Agree about landing spot and also coffee center, which will otherwise end up competing for some other portion of your very scant counter space!

Put the refrigerator where the wall oven/microwave is in design two. I like the stacked cabinets and moldings in design 1 , But both designs aren't great.

Having a refrigerator in a place that brings everyone in the family into the main work area is a bad idea. Also without dimensions it's hard to know exactly how tight this design is. Never leave less than 42" from the front of a refrigerator to the island countertop. You can't stand in front of the refrigerator while you open it.

Having a person at the sink have to move every time someone opens the refrigerator is a big problem too. The triangle between the sink. range and refrigerator should be between 19 and 25'. this one is about 13'.

Any good kitchen designer would practically insist that the refrigerator goes in the other spot.

I like "B".

We have a cabinet microwave and an appliance garage where I keep the coffeemaker. I prefer not to have things on the countertops. I think it looks cleaner and more open.

I understand your rationale for having the fridge in this position, but I do hope you are using a counter depth fridge and have the wall measure just a smidge beyond the cabinet and cabinet door projection. Otherwise, you will may encounter a challenge removing your crisper bins and possibly even pulling them open, without pulling out your fridge each time. In B, it looks as though the wall projects out a distance, and the fridge looks fairly close to the wall. It would be my inclination to put the fridge on the microwave wall, with a pantry to the right, thus providing more counter space where you need it most. The island would be a sufficient landing spot while taking things out of the fridge. Your coffee maker and any other appliances would have more room, with the fridge moved out of that area. You have pieces of counter that look to be 30-36" wide each side of the range and sink fairly centered to the island. You could have a cabinet that includes a spot for your microwave and an appliance garage at the end nearest the dining room if you really don't want small appliances exposed or put the micro in a base cabinet. The sink and fridge so close to each other will create a high traffic area, and unless you have room for 48" island counter to counter, I personally wouldn't do it. It would be hard to work in for 2 people. I have replaced many kitchens with this exact layout dynamic. Good luck with your decision process!

I agree with Main Line Kitchen Design. If you move the fridge to the other space your range will be centered and the entire kitchen will look bigger. You can easily place the microwave below the counter top either in the island or to the left or right of the range. This would create that entire wall (with the range) end to end counter top. You could put a 12 cabinet depth appliance garage at one end to hide coffee bar, toaster, etc. Good Luck!

Great advice from Main Line Kitchen Design. Came here to say the same thing.