yep, stunning. I been drawing something similar for a while and it's awesome to see your ab fab results after your OP. I got interested in some ikea solid timber benchtops, not nearly as nice as yours, and thought I'd combo them with black cabinets, white stone and white walls (just a "what if" design). so I totally love your kitchen. it's great how well the tiles look now compared to when you first posted, they really excite me! and the lightshades against the black wall. and what's that dining area I see? that smoked glass table top with timber trestles and black chairs and that black and white rug? where you get those?! I want to see more! congratulations, it's hard not to gush! big ups to Mldesign too.

I have a 4 and 6 year old and they do grow through that stage quickly. We used pool noodles and cut off pieces as needed. Then split them up one side to slip onto sharp corners and to keep doors open. Very cheap and customisable.

Hi Lil, I believe your original plan works much better than the revised version. While the notion of ideal working widths is great, the larger problem here is the post. I worked on a project very similar to this last year where a post could either be connect to, or separate from the island. What we found was that by separating the island the space between island and post became very awkward. It's not enough of a space to comfortably walk through or be seated at the island in front of. Instead of your room feeling open and generous in proportion, it is going to start to feel cramped and awkward. We have a kitchen in our showroom (Kitchen Studio Tauranga NZ) with a 6ft gap between bench and back wall and it works wonderfully. It allows someone to work at the sink and a second at the island with ease. Stick with the original plan. It will feel a lot more spacious, without compromising work flows.

big project - as siriuskey has questioned such an expansive reconfiguration and extension under and existing upper level is not going to be cheap, but sometimes it's the only way to achieve the project requirements, like here accommodating large living/entertaining areas...... There are always many different ways of achieving project needs. Without knowing the full context/space at the front and/or garage requirements hard to suggest specific options, but for example the garage could be repurposed for the extra space you're after without needing to go as agressively with changing existing structure and consider alternative / cheaper vehicle housing out the front i(f this is possible but depends on setbacks and the project priorities & budget limits). As a start suggest you get accurate sized furniture on the plan so you can see clearly how these spaces are going to work and flow - they may need to be bigger or smaller than you initially think - when designing resolve internal function and planning/flow/paths of movement etc first and then build in the structure, walls etc around the function (think "inside-out" rather than "ouside-in" - this way you'll get a much more balanced and more aligned outcome in regards to your goals/needs good luck PD www.pauldistefanodesign.com