Basement will be where our kids spend the majority of their weekdays during the day with our nanny. In the evenings and weekends we tend to stay upstairs. So traffic to the basement shouldn’t be a huge issue. I do think they will tend to exit the house from the garage a decent amount though.

The idea is to minimize hazards and poor design. Your design ...could be hazardous.

Do you realize how silly this is?

Kids are going to come & go through the kitchen using both paths. They are going to run around the island playing tag. They are going to rush past playing hide/seek. They are going to enter/exit the house through the front door. Ect, ect.

The chances of your proposed nightmare scenario with Mark's plan is 0.0005%. The chances with your plan are 0.0004%. It makes zero sense for you or the OP to obsess over this.

Your stance perfectly illustrates the point Architectrunnerguy made earlier. I suggest you re-read it.

Also think ahead to when they're a bit older and doing afternoon activities, etc.

Here is taking Booty's idea and moving the stove out of the direct path kids will take. Of course that depends how far in from the doorway the cooktop is. If you can get a minimum of 36" from the doorway to the start of the stove it could work.

wow -this thread is starting to spiral...we aren't here to make conflict - just provide the OP with potential solutions...🤷‍♂️

it is also always good to think of the work zone and flow conflicts - the easiest time to fix is now in design; cost way more once you order everything, or worse install everything...

I think Mark, Cpartist, and bootybums comments are all valid and it will be on the OP to figure out which risks, conflicts, or compromises she and her family are willing to live with. There is no such thing as the "perfect" plan; just the one we can accept the compromises on.

that said, I would put one more item into the mix...and the OP (@meganeredmond) probably won't like it, but it may fix a lot of the issues - end of the day it is her house; she can take out thoughts and run with the ones she wants, and ignore the others...

if you can live without a dedicated laundry "room" (which you don't actually have right now, you have a "laundry alley" AND if can live with a laundry cabinet AND you can live with the Pantry either as Mark's last comment or booty bums layout before that, THEN I would consider the following:

- close the kitchen to the garage before the stairs to go to the basement.

- move garage entrance to be just past the proposed guest coat closet

put a bench and the coat closet on the right side of the garage access door 9or flip it and put the garage entrance after all of this)

- place the W/D under the window on the exterior wall and enclose with a cabinet/doors

- now the path to the basement will come down this new hallway and turn to the basement, with no need to travel thru the kitchen

you could also leave this path of travel from the kitchen open and have 2 ways to get there and train family, kids, and friends to not go thru the kitchen, but I think its better to not have the option :)

I would say, between the 3 locations for the pantry from mark and boom, I prefer the last one that mark sent - moving it to the furthest wall away from the kitchen means the entire kitchen is now under the lower kitchen and you still have a substantial dining area without an encroaching pantry.

alternatively, you could close off the railings and extend the cabinetry that way to maintain the pantry on the same wall as the counter space (cooking or cleaning depending on your preference). I for one would leave the sink by the window - primarily cause the island provides so much counter space for cooking and prep, that separating the cooking to the other side seems wasteful to me

@meganeredmond, sorry for the delay. Seems like your kitchen may have changed completely since I offered to send photos!

I’m still attaching pics in case you want to see them. My kichen sink doesn’t have a window because of the split floorplan we went with. This keeps me from spending too much time doing dishes!🤣

My kitchen and dining area have 9’ ceiling and my cathedral ceiling in the great room runs parallel to the island.

No critiques on my kitchen from the peanut gallery. I’m very happy with it and I agree with those who say to set your priorities and do the best

you can with the advice you are able to incorporate.

I hope you come up with something you love that works for your family.

@lisachew5 beautiful kitchen. Had a few questions:

- how large is the island? are those 36" drawers in the island?

- if so, are the drawers by the range 30" wide?

- is the hood shroud a custom build or did you pick that out from a vendor? if a vendor, who did you use?

- the hood looks wider than the range - is this the case? if so, by how much?

- I have been thinking of similar open shelves by the range - any issues with greasing and such on the stored items?

Another vote for Mark’s plan or variation there of. The entire kitchen should be under the same ceiling. Also like the idea of moving pantry to that dead space to the left. My mom had a layout like that and no one cut thru that aisle between range and island when someone was cooking. Also, it gives you a view into great room and dining room.

