You shouldn't be afraid to post the roughest draft of your layout; the best advice is given if the space can be seen instead of just described. Also, plenty of people do handwritten ones. The only problem I've come across is that pencil doesn't scan very clearly. I think others take a digital picture and post that using photobucket.

The only question I can answer is that it really doens't matter which side you put the dishwasher on. I thought the left would be a problem, but had no choice and I don't even notice the difference. It's an easy thing to get used to.

Oh good... thanks cheril. I am going to post as, probably more then one plan. I'm hoping that people will see things I don't. So... if I hand draw, then go over my final first drafts in pen, take a pic and post to photobucket they'll be readable?

After reading a ton of threads, I realized that it was perfectly OK to put my dishwasher on the left side of my sink even if my KD hated the idea. You're the one that will use it, put it on the side you want or that works best with your layout.

IMO, two feet or more of counter on either side of the cooktop is ideal, but you can definitely get by with less. You might start looking at how you cook each night right now to see how much room you want and use on the side of your cooktop for: Holding ingredients you are cooking with, utensils, pots and pans either going on or coming off...

Regarding drawings, I don't if this helps, but I was in the same boat and ended up using MS Excel to make drawings because it really helped me to have a grid that looked like graph paper. I set my column width at .85 and my row height at 7.75 to get my grid. Initially I used different borders to make walls, doorways, cabinets... and then eventually started adding in drawings and shapes. If you want I'll post a link of what mine ended up looking like. I loved the fact that I could save many different versions and add text where I wanted. Hope at least some of this helps. I've definitely appreciated several of your posts.

If you're totally redoing the kitchen, I suggest you post the proposed layouts and, perhaps, one layout with nothing but walls, windows, doorways...all dimensions marked (length/width of windows/walls/doorways, distances b/w walls & doorways/windows, door swings, etc.) Also include where doorways lead and placement of kitchen relative to the other rooms on the same floor of the house.

Read the "Read Me" thread (see below).

HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

DW on left is fine.

Pencil and primitive is fine. Measuring carefullly and showing what is where (windows, hallways) is way way way more important than making it slick, clean or pretty. And if you don't have a scanner, just take a picture of the drawing and post that.

I have posted hundreds of photos of rough drawings (old dog new tricks, etc. Just can't master a CAD program) - nobody has complained yet.

chefkev... thanks for the idea to try Excel. I haven't tried that at all and will take a shot at it. I hope it works as well for me as it did for you. If it's not a hassle I would love a link to see how it worked for you. I'm a very very visual person.

buehl... you are like a layout hero! I've seen what you've done to help other people as I religiously read layout threads. Many of the drawings look like they are done by KD's or archeticts. Our remodel is whole house. We are adding about a 220 sq. ft. extension onto the back which will house a bathroom, laundry room, and an extension onto the bedroom. Those drawings I think I may have figured out but want to post them somewhere too. Remodeling forum perhaps? I haven't hung out there much.

celticmoon... my printer is a scanner as well but it's not compatible with my MAC. The MAC is my school computer which I take back and forth daily. I know there is a scanner for each grade level team, but have no clue who has it. ( I ougtha know since I'm grade level chair!) I will check it out tomorrow. I took the day off because my son is coming home from NY for a week. He moved back up there 3 months ago to start his career. Pick him up from the airport in 3 hours... CAN'T WAIT to see my oldest boy!! This is my kid who still acts like a needy 10 year old when he's with me.

Thanks to all for your input. My fiance and I made the decision to move back to his smaller home in about a year and either sell or rent mine. He thought I was just being obsessive about reading these threads until I showed him some of the information and input that people generouly provide. I can't believe how much I've learned on here and the appliance forum. Those choices I've pretty much made. His home is about 900 sq. ft. smaller then mine and in a "less desirable" area. This move will afford me the opportunity to build my dream kitchen (within reason). The biggest plus is the gorgeous large backyard which is like a tropical oasis. Our psyche is the outside so for us... that's the biggest draw. Plus... if we scale down I'll be able to afford to retire early. He's already retired due to a leg injury so we'll be able to either do the work ourselves or at least GC that which we cannot do. I don't think his leg will allow him to lay floors but if he does the lifting I'm willing to try the grunt work! As long as it doens't involve power tools... I've been forbidden to go near them as I tend to be very impetutious. I burn or nick myself in the kithcen on a regular basis! I think that's because I have a 6' personality stuffed into a 5' body and tend to just dive head first into things without much forethought. Hence... the power tool moritorium has been placed upon me. He, on the other hand, still has his cop mentality and thinks, rethinks, plans, scopes out, assesses, and measures contingencies. It oughta be an intersting year as a creative minded ambitious teacher and practical technical retired cop steeped in realism embark on a total DIY remodel!! IT"S GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! I can't even begin to express how excited I am. Thanks again... I'll be posting my crude drawings in a couple of days. Once my son gets sick of spending too much time with Mom!

The only requirement for drawings is that they be to scale and have good measurements. Buehl can tell you that lack of good measuring can really give you problems later!

My advice about the dishwasher is to put it on the side of the sink closest to where you'll store the dishes. I have 2 dishwashers with the big sink in between, and it's a pain to unload dishes from the one at the far end from the dish cabinets. I know it's a whiny, petty complaint, but it's something you deal with daily, so make it easy on yourself.

"We are adding about a 220 sq. ft. extension onto the back which will house a bathroom, laundry room, and an extension onto the bedroom. Those drawings I think I may have figured out but want to post them somewhere too. Remodeling forum perhaps? I haven't hung out there much."

A couple of observations: (1) before you get too into designing the perfect kitchen layout make sure you understand the expense associated with an addition. It's a real budget killer. (2) the remodeling forum has information and some people who know what they're talking about but there is a lot of hostility too, a lot of intolerance for those of us who don't know what we're doing! Be prepared to be slammed if you post a question!

As far as dishwasher location, ours is on the left and it works fine.

We're prepared for the expense (I think!) for the addition. We have to move some plumbing from the pool, figure out our electrical and plumbing, pour the slab, and put up the block. Once that is done we're going to do all the interior work.

I went back to the house today to remeasure and look around. My head is spinning with ideas. Since my son just got here today I'll be pre-occupied entertaining him till he gets sick of me. We're about to go hit a bucket of balls as I type.

Thanks for the heads-up about the remodeling forum. I don't respond well to hostility.

Off to the driving range!!

Here's the drawing I did in Excel. Put your cursor over the image and magnify it, otherwise it will be hard to read. Each square represents 2". I can give more info on how if you go this route. It's probably a lot easier just to take pics of drawings - I found this helpful as a planning tool, but was a computer geek in a former life.

Here is a link that might be useful:

chefkev... that is awesome. I'm bound and determined to figure out how to do the same effectively. I'll probably take pics too but I also want to learn how to do this. Since this is going to be a very extensive year long DIY project involving an extension, new bathrooms, new laundry room, and the kitchen the ability to be precise will be very helpful. I feel like this project is a giant leap of faith!

remodelfla - I posted my picture on Photobucket by taking a screenprint, Photobucket only posts pictures. If there's someplace where I can post the actual spreadsheet for you, that would be a lot more useful for you - You might even be able to use it as a template. We're remodeling our whole first floor so I also have a different larger scale spreadsheet already set up for the first floor.