What was the intent of the person that designed the house?

What will the space between the table and the stairs be used for?

Using the 'dining nook' as a sitting area with a chair, loveseat, and corner table; and moving the table out to the main space may be a better use of space.

Do not do option A.

@Mark Bischak, Architect - the original concept of the design was to keep an open flow from kitchen to great room. Our previous home had a similar layout - however the dining nook didn't exist and the table was between the kitchen and the great room. We didn't like how it broke up the flow and made things feel cramped between the two spaces.

Layout all the furniture to scale in the spaces shown (in the whole house won't hurt) and that may bring to light problem areas.

@Mark Bischak, Architect - I hadn't thought of the idea of using that space as a sitting space... I like that idea!

Agree with laying it all out. Marks plan is good with the little sitting area.

That nook will not hold that table you need 36" all around for chairs if you do a bench at the back then that still requires 24" there is no way that table works . I agree a nice spot for a couple of chairs and a table in between for a nice glass of wine with a friend .

Thank you all for your input. This is helpful! If we move the dining table to what Mark‘s mock up shows how would you handle lighting? I plan to have two pendants over the island and had planned to have some sort of pendant over the dining space. Would you continue that? Now that the dining table would be more in the center of that open concept?

Reading your question I had the same thought as Mark. Your dining nook isn't big enough to dine in (not to mention allow for traffic to the sliders) and the space between your kitchen and living room is a hole right now. Putting the dining table there and making the nook a sitting room is your best bet.

Yes you need a fixture over dining and other lighting too. We have an open concept main and this is our lighting plan for first floor.

It can depend on how many will use the table regularly. If that's 4 or less a round table with leaves can fit in the nook. You can expand it out for larger gatherings. Two cans on separate dimmers will light both setups.