Your kids aren’t going to be little forever. Enjoy the time and don’t stress over the perfect house. Just make it your home. I never ended up building my “dream home” with the awesome kitchen. I have a small l-shape layout that I wished was bigger for years. But it worked. I had my teeny tinies sitting in the floor banging pots and crawling into cabinets while I cooked. Now, I have teens that help make dinner or come in late grabbing snacks and telling me about their day. Nobody but me has ever suffered a mishap and I was alone in the kitchen that day. I finally got my marble counters and undermount sink last year, and I have stopped dreaming about my dream kitchen/open floorplan home. I raised my kids here. May not be “perfect” or even “ideal” but home is where the heart is. You will feel the same ❤️

@Jibu John, thanks!

-the island is 8’x3’ with roughly one foot countertop overhang on one long side and one short side.

-island drawers are 2 sets of 30” and one set of 36” drawers.

-drawers to each side of range are 30”

-hood shroud is custom. I called a cabinet maker and they gave me the name of someone who made it. Didn’t cost much more than the Hoodsly ones and I got just what I was looking for.

-hood is 6” wider than the range.

-We’ve only been in the house 2 months and I haven’t had issues with grease or dust. I store our every day dishes on the lower shelves so there is constant turnover.

Good luck with your kitchen!

What if...you moved the pantry closet to the opposite wall next to the bedroom entrance under the same ceiling as the kitchen.

I like this suggestion by Mark the best as well. I think you have a winner.

Guys…I’m so confused 🤣😂 Are we talking here for the pantry?! That’s like practically in my bedroom! Lolol!

My husband would be out there eating Cheez-Its at 1am 😂

The only thing I do in my bedroom during kid-snacking hours is fold laundry. Having a family and TV space on the other side of the wall is going to interrupt any rest and private activities way more than people rummaging in the pantry will. :)

"Are we talking here for the pantry?! That’s like practically in my bedroom!"

I have been advised to keep the Mint Milano Cookies behind the pickled beets.

😂😂😂 I’m cracking up. That feels a little too close to the living area for me. But agree it at least solves a lot of other problems!

Lisachew your kitchen is beautiful and you prove that the workflow works as you go from fridge to sink, to prep to stove and your prep area looks plenty large enough to do what you need. Well done and very beautiful.

Lisa your kitchen is gorg! Thanks so much for sharing those photos!! So helpful.

Mark - thank you!! I see what you did - kinda rearranged the doorway to bedroom!

Or maybe you didn’t! Nevermind. I see it now. Thanks!

Megan, just stopping back in to say that you’ve got a great attitude and an open mind. That’s not only refreshing, but it means you are going to have a great kitchen as a result! Enjoy!

@mojomom - Thanks for those kind words! Everything in perspective right?! All of this is the definition of first world problems 😃 Appreciate you!!

@rtpaige - Amen mama! It’s all about the memories made. These past four years as a mom have flown by for me. Imagining my kiddos grown and sitting across from me at the island telling me about their day while I cook brings tears to my eyes - bittersweet for sure!

But I am glad did finally get your marble counters ❤️🥰

Did you see Mark's sketch? I think it is the best solution overall.

If you feel the pantry is too close to your bedroom, you could revert back to the location I mocked up, but I prefer what Mark came up with.

i am definitely a fan of Marks layouts! The island prep sink is an awesome feature. being able to keep cooking and cleaning separated. just need to make sure dishes go in the sink under the window only! I pressed my parents hard to do a prep sink in the island even though they werent too sure about it. Once they were on board and now that it is in, they love it!

I think the only decision you should have to make from marks last drawing is whether you keep the pantry on the left wall or put it on the end of that line on the right!

I did! My husband and I have been talking about it this evening and I think that’s our favorite right now.

I have something very embarrassing to admit. I never even noticed the “stub wall” over by the bedroom entrance. And I am not a fan. Lol. But in actuality, having the pantry there would probably make that stub wall less awkward!

At first when I thought about the pantry being over there I was like “what in the world - that makes zero sense - what are these people smoking” 😂 but then I remembered that the ceiling changes right there, so I think having it under the low ceiling there would actually be a really good fit!

I liked the idea of having it toward the dining area, but part of me want to leave that spot open for a potential dry bar or piece of furniture (now or later). So I am thinking pantry by the bedroom may be the winner! Go figure! Lol

Thanks Hu! Happy to have another approver 🥰

I’m finally feeling excited!

