@Damian Farrell, the induction hob I've had since... what.. July or August? I think? Not that long. Took a while to get used to it, having always cooked on gas. Advantages: very quick, easy to clean, you can let it automatically turn off after a certain time. Disadvantages: sometimes the pans make annoying noises, has something to do with the resonance of the magnetic field I think? I don't know. But it can be a bit annoying. Make:Schott-Ceran, but the downdraft is from a Dutch company called Airo Design. Don't think they export to other countries. Anyway, almost every company does them now. Bora gets good reviews, Miele, Siemens... The videos on youtube show that the steam goes down and you think, yeah... right... But it really does go down. It works just as good, if not better than a regular one that is over the hob. I'm happy with it.

Hi Emily and Jonathan! Thanks so much for the feedback. Emily - I didn't manage to attach the image that shows the new parking we'd have - see new picture I've just uploaded above of a birds eye view with additional hardstanding driveway in the front garden. - thanks for the vote re tall narrow west window! I'm coming round to the idea though my husband is unpersuaded and thinks will interfere with furniture too much. I think one in the corner just before the family room could work really well. Jonathan - yes the kitchen hasn't really been designed at all yet, the architectural technicians just showed the hob and sink for a rough idea that that area is the kitchen. But we can do what we like with the space really. There are already 2 sets of patio doors on the back of the house though so I think we can't really justify a third! (It might not be clear on the plans but the dining room ends in a modern glass box with heat resistant glass and within-the-upvc-double-glazing-blinds, which includes patio doors ?bifold depending on budget. Then the snug has more standard patio type doors and will probably be the main back garden route.) - generally I think we'd err towards a peninsula rather than an island, not for any real reason just tend to prefer the look of them. So probably a peninsula with a couple of bar stools, coming from the garden side of the room at the junction of the kitchen / dining area, and finishing where the island ends now. Think @Emily sounds like I haven't explained myself very well re eventual layout with train room - see attached jpeg to see what it will end up as (we haven't got the plans drawn this way for planning application, but the aim is to end up with this at the end of the works).

I have a butler sink and my grooves definately drain, or at least make sure that the water goes into the sink rather than the floor. You still have to wipe the worktop but despite having a dishwasher I still have things that have to sit on the side of the sink for a while, crystal glasses etc. I don't think it spoils the aesthetic, but then my worktop is really dark, almost black. I put mine on the right side in line with me being right handed and the dishwasher is directly below the draining side. Also one other thing that I really love (kitchen installed just over a year ago) is the soap pump just beside my taps. It was about £10 from Amazon and holds 500ml of Fairy Liquid that I fill up every other month. Just means I don't have to keep bending down for the washing up liquid and it fills from the top. Hope it helps you decide.

For the last 22 years I've had a galley kitchen with hob and sink on opposite sides ... and a thoroughfare through the middle (from hall to dining end and garden access). It's a miracle we've had no serious scalds, or similar, the number of times pets and children have got in the way when I'm about to take a heavy boiling pan from hob to sink. I'm now designing a new kitchen and will definitely have the hob and sink on the same side!