Each person/family is different and different things will be "worth it" based on your needs & wants. There are several threads linked in the "Read Me" thread that you could read covering topics such as what people like best, what they would do over, etc.

Take the "Sweeby Test" and then continue with your planning. You are doing the best thing you can do by planning and researching b/f actually starting the remodel. Take time to plan...I took 7 or 8 months from when I first started planning until our layout was finalized and we were ready to order things like cabinets & appliances. Some people have taken more, some less. But, don't rush it...rushing always leads to mistakes and regrets. If you take your time, you will eventually come up with a design and selected components that meet your needs and many of your wants. If compromises are needed, you'll be able to make them knowing the pros/cons, etc. For now, I suggest three things:

#1 Read the "Read Me" thread
#2 Take the "Sweeby Test" (linked in the "Read Me" thread)
#3 Research, research, research...which includes reading the various threads on this Forum to get ideas and develop an understanding of the entire Kitchen remodel process...its ups & downs, the ins & outs...

Kitchen remodel is fun, but it can be rocky! Good luck!

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

yes new to the entire build forums, thanks for the info I will have a look

this is not a remodel, this is a new build house that will have to be on track with the building of the house so time frame will be along with it so yes this is why I am trying to get a "wishlist" together for meeting with builder and kitchen cabinet place etc.

i also completely understand each family has different needs, this is just a general request for all walks of kitchen favorites!
thanks again

If it's not too late, I'd recommend above all starting by designing a space you'd like to be in for many years to come. In and of itself. You should walk into the framed-in space and smile happily simply because of what's there already. Assure good proportions and relation to the rest of the house. Line up your doors and windows for pretty and elegant view lines and to block ungracious ones. Give it enough room and perhaps strategically placed nonbearing walls and sacrificible closets so that it can flex with time, including downsizing. After you design in your special personal elements (? enough privacy, enough room for people to hang, enough interaction with the neighborhood, enough sunshine, enough introversion, enough connection to the family/to children in the yard, enough traffic, enough calm?), whatever they are that make you happy to be there, then start choosing the first of the stoves you'll eventually be cooking with. Whatever you do, don't let the changeable elements distract you from first securing a lovely space you'll be glad to spend hours in each day.

I started on the forum at least 5 years ago, my remodeled kitchen is 5 years old. The best thing I did was add a prep sink with a small Kohler Vinnata faucet that can reach to my "power burner" on my cooktop. I would not get another ceramic cooktop, but it was interesting to have one, they are beautiful to look at, very clean. I would only choose gas. Never again electric and I wouldn't consider induction. I believe that is a fad.

Next favorite thing is my 24" double trash pullout, which for KitchenMaid was brand new at the time. Third is my silverware drawer with the double tray in the top drawer, the top slides over the bottom tray. A fabulous use of space. Silverware (like 18 place settings) on top, junk drawer underneath it, plus two enormous drawers beneath that. I love my 36" pots and pans drawers more than I love my sliding pull out for my pots and pans (and this is where I really keep my pots and pans). I did not use a standard hood, but designed my own fitting it around a super powerful exhaust system. Very easy to build.

Here are my color choices:

Cabinets simple maple shaker type cabs (very classic)
Countertop: Corian which I ADORE to this day. Vanilla So easy to clean.
Floors: Amtico Priory Oak set on the diagonal. Very cool and no body realizes that my floor isn't wood. Nobody. Amtioco is the top-of-the-line in fake flooring.
Backsplash: simple Daltile, white embossed tiles. No plug mold (too expensive). White outlets set at the very top of the backsplash, under the cabinets. Practically invisible. Give yourself plenty of outlets. Where will you charge your phones?

Plumbing: At one point I had the Vinnata the larger at my main sink and the smaller Vinnata at my prep sink. But for some reason, the large Vinnata leaked, and after a plumber came out, after Kohler sent out new parts, etc. etc. Kohler agreed to send another faucet (the showroom/dealer I bought it at was also the plumber, so everything was well documented). I asked them if they would send another little Vinnata, which they graciously agreed to. I could never get used to the massive size of that big Vinnata. I'm glad we traded down. Also, no soap holder, no hot water faucet.

If I could do anything differently, I would not have set the main sink off with 3" on either side of "air space" in order to bump out the sink cabinet (which I love), but I guess that was the only way to get that beveled look along the counter, that angel is repeated all over my kitchen. Plus, there is more room under the sink. I would have rather had a bigger silverware drawer, 18" is a little small for my large family. Also, I think my tall skinny rack/cookie sheet cabinets are a waste of space too, but they are on either side of a 36" pot/pan drawer cab, so the overall effect is pleasing.

The feel of my kitchen is that of a hoosier cabinet. Simple and neutral. That sort of balances all of the stuff I have stacked on the counter. If I had more space I would have liked a base cabinet for my KitchenAid stand mixer, which is the main big appliance that sits out which isn't used as much as the real estate justifies.

