Your kitchen isn't even 11' deep. You don't have room for an island. You need a minimum of 42" for each aisle and that's measured from counter to whatever sticks out the furthest. To put in a 27" island means your aisles would be less than 38" wide.

The sink can't go there and work. This can't be the original layout. It doesn't work at all. Post the original layout.

Cpartist: Contrary to all the rules, the island has been there for 30 years and it's been just fine. Weird, I know, but my mom loves that island.

GreenDesigns: I would love to hear your thoughts on the sink placement. Here's where everything was in the original kitchen.

There is zero compelling reason to change the original layout. It works. The altered one does not.

GreenDesigns: in the existing layout, there are a few problems:

- The refrigerator cuts off communication between kitchen and breakfast room, and it's a big, ugly visual barrier

- The cooktop is smashed up against the oven and pantry, and it gets very crowded over there

Could you explain why you think the sink/dishwasher placement in the new layout doesnt' work?

Smashing the sink in the corner so that you can't really use it is not a workable design. The original layout works just fine as far as function and flow goes. The modified one stretches out the room around the cooking zone, to its detriment. And robs room from the sink, it's its extreme detriment.

Do you see any other way to do it besides going back to the original layout? I'd really like to get the refrigerator out of the way. I had thought that by putting a smaller prep sink between fridge and stove, it would create an efficient cooking triangle, where the sink/dishwasher could be more of a combo cleanup/socialization/prep zone.

Your space is basically 11' wide.

11' = 132"

132" - 25.5" for the perimeter cabinets = 106.5"

106.5" - 30" island = 76.5"

76.5" divided by 2 = 38.25" and with the appliances sticking out, it is even less. The absolute minimum width for code is 36". Also you are talking about your Mom's kitchen which makes me assume she's not that young? What happens if she needs the assistance of a walker in future years. Even part time? For a hip or knee replacement for as one example. How will she maneuver around such a narrow space?

Addtionally, you really don't have enough space between the prep sink and the cooktop in your design. 36" is minimum. More is better.

Now is the chance to create a kitchen that is workable. A moveable island cart will work fine. Not a stationary one. Here is what I'd do.

I did not put in actual cabinet dimensions but just the actual pieces. I eliminated the prep sink. I would look into maybe doing a Kohler Prolific sink instead.

I put a landing space between the oven and the fridge because as you had it, you would take stuff out of the oven and have to walk with it before setting it down and visa versa.

Depending upon the appliances, they will not project past the edge of the countertop.

Cooktops do not. Panel-ready DWs do not. Some wall ovens do not (Bosch, for example requires a 25" cabinet for flush mounting, but that's under 25.5" which is how much counters stick out. I've had to do a number of small kitchens where every appliance was flush, or as close to it as possible.

I would not do this kitchen without a true counter depth fridge, or any appliances that project much, personally.

I also made the island on 24"cabinets, which means the top would be 26-27" not 33". If it has nothing on it appliance wise, and is just for storage and a place to have some stools, it does not need to be 30" wide. It could be designed properly for some storage and a stool or two with shallow cabinetry.

The proof that this kitchen has worked with an island for this individual homeowner is that there has been one there for 30 years and the homeowner wants another one. I would make it narrower and I think to some extent the homeowner has accommodated to it even though it's tight. But it meets the minimum dimensions, (and would exceed them if it was made narrower), and the homeowner wants it.

Personally I do not like moveable carts, if they are light enough to be portable, half the time they are off kilter and if they are heavy enough to stay put they might as well be stuck to the floor anyway. Plus a kitchen like this is tight enough that it's a real PITA to clean under something or retrieve something from under something that is not sealed to the floor.

Just for yuks -- ignoring the entire rest of the kitchen which I understand is driving people crazy for various legitimate reasons -- can someone tell me what exactly is wrong with having the sink and the dishwasher in the peninsula as in the original layout I posted? My gut is that it's weird, but can't quite articulate the actual pros and cons.

A sink right at the corner with the DW restricting your movement in the other direction when it is open, and also restricting movementfrom that direction into the work aisle of the kitchen is awkward at best, especially in a kitchen that isn't all that small. It may be a necessity in a very small kitchen to have it in a corner like this, but it isnt, here.

This is my second attempt at posting....hmmmmm.

How damaged are the walls; will they need repair?

Is your diagram complete? Please explain both a doorway and open entrance into the dining area...seems odd and a waste of space? Can that wall be removed and the pantry reconfigured to provide more space for the kitchen?

rantontoo: Yes, the walls all need repair. Water came up 2 feet in the downstairs of the house. Ugh!

I see the confusion about the dining entrance. The open doorway actually leads into the formal dining room. The swinging door adjacent actually goes into and under-stairs storage area.

Depending upon the appliances, they will not project past the edge of the countertop.

Cooktops do not. Panel-ready DWs do not. Some wall ovens do not (Bosch, for example requires a 25" cabinet for flush mounting, but that's under 25.5" which is how much counters stick out. I've had to do a number of small kitchens where every appliance was flush, or as close to it as possible.

It's not the appliances, but the handles on the appliances that stick out further.

I would keep the island 30", if it works now, but note that I live in an
older home with narrow aisles. Here's another variation on the plans
posted above--the fridge and oven have been switched, so that there is
adjacent landing space for the ovens, Landing space for the fridge is on
the island.

I used the same pulls and handles on my integrated appliances as I did on my cabinets so they didn't really project any further than the hardware on my cabinets. In any case they did not stick out like a range or conventional DW where the case or door project beyond the cabinets by inches. Of course oven handles usually will.