Ha, guess I actually need to make a real username! Although, i dont think id actually mind the name Hu 🤔. But for me, the more eyes and ideas you can put into a kitchen the better! So many small things an indivdual can overlook!

Oh another small thing that doesnt put too mich stress on the wallet, put plug mold on the back of the island. Keep it high and tight to the counter over hang. Theres never enough plugs on an island and this is an easy way to keep everyone sittinf at the island plugged in!

I might need you to explain a little differently 😂 what is a plug mold? And where would it go? We take device charging very seriously in our house so I like where your head’s at! Haha

The arrow is pointing to plug mold. Like Michael said, puttting it on the side of the island underneath the countertop overhang makes it practically invisible.

Love that! Thanks!

@meganeredmond you can also do a plug mold under your upper cabinets instead of outlets every 2' if you don't want to break up your backsplash. You just need to specify it in the electrical plans (we missed the boat on that in our build).

If access to devices at your island is important to you, you may want to consider something like this:

West Annapolis · More Info

Well that’s genius - thank you!!

Yes I have plug mold under my upper cabinets too so no outlets on the wall to mess up my tile.

Thanks for the help explaining! However, it is NOT always legal or convenient to use plug mold for your counter top outlets. This code is designed to prevent the use of extension cords with the small 2’ cords of countertop appliances. Per NEC 210.52(C)(3)(1) “the outlets must be within 20 inches of the counter top surface”. Most upper cabinets are installed 18” above the surface. The other thing to consider when doing this is that almost any appliance you use will end up needing to be directly underneath the outlet and you may not have the room to pull the appliace out fully from under the upper cabinet depending on if you get a full 24” cord or not. Its 22” diagonally from the back of the upper cabinet to the to the front of the upper cabinet at the counter surface. And one more thing, using plug mold for the counter top outlets prevents the gfci from being installed on the countertop, which means a trip the panel if you trip the gfci (becuase of current code and the cost of an afci being just about the same as an afci/gfci breaker, you may end up with this situation regardless).

In 3 years I've had no problems at all. My uppers are 18" above the counter which means the plug mold is about 1/2" below that. All appliances pull out far enough to use them in front of the cabinets. And in 3 years, I've never tripped the gfci.

@michael_f_gioia_electrical ahh electrical - the bane of my existence...you can see my post about kitchen appliances for the full details but it is nutty...lol

Tripping the gfci isnt something that happens commonly, but it does happen. Im glad that functionally, they work great for you! But beyond asthetics, theres no real benefit to using a plug mold for your outlets and there can definitly be down sides to it.

@Jibu John hahah i will have to take a look

@michael_f_gioia_electrical is not related to OP's posts but you brought up outlets - how do these work? reliable? i was thinking the type that is flush in the counter with no bump up...could even be topped with counter material

Pop up outlets in island (up) · More Info

Traditional Kitchen · More Info

Spring 2020 Hinsdale Kitchen · More Info

@Jibu John i actually have never dealt with those before. Mostly because the ones for my parents kitchen are still in the box becuase the counter guys decided they didnt want to cut the holes for them. I chose to go with the Hubbell brand though. Like most things going with a trusted brand is important and Hubbell is one of those companies i trust to deliver on their products.

If the pop-up outlets from the Hinsdale Kitchen are used they should be strategically located so kids can use them as launch ramps for their Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.

I’m sensing a life-size game of Mousetrap. Mark rolls a marble off the loft, in falls on a spoon trebuchet that launches a Hot Wheels car off the pop-up outlet, and it drops a bay leaf into the stew on the stove.

If there is a bay leaf in the recipe, it will end up (unwanted) in my bowl.

Well, the Hot Wheels launch was your idea, so it’d be your own fault.

@meganeredmondhow did ti go? make a decision on how to change things?

@Jibu John Hi!! Thanks so much for checking in!! Things are going great! We ended up going with the collective suggestion from this group! See below for the rendering of the kitchen cabinets! Thank you so much for your help! We are very excited. They’re almost finished with framing!

It’s been a year and a half so I thought it was time to circle back to this thread!! 😂 Letting you all know how our kitchen layout turned out! We ended up making a lot of the layout changes that people in this thread suggested and we are thrilled with how it turned out! It’s hard to imagine what it would have looked like with the original layout. We’ve been moved in for about ten months and really loving it! Thanks everyone for all your input!!

I'll bet even the food tastes better.

Excellent and beautiful!