I'll try to keep this kitchen related, and will share this post on the "remodelling" forum as well, but the entire scope of the renovation relates to the kitchen...

We have 1200 sq foot bungalow with a full finished basement, and, six kids later, we have outgrown it! We aren't interested in moving as the land we farm is nearby, and the huge yard is amazing.

My husband works from home (farming,). We homeschool, and live in a cold climate 10 months of the year, so we need large, open, versatile, living space which we can adapt as the kids get older.

Our contractor has advised us, to get the largest amount of square footage for the cheapest price, is to stick to a very simple, basic addition over a full basement.

We were simply going to put the addition to the south, but The best views of rolling wheat fields and incredible sunsets is to the West and North. (South is a thick row of trees and east is the road.) so we now think we will switch the locations of the master-bedroom and the living area to get the best views.

here is our current main floor layout, and proposed addition:

The entry is more of a mudroom, not a formal entry, and our House Designer will be helping us with its dimensions and stairways. It's size and exact location are up in the air, though it will be split- level and have stairs to the basement and main floor

but, kitchen related, I have a few open concept ideas/layouts I wanted to run past all you wonderful, helpful people before I meet with the house designer again.

The new kitchen needs a large pantry, and I'd love a big window over the sink and a island, but other then that, I'm open to ideas. Obviously with 8 people in the family, there are always many people in the kitchen so I'm concerned more about good flow and efficiency. We need a large fridge, and will be using our slide in gas range.

The dining area has to be big as well,. We eat together three times a day, and often have grandparents and cousins over, too.

For the "homeschool" area in the following layouts, I'm thinking of a second table, bookshelves, possible a computer desk, just a nice versatile space I can suppurvise from the kitchen and can adapt as the kids get older.

the best views are to the north and west, so we will be putting lots of windows and a large covered deck out one of those directions, or wrap the deck around, not sure which as it depends on the layout we choose, of course. We need a big family room space, and would love a big stone fireplace for the long winter nights!

anyway, I'll post the layouts (they are broad as we will be using a designer to help with the details)

Please feel free to offer any and all advice! The only thing we don't really want to change is the bathroom as we just renovated it a few months ago.