Abi, thanks for the kind words, she will be happy to know it has the approval of a pro.
My thoughts on the design before we started the project was a more period correct look, stand alone antique cabinets ect with a large harvest type table in the middle of the floor. Her vision was more of a modern approach with wall mounted cabinets and the such. The island was a compromise. It worked out well though. As far as work space, the dishwasher, sink and cupboard are close together in a work triangle arrangement, same for the stove, fridge and prep area, the back side of the island affords a large area for rolling out things for baking ect.
I had some creative thinking to do to get the mechanics of the restoration worked out. Biggest issue was the forced air run beside the chimney mass, the trim was different between the original and the heating run, you can see it in the picture with the green floor tiles, and the original sink location when the first plumbing was installed. Here is a picture of that area.

My solution was to remove the original trim from the chimney mass and use it the fill the missing section were the sink was. I then boxed in the chimney mass to make it flat all the way to the corner. I salvaged what little we had of the bead board left in the upstairs bathroom to match the original and fitted a flat board in place of original trim.
Here is the same (old sink) wall after I was finished.

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Unfortunately the floor was unsalvagable, so it got a new tile floor and the ceiling was strapped and boarded.
At the end of the day, every thing that the home was built with is still intact and in place so if future owners would like to do a proper restoration it is all there.