I agree with Jillius that best/worst kitchen features have a lot of personal preference to them. Style is again personal. I'm a stained wood girl; others want a white kitchen; others want colorfully painted cabinets. I think any of them can look high end if done thoughtfully, and any can look average or cheap if thrown together without a plan. My dream kitchen would have a ton more storage because I'd like to not go to the family room to get certain things, and the bread machine would get used more if it wasn't in packed cabinet in the foyer. It's not that we're not using space efficiently, there just isn't enough because it's a small kitchen with several doors and windows. My dream kitchen would also have more counter space ... some of these things aren't really changeable, but we can dream. In terms of things that are actually choices: I much prefer a range to wall ovens. I'm short and don't enjoy reaching over the door of a wall oven - too high, and by the time I put the oven at the correct height, it may as well just be a range, where it's convenient to pop the steak from stovetop to oven to finish or the pan from the oven to the stove to make pan sauce. I like my lower-than-standard uppers ... they feel completely natural, and I can reach both lower shelves in them; it takes a bit more measuring if something goes under them (like the television was a tight fit, and we picked our utensil crock carefully), but he shorter clearance over the counter hasn't caused any issues or prevented anything we wanted. It's nice having a designated spot for loiterers/chatters who aren't involved in the cooking, this could be a seat, window seat, island seating ... something that's close enough to chat with the cook but not in the way. Our kitchen table isn't far, but it's too far for having a conversation with the cook. We have a window seat and a stool by the broom cabinet that is great for chatting and keeps the extra person from leaning on the counter to converse while watching the TV. (I have no idea what the appeal of jamming around the smallest TV in the house is, but it's happened for decades ... so designate a spot for the extra people in the kitchen is nice.) TV ... it's great to be able to watch something while stirring the risotto, prepping ingredients, or washing dishes. I don't mind an over range microwave. It's not taking up space on the counter, and it's convenient. This might be affected by the shortage of counterspace and lower uppers (standard uppers would probably make it too high). I don't fry much or make a lot of smoky things on the stovetop, either ... the smokiest things I make are either in the oven or on the griddler. Outlets! More than you think you need. I don't know how we managed before we changed one of the duals to a quad - it always has three things plugged into it. Counter near the stove and fridge. They don't necessarily need to be huge stretches, but it's nice to have a space to set items when putting away groceries, getting things from the back of the fridge, or a place to pour a glass of milk/juice. Near the stovetop, you want a place to put your stirring utensil, maybe a spot for the butter dish, so you can add more while you make batches of French toast ... and it would be nice to have a spot for that French toast, uncooked and as it comes out ... unless those loiterers jammed around the TV don't mind coming and standing next to the stove to hold stuff. An out of the way but convenient place for the toaster ... ideally appliances that need to be out need a home that is not an impediment to cooking and not an eyesore. The kitchens you think look higher end probably don't have a toaster sitting prominently; it's probably tucked into a corner or part of breakfast bar. The important part is to make a list of what you need. Do you prefer to reach up or down for your dishes? Do you prefer to have your pots and pans in a drawer or cabinet? Do you use a stand mixer often enough to make it practical to keep it on the counter all the time? Do you want to lug heavy counter top appliance X from another room, or does it need a cabinet in the kitchen even though it's only used occasionally? Would it's location affect it's usage? Looking at form and not just function, what features sing to you? It could be the style and color of the faucet and cabinet hardware, it could be the style or the cabinet doors, or could be a specific counter or backsplash. Don't pick in a vacuum. Just because things look good individually doesn't mean they'll look good together; ideally all the pieces should come together to elevate each individual component. That synergy is what can elevate a space from average to exceptional.

I'm sorry. That's not the one I found so helpful. OK, then we'll just keep giving you advice based on our experiences. Graph paper is your friend. Get a pad full and sketch out the floor plan. The 3D view is only useful at the end of your planning after you have settled on a floor plan. I would sketch out different positions for range or cooktop/double ovens and make notes about the plus and minus features of the two different things. I would sketch one location for the fridge on one floorplan and examine its feasibility on another. Every time I made a decision, "this blocks the view into dining room" or "seems too crowded on right side", I would pencil that onto the floor plan being considered. By using the graph paper, you can see the table won't fit because it is tight up against the cabinet door or you can see the wasted space on the other side of the wine fridge. The reason I made so many notes on each floorplan was I would look at it two months later and think it was a good solution to put the utensil drawer in a certain area but I had rejected that idea and gave my reasons for it. Everyone here is asking how you live in the space because you need to make it functional for your family. For instance, my husband cooks half our meals, but he needs more counter space (and every bowl and pan) than I. I measured and listed all the appliances, utensils, dishes, coffee makers, bowls, etc. that we have. I needed a space for all of them in a logical place. I needed drawers of a certain depth to hold casseroles, baking sheets, knives, cutting boards, etc. I wanted glasses near the through the door ice and water fridge, I wanted the center island large enough for Mr. Wonderful's many paper plates he uses when he preps. When we moved everything back into the kitchen after the to-the-bare-walls remodel, he mentioned that he would like the oven mitts near the range. I smiled and opened the utensil drawer to the right of the range and -voila!- the oven mitts. Only after all this planning and tweaking is complete will you need a 3D picture.

