See Designing a healthy kitchen: Part 1 - the Table and Designing a healthy kitchen: Part 3 - the Whole House for more on this topic.

• Include a multi-level central island or soft-edged peninsula to make the act of cooking a sociable, pleasurable experience. Cooking and prepping should occur facing into the room. Designing ergonomic but user-friendly furniture puts the cooking at the centre of the room and helps the cook feel in control. He or she is like the conductor of an orchestra, bringing harmony to the process along with effective delivery of the food. Cooking facing towards the wall is no-no
• Include a plating surface near the cooktop that can double as a food bar. In this way, you can catch those meals that might have ended up as snacks or one-person events. Today’s busy families have to accommodate an array of diets and activities. But the most important thing is not what you eat, but eating together, even if standing up. By serving tapas, mezze style, everyone can find something they like and still eat together, serve themselves with others looking on so that portions taken are reasonable and then take their plate to the table. Not enough kitchens have these serving bars. Ideally, they should be accessible from behind the range, and raised in height to separate them from the messier cooking surfaces.
• A sense of order is key to making cooking efficient. We have developed a concept called dedicated work surfaces that provides enough but not too much counter top space to do one task efficiently. These are positioned carefully so as to be adjacent to related tasks, but still leave enough space for sociable pieces of furniture like a sofa and hutch/dresser.
• Having a place to display family pictures and children’s pottery is a clear sign of hominess. Adding bowls of fruit is both visually delightful and offers children and adults a chance to assuage their mid-meal hunger with something healthy. It’s also a delightful place to show off home grown produce. No kitchen should be without one.