I think you can add appliance garage under the wall cabinets to the right of fridge If you cant get it done at the construction phase ...but w that long stretch avail does the stuff have to be behind the garage enclosure??? .....do you have a fridge model? I'd reduce the cabinetry on the island close to the fridge [left of dishwasher] ... its a pinch point I fear......cant the cabinet inches expand to push the island out on the dining end ...there seems to be a widening over there. Things like drawers....choice of single bowl sink....getting a good hood installed???? what about all that??? If you can add to the back wall where range is.....couldnt you put wall ovens also near dining end there? you'd need a vertical stack .....can he provide that? Just depends on how he has this set up w the kitchen people ...you mention the non negotiables but looks like a few things I'd check out , given the roominess on that far side of the space. How many feet from dining windows to edge of those counters as its drawn now??? Good Luck.

something tall can go on the back wall ..this one has fridge but I think your oven stack could be placed along there.

Northgate Kitchen · More Info

@PPF.-- We should be able to adjust the positions of the appliances (except the sink) and select which types of cabinets we want where, though there may be some limitations with that as well.

@herbflavor-- Thanks for your input! We are very limited with what we can customize, and unfortunately the bones of the space need to stay as-is, so I think everything behind the garage enclosure has to stay. We haven't picked our exact fridge model yet, but I'd like to go with counter-depth (my husband disagrees though...) We do plan to go with a deep single-bowl sink and we will defnitely have a range hood. Still figuring out our exact appliances, but will make sure our hood CFM is appropriate for the cooktop.

I like the idea of scooting the island (and perhaps the wall cabinets to preserve symmetry) towards the dining room. Currently we have 11'8" from the dining windows to the island/counters. I do worry that may make the dining area feel cramped.

You don't even have enough room between the island and the perimeter cabinets.

Have you started building?

@cpartist- We haven't started building. We've had a few initial convos with the builder (with our realtor involved), which is how we know some of the hard nos. Our first opportunity to customize cabinets and request minor changes is next week. I'm trying to get a solid idea of what we want to request now so we can make the most of that meeting. We do plan to extend the island towards the living area by 1' and increase the distance between the island and cabinets a few inches to 4'. My understanding is that 42"+ is fine for island clearance and 48" is ideal. Do you have a different experience? Thanks!

Can you get the builder to flip the pantry and mechanical room, something like below?

It'd be a lot better to have direct access to the pantry from the kitchen, instead of having to go around the corner to access it. (Think about how many times a day you'll be going to and from the pantry.)

Also, the plan seems to have a weirdly large mechanical room. I wonder if it could double as storage/closet for the mud room.

The pantry and mechanical ashould be next to the garage, and the kitchen should be where they were, so you can get windows and light. Another plan would be better to start with. One from your architect would be best.

I'd be curious to see the rest. But any plan that doesn't place the kitchen where it can get light from multiple directions, and does place very seldom used service areas on corners, displays a poor heirarchy of organization. If that carries through the rest of the home, the master bath is likely to be larger than the family room, and the garage bigger than both.