Kitchen looks good as is -- far from being a disaster. Definitely would not replace cabinets with open shelves. Backsplash above the stove is a bit "busy" for my taste but your kitchen should reflect your taste. You might consider a stainless steel backsplash or panel for above the stove. If you are considering changing your countertop anyway, do consider moving your sink to the peninsula -- if it is or can be made 2' deep. Then, if there is room in the width of the peninsula beside the sink, consider adding a dishwasher to the right of it. The base cabinet corner (where peninsula meets the other countertop along the exterior wall) could have a door in the adjoining room so that space could be reached from that adjoining ?family/dining? room and that corner base cabinet could be used to store less frequently used items and/or items such as ice chest and cookout/picnic supplies since being by the patio doors, that likely would be convenient. Cabinets appear to be in good shape and if they don't need painting -- wouldn't unless you want to scrub them well and change the color. IF you decide to paint the walls of the kitchen and/or window and door trim, then do paint the adjoining open space -- ?family/dining room ? -- walls the same color(s). Would definitely paint the walls instead of the cabinets if painting is to add a light shade of your favorite color to the space.

I think the colors and materials you have chosen so far look good. Your previous home was lovely. You have great taste, and I am sure you will make this home just as beautiful! Your proposed kitchen plan though definitely needs help. It is a shame that you didn’t post the info and measurements for the green lines that Buehl asked for earlier. I have seen her come up with some amazing kitchen plans over the years where it seemed like there were no good options. She is the person behind the read me thread that is usually on page one. She posted the link for you, but here it is again in case you missed it. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5972404/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first-2020-interim If you post the info needed, maybe she will still help you, as well as many others. Without measurements there is not much we can do. We all just want you to get the best kitchen you can with the space available and your budget. You’d be surprized at the clever ideas people have for small spaces to make a well functioning kitchen you will enjoy working in. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you are considering nixing that “island” in the bay idea, as well as the corner pantry. I can see a few alternate places for the pantry items. Next to refrigerator, hall closet, and stair wall. I think you are calling that wall a butler’s pantry? It isn’t really a bp, but we know what you mean. I can picture 2 tall pantry cabinets on that wall with a small countertop area in the middle for a coffee/drink station. Possibly with a small under cabinet fridge. Regarding the island in the kitchen, maybe one of those small movable booz type butcherblock islands would work. I would not do a fixed island with isles that are that tight. As far as the other island in the bay window area. From what I am understanding, you are saying it‘s function would be sort of like when you go to a restaurant and you hang out in the bar area at a pub table with a drink or appetizer waiting for a table. Then as the meal is ready everyone moves to the dining room. You prefer it to be less comfortable than a normal breakfast nook table because that way people won’t want to just stay seated where they are, thereby ignoring the actual dining room. I can understand not wanting the dining room to become wasted space. I can understand the logic, I just think that island will look so odd and out of place. I am sure all your friends would be never be rude and say it’s bizarre, but they will probably think it. You are not alone in having ideas that are unconventional. I do it all the time! But I always need to see a picture of it. I will google until I find a photo of it done well. Do you have any examples of that look? The island in your old home is not really comparable. Yes it wasn’t a normal island, but it was still more connected to the kitchen. To me it looked like it functioned similar to a peninsula, just not connected to the counters on the wall. I tried many search terms, but could not find anything close in images. The only thing that was I found was a thread on gardenweb (now houzz) from like 10 years ago where someone was thinking of doing something similar. Every person said don’t do it, it is weird. I am not an expert on kitchen designs, but I know the basics. if you post the dimensions, I can give it a shot anyways. Best wishes! Edit, sorry I didn’t see your post that you are not doing the bay island before posting. Yea!