven and cooktop, you could have 48" of prep space (L). If
you really need a separate oven, it could go to the left of where I
have the range drawn, but with a minimum of 36" prep space, you would
have only a few inches between the cooktop and ovens (R). If the hood can't be vented through the roof, it would be near the front door, which might not be acceptable.

I have 1"
filler on the sink wall, and enough filler beside the pull-out pantry to
clear the door knob.

Mama nails it again.

Another idea keeping the garage door in its current location.

I'm not sure about the required filler sizes, maybe you can increase the prep area b/w the sink and the range if narrower fillers can be used.

I'm assuming 4,5" walls for the pantry.If you have a few shelves on casters at the bottom, then you can use the area under the appliance garage for seldom used items.

I like both of sena's plans because they screen the kitchen from the front entry and protect the cooktop. Since you wouldn't need to move the garage door, I prefer the second one, except for the asymmetry at the window. I think I'd omit the cabinet to the right of the cooktop, then move the cooktop a few inches toward the sink, and have the cabinets on the fridge wall die into the back wall. That would give you a little more elbow room on the left and give a more open feel, but, unfortunately, would eliminate some storage space.

If you want to keep the kitchen more open to the entry, here are two more quick variations of the plans I posted last night. I omitted the pantry in the LR, and moved the fridge wall back a few inches.

I like Mama Goose's last drawing that is open at the entrance to the living room. I think you may have more options with your seating arrangements.

I also like the listing you linked to. I like how they angled the wall near the entrance and you have easy access to a dining table near the kitchen. The bar seating seemed to fit, but of course the pictures are distorted so it is a little hard to tell.

If that house is still for sale, I would get my camera and take a tour of it.

Hi. I stopped by to scope ideas for a small kitchen. In your place (I am, including firm cost constraints), I am giving first priority to securing a good living/dining areas since I know that, if necessary, I can have a very good, very workable kitchen in less space than usual these days. But a cramped living room that can't be very well arranged will always be a problem.

A way of saying, be careful you don't cannibalize the living spaces to create a kitchen larger than a good one needs to be. This very much means protecting critically needed wall space. This main room all the ones open off needs to be well arranged and feel spacious, even if it isn't large.

My advice, and I think it's good advice because I have done it before, is erase those walls you can take out and decide on paper how you really would like to arrange your family living space, including TV, views and perhaps even sunshine from where you'd be sitting, what you see as you walk into and across the room (has to look good!), etc.

Then go to work making a great kitchen in the space left, adjusting as needed for reality, of course. If doing a corridor kitchen in place, as you are planning, I'd put a depth limit of 8 feet tops on it and give those precious inches freed up to the living room. We have 3' between island and counter and have never found it dysfunctional for passing, much less too close for people who like each other. :) Many homes have 3' wide bedroom halls, and somehow they manage.

Regarding that window in the front wall, taking it out will make the space feel smaller because the gaze that just keeps going out it now will slam to a halt at the wall cabinets. Windows are a major technique architects use for making spaces feel spacious. Maybe shorten the window to match the other one over the counter? And, of course, sunlight itself makes people feel good and has tremendous appeal. Homes with it live and sell far better than homes without.

Any long chance that finished patio is considered interior space by the building department? If so, I'd give real thought to putting the kitchen and perhaps eating area there, entirely or extending into the main house a bit depending on the shape I wanted, ceiling and floor issues, etc. That'd create a really nice space for family living.

Whatever. Hope you end up with something you feel is just right for you.