I think a comfortable distance between the island and the counter is around 42". It seems that you have only 30" between your cook top and the counter. I might be a little too tight. The wall between the entrance and the kitchen could be 4' long instead of 6', you would then be able to move the island a foot which would give you more room between the cook top and the island. Could you switch the location of the toilet and vanity in your dad's bathroom so your enter facing a vanity instead of a toilet which is a lot nicer.

asrabanu, the image did not come through as Houzz requires specific image formats for posting. Perhaps you can save the image as a .jpg for uploading. In my own experience, Home Depot (in Canada) does not charge for kitchen drawings. however, I am not comfortable saying "go get work done for free and then hire somebody else". What's more, I have found that you can purchase a Home Depot kitchen at far less cost than through specialty kitchen suppliers. But, as Marina say, your best bet--even if working with Home Depot or its equivalent--is to find a designer that can help you get the most out of the expenditures you make. There are many variables, but in a recent kitchen, we saved 25000+ over an equivalent designer kitchen with a good design concept that could be created out of lesser cost pieces, assembled to look custom. And, if going with any kind of box or contract-build type supplier, remember to build in time to fix errors and expect to use both the installer and a carpenter to achieve the custom look.

First, I would ask the builder to give you the dimensions of the furniture used in the plan. Since they've already done the legwork-you will know which pieces will fit. Many times folks go the the furniture store and end up with a huge sectional and it over powers the room. Second, just get what you love! You have to live there. Start to create an idea book in Houzz. You'll start to see a pattern. Then just find a sofa like the one in your pic that is in your price range. Just keep repeating until you have all your pieces. Same thing with wall decor (which I would do last). Have fun!

Going with professional has its own advantages. Afterall he is pro, so he has studied more and has more experience. However is this person from the kitchen shoppee, which is giving you quotation of kitchen installation? In such cases, I have experienced that they just make boxy kitchens where they add lotsa fittings, that increases your budget. Open shelves does not need such fittings, so such are omitted...Normal door wali cabinets are less and number of drawers increased. Going on own is not a bad idea, provided you need to study it well. Note down the requirements, classify work areas and so on... In this approach , you have to go bit slower and carefully. Allow some flexibility in design, so that in future , you can alter as per the need. Sometimes we come to know the problems after few months/ years and we cant change it later. Ultimately compare between [your time+ efforts+ study+ error chances] Vs Hiring professional and go ahead accordingly.