Flip-flop

While I was waiting for the Board interview and the closing I had Steve, my architect, start drawing up plans for how I wanted to renovate the apartment. As soon as the place was mine I wanted the Board to have my ideas ready to go. This process takes FOREVER and no sense wasting any time.
Steve had been to the place a few times and had already taken copious and precise measurements. He started sending me different layout plans quickly.
The biggest change in the layout was that I had this idea to flip the position of the kitchen and the bathroom, I felt this would open up things a bit. The kitchen could have a pass-thru onto the main room, or maybe be totally open to that space, a little 'loft-like'. Steve came up with four or five designs. I had no idea whether the building would allow something like this but we were encouraged that these rooms were what is called "wet over wet", meaning that the apartments above and below me ALSO had water plumbing for kitchens and baths in the same position. It wouldn't mean a major re-routing of plumbing lines (which most buildings wouldn't allow). It was a gamble and I thought "nothing ventured, nothing gained". The worst that could happen was that they said no and we'd keep those rooms where they are but make them bigger, utilizing more of the space in that large odd gallery space.
Here is the original layout of the apartment as it exists now:

Existing layout.

Here are my two favorite designs for the flip-flop of the kitchen and bath. The first one uses the pass-thru idea from the kitchen to the main room:

Pass-thru kitchen.

This next one is probably my favorite, it opens up the kitchen more to the main living room space:

Open floor plan.

You can see that both plans shift around the closet space but most importantly make room for a washer and dryer, a true luxury in a Manhattan apartment. I put one in my last place and I'm spoiled for life. Even though the building has a very nice laundry room in the basement, schlepping up and down the elevator with laundry is a big PAIN.
So the plans were submitted...and now we wait. AGAIN. (Do you see a theme in this apartment reno odyssey I'm undertaking?)