The banquette is one of the things I like although 36” clearance isn’t great. The island is almost comically oversized. If you’re going to have seating there, I’d turn the banquette into a coffee area or storage for small appliances. If you want table seating there consider it on a smaller scale, more of a bistro table, or reduce the dimensions of the island.

Well congrats on the largest NYC kitchen I've ever seen! A few questions and comments.

What is the orange area I circled? Wall ovens? If not, where are your ovens? If you have a range instead of a cooktop, I'd question that. With all of this wall space, I'd want a wall oven.

I'd at least cut the island down to the pink lines to allow for greater clearance for fridge door and near your banquette.

How many are in your household? Do you anticipate having island seating, and if not, why not?

Your banquette seems more appropriate with just the L bench and not the two chairs. When people are sitting in the chairs, it will be very hard to lean in to put anything down on the table if you are approaching it from the sink area. You'd have to walk all the way around the island to place something on the table from the short and where there is no seating. Have your designer make a version of this with chairs pulled out with bodies sitting in them. It will give you a much better idea of the squeeze in that area. (I live in NYC too so am used to squeezing and smaller clearances, but in this size kitchen, it is no necessary.)

I am curious what other designers here think of your sink and fridge distance. It seems a long way to walk to with veggies to wash or anything else from fridge that needs to be prepped at the sink.

Where will your dishes be stored in relationship to your dishwasher?

Thank you! The orange circle is a built in bookcase for cookbooks. We have a range instead of a cooktop because that’s our preference / what we are used to. There also is actually is not a TON of deep wall space so I am not sure where a wall oven would go.

We are a household of 4. We do not anticipate any island seating. My husband really wanted a banquette and island seating feels redundant. in the short term, we also are worried about our young kids (3 and 7 months) being able to handle stools. Do you think the banquette would look odd with no chairs? That does seem like the easiest fix to my concerns.

Our everyday dishes and glasses are going in overhead cabinets above the dishwasher/sink.

Banquette or island, not both. You don't have room for both.

Or shorten the island up so it's not directly across from the banquette. Note that banquette seating is not always useful b/c people have to slide to their seat and, if the seating is more than one-person deep on a side, if/when the inside person needs to get up for whatever reason, everyone has to get up to let that person out. Also be aware that if you have older parents, most older people do not find banquettes very easy to use. If your DH really wants a banquette, I suggest a smaller one with just one seat on each side.

Tip: Don't plan an entire Kitchen remodel around small children. Children grow up very, very quickly! (Experience speaking!) In a few very short years, your children will approach adult size (probably around middle school age) and then you will have many years of adult size people only. So, plan for the long-term, not short-term.

Re: Range. Your layout shows a cooktop, not a range. Ranges are around 27" to 28" deep, some are even deeper. This means it will stick out into the aisle farther than the counter overhangs. (See the comment on how aisles are measured below.)

Re: Refrigerator. Unless it's a truly integrated refrigerator, the doors of your refrigerator will need to stick out past the surrounding walls (and cabinets and counters) to open fully. In addition, most refrigerators need air clearance on the sides, so you may need more than 36" of width. I'd probably plan for 39" of width in the alcove. (A fully integrated likely does not since it's built into the specs for the refrigerator.) I would check the specs of your chosen refrigerator to determine what is needed.

Re: UC refrigerator & wine chiller. Most that I've seen are 24" deep, but you show them in a shallower space. You may have found ones shallower, but I wanted to point it out in case you didn't realize how deep most are.

Re: Aisles. Aisles are measured to/from the items that stick out into them the farthest - counter overhangs, appliance handles, etc. I think you are measuring to/from counter overhangs, but you are not measuring from appliance handles - see the comments on the range above. (Counters usually overhang cabinets by 1.5". So, the depth of the perimeter counters is 25.5", not counting appliances or other items that might stick out farther into the aisle.)

Minimum work aisle widths:

• 42" for a one-person (and always a one-person) Kitchen
• 48" for more than one person working in the Kitchen at the same time.
• Keep in mind that even if you (or your SO) does all the cooking and cleaning up without help from the other, you will eventually be teaching your children how to cook and clean up. It's also likely they will be working in the Kitchen with you for many years to come, so plan on a multi-person Kitchen. (Both boys and girls need to learn to cook as well as clean up.) Even once they leave the "nest", the wider aisles should not be an issue, but narrower aisles will be an issue for the years they are at home (many more years than they will be "small children"!)
• Note that the aisle in front of the refrigerator is too shallow, it should be at least 6" wider, more if the doors stick out farther into the aisle than you show.

Found this picture from a very old GW thread (2007). Maybe it would be a compromise?

FYI...You need a lot more space b/w the sink and range. You should have a bare minimum of 36", with 42" much, much better. (Although, if you follow the NKBA recommendations, it should be 36" + 12" = 48" since the work & landing space is shared b/w two items.)

Your primary Prep Zone will be b/w the sink and range, that's why you need more workspace b/w them.

A successful Prep Zone has the following KEY items (in order of importance - the first two are tied for #1 in importance):

1. Direct water access (i.e., sink)

1. A bare minimum of 36" of straight workspace next to the sink/water access uninterrupted by the Cleanup Zone (DW and dirty dish "storage"). Except in very small Kitchens (not yours), if there is only one sink, the DW should be on the opposite side of the sink from the Prep Zone.
2. Either next to or directly across an aisle no wider than around 48" from the range/Cooking Zone
3. Trash & recycle bins should also be in the Prep Zone. More trash and recyclables are generated during prepping and cooking and for much longer work time than cleaning up, so place the trash/recycling in the Prep Zone and near the Cooking Zone.

How far off the floor are the windows on the "bottom" wall?

