It's easier to tell from a floorplan, but this looks pretty decent. I would, however, do 90 degree doors on the corner cabinets so your stove isn't so crowded as it is between the diagonals. I think the diagonal upper in one corner might be OK, but where there is not another cabinet on the side by the sink, I think it should also have a 90 degree front or just run straight to the wall. (a diagonal front cabinet on its own, or only with one adjacent cabinet ends up looking big and awkward to me.) And if that one isn't diagonal-front, I wouldn't do the other one that way either.

As you've probably guessed, I'm not a particular fan of the diagonal faced cabinets on upper or base corners, so maybe that influences my statements here.

I also think the diagonals look a bit heavy. I tend to like square corners as well.

I really like the symmetry of the plan.

Think about how you would used the basket unit. It is kind of a neat and pretty detail on paper and in the showroom but it may not be that useful as open storage in a relatively compact kitchen.

rhome410: Thank you for your insightful comments ;-). By 90 degree doors on the corner cabinets do you mean the door with the piano hinges? Also, the range depiction is not right, the range will be a single door 36 inch range. At one time, I also thought about "drum" doors for those corner cabinets.

palimpsest: point well-taken about the baskets. I always have a bowl on top of the counter with a bunch of onions, garlic, and potatoes. My thought was to get these items off of the counter or off of the dining room table, but it is at the expense of drawers. I do love the look and idea of the baskets. I should probably give it some more mulling over.

I see what you mean about the diagonals being heavy, but I am so done with a blind square cabinet. You can see this from the following photo: {{!gwi}}From Karen's Kitchen Project

Rhome and Palimpsest said exactly what I was thinking. I also think the diagonal crowds the stove and as much as I love those baskets (and wanted them so badly myself), they are space hogs. Are you sure you can give up a bank of drawers for them?

Could you use piecut lazy susans on the lower?

What about the diagonals on the lower and square on the top as an alternate. It would look more "open" at eye level and above..

I agree about the corner base cabinets...while it's nice to have the extra countertop when you have diagonal cabinets, you really don't have the room in your kitchen for them. The cabinets w/a 90o corner will give you 12" of "breathing space" on each side of the range as well as open the kitchen up somewhat.

As to the uppers, I think the problem w/the corner cabinets on the wall is the hood. The hood is pretty big for your kitchen and when combined with the diagonal corner upper cabinets it looks pretty crowded on that wall. I'd either change the hood to something less "massive" or also put in upper cabinets w/a 90o corner.

As to baskets...it probably isn't a good idea to store your potatoes & onions that close to each other. This topic periodically comes up and it's usually brought up that these items should not be stored together.

I love you guys! Thanks so much for your constructive criticism! I totally hear your concerns about the diagonal base cabinets. I will change them to 90 degree super susan corner cabinets. This is a better alternative and provides breathing room around the gas range.

buehl: I'm so glad you mentioned the hood being too big. I think you are right. Because I really do want the diagonal cabinets up top.

I am so appreciative of your respective designer eyes as I glossed over some of these observations. I think I'll give up my baskets, although, I really liked that idea. Maybe, I'll use a bread drawer--that will at least get rid of the bread basket that sits on top of the counter.

I do need to be practical and embrace my little kitchen. I think I'm going to love it when its done ;-) with a little help from my fellow GWers.

Best,

Karen

A couple more questions for my layout experts:

1) If I enlarge the sink base to 36 inches, will I be able to get a trash pull-out under the sink with both a water filtration system and the disposal?

2) What about a farmhouse sink as opposed to a rectangular single sink? Are there any trade-offs with such a configuration?

TIA,

Karen