Different strokes for different folks, as they say. We have a butlers pantry, smallish, with a sink in it. The pantry has become effectively a walk-in pantry, with storage, a wine fridge and the toaster and microwave. It's very useful, but we almost never use the sink because there isn't enough practical counterspace and because, well, who wants to do dishes in a closet? We also have an island, with a single basin sink in it, and of course the dishwasher. That's where we do prep, and it works just fine for us. We can watch TV while pealing spuds or washing those dishes that don't go into the dishwasher. Even with the sink, there's still plenty of prep space, and we have a good work triangle between sink, oven on the wall directly behind it, and fridge, oven and pantry on the end wall. In practical terms, the arrangement works for us. When we entertain, we clean up and load the dishwasher as we go, dump the pots and pans in the butler's pantry, wipe off the bench, and we're good to go. And since it's only a single basin undermount sink, the look is clean enough for us.

I spent ages figuring out the lay out of our kitchen and am really happy with the result (four months in). We put the sink on the back wall, under a window and love looking out. Make sure there is a bin drawer next to the sink. Ours goes bin, sink, dishwasher, drawers, stove, drawers, oven stack. I think the passages in your kitchen area are a bit narrow. We have 1300mm between the benchtop edges. People can then pass each other easily and it doesn't matter if the drawers or dishwasher is open. The island then has drawers holding the plates and cutlery. You can unload the dishwasher straight into the opposite drawers which the kids love. You have two lots of corner cupboards in the pantry and might be better off with one straight line as I don't believe you gain much more and it will feel more spacious. Consider leaving a space on the kitchen side of the island so you can sit too. I hate standing while entertaining and everyone else is sitting at the island! Hope that helps.

Very exciting to be building a new home! I would include a second sink with your layout. This will stop your guests coming into your pantry to fill up a glass or the kettle etc. particularly as you want to keep the mess hidden. I personally think it can be handy to have two sinks as this is often a pinch point with two cooks and with clean up vs prep for next course or coffee and tea after dinner. I think you are right about the window seat not being as desirable without the northern sun. Bedroom 1 or 5 could be a good option if you could imagine yourself sitting there with a good book. In terms of kitchen planning guides you can google "planning kitchen work zones" or similar. A couple of Houzz articles that are worth reading are: Kitchen Planning: Zoning Beyond the Basics https:/https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/kitchen-planning-zoning-beyond-the-basics-stsetivw-vs~54574000 Forget Kitchen Triangles – Work Zones Are Where It's At https:/https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/forget-kitchen-triangles-work-zones-are-where-its-at-stsetivw-vs~33838673 Good luck!

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