Opening a portion of the wall between the kitchen and dining room connected the spaces and made the nook table unneeded. Visibility clear into the distant living room makes the home feel much more open and connected. The expanded island will handle the kitchen & family room casual dining needs. We added 6" of extra depth along the refrigerator wall so we could flush-up the refrigerator, give the MW a built-in look, and use appliance garages to conceal countertop clutter without encroaching on the work space. The GE Cafe series, french-door design, oven makes using an oven under-counter, in a work aisle, a viable solution.