SFGate

Urbana ~ Designer Ellen Crystal Gamal. You have a good sized space so quite flexible on what you can do.

1) how many cooks
2) how do you entertain
3) how many in your family
4) what appliances do you wish to use
5) what style do you like? Modern? Traditional?
6) what is your budget

All of the answers can be helpful for planning. They are just the questions a kitchen designer will ask to help them plan the best space for you.

At first glance you could have an L-shape backing onto the dining & exterior window wall. the stove or cooktop & overhead fan could naturally be along the dining wall. Sink on the window wall. If your windows are just a thin band, you've room for dish & glass ware storage cabinets all along top of windows.

There is room for an island. Keep in mind 3 1/2 to 4' aisle ways are optimum. the island can have a cooktop if desired or a prep sink and seating for about 4 people. one to two on end by the family room.

the wall backing on your bath can have pantries, ovens & fridge. I'd probably keep the fridge to the dining end. A prep sink that end of island too. That would make a simple triangle for day to day prep.

Consider wine fridge. Recycling center, broom closet. specialty inserts like cutlery & utensils & corner ,susan's, large pullout drawers or wire pullouts for pantry All these make the kitchen easier to use.

Gamal Mustafa 1) how many cooks
Usually 1, but when entertaining there could be 4

2) how do you entertain
Family Room, Kitchen, like to be able to see everything from the kitchen

3) how many in your family
Just 3, But we like to entertain

4) what appliances do you wish to use
Usual appliances in a modern kitchen

5) what style do you like? Modern? Traditional?
Not sure

6) what is your budget
Flexible

Dytecture This kitchen space is large enough to have an island in the middle that opens up to the family room.

Victoria • Restoring our Victorian We have a similar layout… our family room is connected to the kitchen, but it’s a badly-planned addition onto an old Victorian house. And it doesn’t feel coherent or connected.

Are you going to keep the kitchen very separate? Or try to make it open onto the family room?

Gamal Mustafa I have already decided to remove an existing wall that separate the Kitchen and the Family Room and put a beam to support the roof so I can bring together these two spaces. This house had the laundry inside the kitchen to the wall next to the bathroom and the icemaker hookup in the wall next to the dinning and the sink in the wall next the lateral patio. We have been debating about the pros and cons of having the laundry in the kitchen or moving it to the far left of the family and adding a wall with a door in the last 5 feet. Any thoughts on that?

Fiona Dwyer would try to keep the laundry out of the kitchen and family room. think of the noise in these areas when you have the machines running, if you had guests over, trying to chat etc.. I grew up in a house where kitchen, laundry and family room all one big open room. When machine was on tv got louder, people had to talk louder...as soon as it stopped realised we would be shouting at one another! now laundry in a seperate room, close the door, minimal noise!

Gamal Mustafa I was thinking about what you said about the washer/dryer noise and I was thinking about moving the Laundry to the Family room and then closing it, perhaps building an extra ½ bathroom for the patio. How does this before after look. Any Suggestion, Critics are always welcome.

Urbana ~ Designer Ellen Crystal I'm confused Gamal. Your new plan on the left says Family room out side kitchen and adds the laundry & the 1/2 bath over on the right side. Then the right plan says terrace outside the kitchen. Is the right plan what you have now? The left the new proposed space? Does the 3 piece right bath open to the hall and family room? is it really necessary to have yet another bath within 20 feet both opening into the same general room?

Keep in mind your family room activities. If for instance there is a larger TV the left plan only has the one large wall backing on the laundry/bath as a wall to mount. That means all your main furniture groupings will need to face that general direction. This may be a little challenging in a long space. you could divide in two, with a L -shape sectional facing laundry wall and then a smaller reading corner the other end.

BTW what drawing program are you using? is it a free ware program?

Gamal Mustafa The one in the right is the original one. I want to convert the terrace into a Family Room. Also I want to open the kitchen into that new Family Room (left Plan). I also have a Pool and I thought about adding a bath for the Pool and closing the Laundry area. (Right now is part of the terrace), the current bath is a full Bath that Open to the Hall and to the Terrace (soon to be the Family Room). Since I have a Pool I am trying to open that space to the pool. Ideally the Dinning, The Kitchen, The Family and the Pool would be just a Huge open area. (Let me include a bigger area picture of a new plan I have and the as-built. BTW: I am using an online program floorplanner.com. Is free. Not sure if there are better, but is easy to use, thou you can only see one floor at the time.