One last thing: get double ovens. I had no space for them, I really regret that as well. My oven had to be under my cooktop. I also wish I had a real pantry, but there wasn't room for one anywhere.

Enjoy this time, stick with the classics (whatever that means), and never back down from what you want vis a vis your builder. Inspect everything very closely, carry a level and a measuring tape with you. Make a copy of everything you want, give one to the builder, one to the designer, and keep one for yourself.

read both pantry threads

thanks Rosie and cupofkindness
i think those are great ideas and yes you reminded me of my previous kitchen that was custom cabinets and i love the large double decker silverware drawer.

i like the classic look for sure and was leaning to darker granite but will take a look at the vanilla, do you ahve any kitchen photos?

Question for Cupofkindness
" I did not use a standard hood, but designed my own fitting it around a super powerful exhaust system. Very easy to build."

Can you tell me how you did this. Or point me to a link. It would be so appreciated. I found a hood that I like in terms of the mechanics but the style wont work. We wont have any cabinets next to the hood. Then my husband was going to make one with tile but he is having second thoughts and we still had not figured out where to buy the actual exhaust system form.

crazyone, how exciting to be building a new home!

I agree with rosie about making sure you get the best layout possible.

I have an induction cooktop and can't recommend it highly enough. I disagree that's it's a fad. Induction cooking has been common in Europe and Asia for years ... we're just finally catching up!

Here are some things I think are must-haves:

lots of drawers, avoid base cabinets with shelves!
plenty of light
landing space for fridge, oven, micro
outside ventilation for stove/cooktop
trash pullout

Good luck!

exciting yet daunting! :-)

i was reading induction cooktops need magnetic steel pans, my set is stainless steel and is fabulous but it is not magnetic, is this true?

great other recomends, thanks

desertsteph, sorry which are the 2 pantry threads, the if your new link?

not sure if they're on the 'if new' link. I was reading one on the organizing forum last night. link is below. it links to another one also.

Here is a link that might be useful: pantry

My favorite kitchen decisions...

Gas cooktop

Cork floor

All drawers in lower cabs - no more getting on my hands and knees for anything!

Nicole

Im on my second kitchen with this forum! :-)

We did IKEA cabinets last time and will do them again. Our last home was a low end starter and we didnÂt want to spend too much. The new home is a high end home, but we like IKEA so much, that we will use them again. We love the Blum drawer closers that come standard on the IKEA cabinets, for us, these fall under the heading of "Once you had them, you wouldnÂt want to be without them again".

As everyone else said - *lots* of drawers. All of our base cabinets are drawers. We even turned the doors below the sink into drawers that pullout for trash and recycling. We will definitely do this again.

Single bowl sink. No one has mentioned this one yet (unless I missed something!). I went with a 30" single bowl sink thanks to this forum and will do so again (might go 36" this time though!). It is so nice to be able to put my baking sheets and other large items in the sink and have them fit.

No definite plans on Gas vs. Induction, but IÂm leaning toward Induction. IÂll have to get all new pans, but IÂm not too concerned about that.

Have you seen the kitchens that have 2 refrigeration units? One is all freezer and one is all Fridge. No way did I have room in my last house, but I do in this new one and IÂm trying to decide if this is what we want. Let me rephrase that. This is definitely what we "want" Â just not sure I can justify the price. Some of those units are really pricey. But having all that fridge & freezer space right in the kitchen where you use it! Pretty darn cool IMOÂ

hi crazyone and welcome! (you'll be fighting with the rest of us for that title if you become as kitchen-obsessed as everyone else here. :-) )

If you have the choice, I recommend lots of windows and not too many wall cabinets, which can get oppressive if they march along all the walls. We did open shelves for glasses and cookbooks and microwave, and just adore how accessible they are.

I love my new pulldown faucets, I find them much easier to use than the separate rinse sprayer.

Instead of lining the entire space with cabinets, I made some storage compromises and put a small sofa and breakfast table off to the side of the kitchen, and it's made it the most popular space in the house (and most popular kitchen among my friends).

Get the kind of appliances you've always loved to cook on, and don't let the fancy schmancy stuff in the magazines sway your opinion. (You'll find lots of debates here on gas vs electric vs induction stoves, for instance - follow your heart here and try hard not to be seduced by the many folks here with very strong opinions - although do enjoy the discussions of pro/con.)

Ask lots of questions on the forum - no matter how weird, there will always be someone around who's either already done it or can advise you why they didn't do it. :-)

thanks erica.. think i have the quick sketch of my layout

no windows persay in kitchen but west rooms have good light coming in, very open concept

pull down facuets and drawers will be added to list

previous home I had a very large sink on one side with smaller one with garburator on other and forgot how i liked it for big pans. i will research single bowl sink

dont think i have room for 2 fridge and freezer but see the appeal. I was wanting built in micro and oven and thought to use space by the fridge but my architect thinks it would be crowed.. advice?

i also wanted a big pantry but wonder if this is wasted space as one side is no shelves

You have such a nice big space to work ... how lucky!

