Round and Round We Go!

Mr Creative created a plywood template of the island top.  The final top will be walnut from a tree he cut down about 20 years ago.  

We have lived in this house 12 years and every time we have people over, everyone gathered around the old narrow bar. We really wanted a large island where everyone could participate in cooking and a space at the end for seating.  Our architect drew the long island with an 8 foot circle centered at the end. That arrangement crowded the walkway between the island and pantry.  

We thought putting the circle off-center would fix that, but now that I see the template, I don't like it. The circle was reduced from an 8 foot diameter to a 7 foot diameter.  What you see here is the 7 foot circle. We tried a 6 foot circle and decided it was too small. We are at a stand still about what to do with the circle.  

The island cabinets were cut back on this side to accommodate the off-center circle and still allow for bar stools on this side.  

These are the pantry doors.  They will be installed as barn doors with hidden hardware on the outside of the wall, which crowds the aisle way even more.  

I love that the view from the dining room will be across the island to the pantry doors.  The doors will have lights so when they are open, the glass will be lighted from behind.  

We need to put more thought into the circle on the island.