Quick layout idea:

I don't know if the banquette idea would work, but this is at least an idea

Do you need the in-Kitchen pantry if you have one just outside the Kitchen? You might be better off with a straight run of counter on the right wall with nothing b/w the refrigerator and that wall.

Work Zones

Was your kitchen designed by your overall architect or by a specific kitchen designer? The more I look at it, the less sense it makes. Perhaps you gave them a wish list and they just said yes to everything instead of walking you through the tradeoffs?

The aisle guidelines that @Buehl wrote about can certainly be reduced for small space living, which is common in NYC. However, you do not have a small kitchen. Instead you have put 10 lbs of kitchen in a 5 lb bag and are creating unnecessary pinch points that completely negate the circulation and flow you are trying to achieve with an island.

Banquettes are very popular right now. And they are often popular in NYC apartments where you need to squeeze in seating without regard to comfort or circulation. Again, that is not the case here. Unless you plan on gutting your kitchen in 8 years, you need to think about how this space will fit four grown and growing people, not two adults and two toddlers.

A much more comfortable and realistic banquette set up that will grow with your family (and can be used by four adult friends) is one where the bench can be exited from each side and two chairs are across from it, like in this Upper West Side kitchen. Or in the pic below it.

For this set up AND having an island, I'd move the table to the upper part of the layout.

Where does everything else go that was in this corner? We don't have enough info to make suggestions. How high off the floor are your window sills? What can fit where the table was?

- You have an abundance of island storage because you are not using stools. Use that whole island all the way around to accommodate an extra under counter fridge and wine fridge space.

Wine fridge on long side of island.

Wine fridge on short side of island.

Under counter fridge drawer in island.

- What will go in your large pantry? Why do you need so much pantry space in your kitchen and in the pantry?

- Your walk in pantry would have more counter space, cabinet space, and easier access if it became an open U shaped pantry area with no door.

Doorless pantry idea.

There also is actually is not a TON of deep wall space so I am not sure where a wall oven would go.

You build the depth, the same way you build the depth for cabinets.

Who did these kitchen drawings? An architect or a kitchen designer? Architects are great, but most of them aren't kitchen designers and many of them probably don't even cook!

As mentioned, your drawings aren't showing you the actual space taken up by real appliances.

I agree with the other comments, that despite being a NY apartment, the kitchen is so large that you shouldn’t have to compromise on clearances. As the kids age, you’ll want the wider aisles.

Also, they do have little kid friendly counter height stool options, like this one: https://www.myhappyhelpers.com/products/countertop-dine-and-grow-white-and-varnish

Thanks, everyone! our architects did these drawings—which is part of why I am soliciting more help. I am aware the range will stick out more than shown. The fridge is a sub zero integrated fridge so I think we are good there (though I agree more space between the fridge and island would still be good). The wine fridge is 24” deep but 15” across I believe (also subzero). there are also two beverage fridges there. that is a whole drink zone bc the appliance garage will house the coffee machine.

re island stools, DH just doesn’t like them. he thinks they are uncomfortable. (I am more open to stools than he is.) He also thinks the banquette is the best way to use the space near / under the windows. The windows are 28” above the floor.

Re the countertop with the range/sink/DW, we actually have flipped the sink and DW to create more counter next to the stove (I know that still is not ideal bc the DW is close to the stove).

We were envisioning the island being the main prep zone. Does that not make sense?

finally, what is labeled as ”pantry” next to the fridge will actually probably be used for wine glasses, pitchers, serveware, and liquor. so we want the pantry for dry goods. we are planning to have one run of counter with drawers for root veg in there.

By flipping the sink and the dishwasher, that aisle is going to need to be wider.

I would look twice at all the measurements to see if the scale has been carried through consistently and correctly. The ten dining room chairs look like they were drawn as 12 inches wide. That's not realistic. It is a clue that the measurements of everything should be checked carefully.

In general, professional kitchen designers (not cabinet sales people) are much more familiar than architects with the requirements and best practices for kitchens.

Is the hood going to be exhausted to the outdoors using existing or new ductwork?

Please bring on a kitchen designer to consult on your kitchen. I realize many architects say it is within their scope but often they are not as good a certified kitchen designer. There are an abundance of good ones in the city. Please bring one on.

He also thinks the banquette is the best way to use the space near / under the windows. The windows are 28” above the floor.

Your husband is not correct about this, unless he wants to redesign the kitchen to accommodate a table and banquette in that area, which means you don't have a huge island nearby. I think he doesn't understand that what is needed is room to push a chair back and still have circulation behind the chair and whatever else is behind the table, in this case the island. You also need room to easily get in and out of the banquette. Banquettes look great in pictures. But are often not a functional choices in real life.

Also, go to a flagship store of some sort that has tons of counter stools on display and have him sit in them. He may not have had enough experience with different kinds. Some are uncomfortable and others could become his favorite sitting spot in the house.

There are a lot of toddler and baby friendly counter height seating options. This is why you should really hire a kitchen designer who can collaborate with your architect. They know about these things!

I find that in my kitchen,that even though i have a good sized island, i gravitate to doing most of my prep between the stove and the sink.

And in my kitchen I do all my prep on the island and then take my cot items to the stove.

I've never had an island with seating - we have always had just a dining table, which was used for every meal and snack, homework, doing bills, craft projects. Our kids (twins) sat at the table as soon as they were big enough to sit in booster seats.

My aunt and uncle had a banquette in their home. When I was a kid I thought it was cool, but as I got older it became a lot less of a novelty and more of a pain to scootch my butt into the corner.

In your case, I would ditch the banquette, and get (or build in) a nice china cabinet/hutch for that wall, so you can not only display your nice glassware, but keep it out of the busy kitchen area and closer to the beverage center.