I can see what you mean about the pantry. From the bit I can see of it, it looks like that whole right wall will have no shelves? That does seem like a waste of space. I'm not crazy about the diagonal line that the pantry creates on your cooktop counter.

It feels like your sink is pretty far from your range. I'm picturing lugging heavy pots of boiling hot water all the way across that distance to drain in the sink.

would you sqaure off the angled wall to make the counter square?

another thread on pantry did give me ideas for the bare wall.. message board, calendar, broom so i am ok with it now but open to opinions on how to change it up.

yes open to all ideas about appliance layout too

crazyone,
good luck with your plans.

I was in the same boat. In fact I move in next week. I lost countless hours of sleep over decisions my wife and I had to make. She doesnt spend alot of time in the kitchen so she let me have at it. Maybe Im not yet qualified to weigh in yet because Im not in yet but so far I love all of the decisions I have made.

Single bowl deeeeep sink
soft close drawers and cabinets
undercab lights
pantry
lots and lots of drawers instead of cabinets
speakers in ceiling with vol controls
nook above pantry wired for tv
23' deep large bar for lots of seating
all fridge/all freezer
dimmers on all my lighting including the pendants (not up yet)
36' gas Dacor range with retractable downdraft.

I love this kitchen I cant wait to fire up some margaritas

sweet willie that is an impressive kitchen, well thought out, worth the sleepless hours.

my husband thinks this bar area is what we need now!
what color are your cabinets, granite and floor?

i really like your other ideas as well. i have posted my layout on this thread, maybe if you have a second take a peek and see what you suggest with your expertice, thanks for sharing

I highly recommend NOT putting your cooktop in the island. It's a safety hazard as well as expensive to vent properly (downdrafts don't work that well). [And gas cooktops are more dangerous in this location than electric.]

Island/peninsula cooktops & ranges should only be a "last resort" measure...especially if you have seating behind them!

If you do it, be sure to have at least 24" b/w the back of the cooktop & the edge of the seating overhang for safety's sake. [Think steam billowing out of a boiling pot, grease splattering from a pan, smoke billowing out, etc. Then, put someone sitting behind it....guess what they're getting in their faces. Next, put someone w/homework or a newspaper sitting behind a gas cooktop and trying to spread it out to read or work on w/o setting it on fire!]

It becomes an even bigger issue if you don't have a powerful & effective range hood above to at least try to pull upward (and out) the steam, smoke, grease, etc. A range hood would at least re-route a lot of the "stuff" up and to the outside and reduce what someone sitting behind is exposed to.

Some will say it's being overly cautious, but it just takes one time...

Crazyone... Thanks I appreciate the feedback. You cant see it in the photo because they are still covered but we went all hardwood in kitchen and dining room ( the whole first floor for that matter). Its a BR-111 Santos Mahogany. Its beautiful. We contemplated tile but opted for wood after polling many posters here. The cabinets are cherry rose with a ebony glaze. Again we agonized over the type and color for months. The granite is called Metalicus. We went completly off the map with this one. We waivered between 2 granites and when we went to make our final decision we saw this instead and hoped it would look nice. It cost more but we think we made a nice choice.

Buehl... I respect your opinion regarding the cooktop in the island. However it just works better for us. Accidents can happen anywhere. Ive had papertowels catch fire in my old kitchen. Ive burnt myself on hot liquids and steam. Im not convinced on the downdraft either. Ive never had one. I could end up regretting it, but Ive read on here many others who claim they are happy.

In the end,gather as much info as possible and make the best educated decisions for your lifestyle, cooking habits, and family life.

Good luck to all

SweetWillie Beautiful and well thought out kitchen! Both the speakers in the ceiling and the above pantry TV are new ideas to me (and here I thought I knew it all ;-) - Im adding them to my list of Hmmmmmmmsssssss

May I please I peak inside your pantry?

Which fridge/freezer did you go with and why?

Jeri...thanks for the comments.

The pantry is not finished out yet so not much to see yet. Stay tuned for all final photos. Appears we will get to move in next week.

After much deliberation and homework I went with the Electolux Icon all fridge/all freezer with trim kit. Frankly I couldnt afford the higher priced Sub z and others. It was between the Electrolux and the Kenmore Pro and I really didnt want to mess with Sears. I was (maybe still am a bit)worried about some of the bad experiences some on GW have had with these units keeping cold enough. But so far knock on wood, I have had them in for over a month and they kept water,lunches, and beer nicely chilled.

The only thing I wish I had done is built the tv nook to a certain size to accomodate a certain tv . Seems like every tv I see is and inch too big.

crazyone, we used the blank wall in our pantry for the following: hooks hold a step stool, aprons, cloth grocery sacks, and spare oven racks. Shallow racks (2-3/4" deep) hold all my spices and flavorings. I alphabetized them so I can find what I need very quickly. I know many like to put these items next to the cooktop but since I gather all items before I begin to cook, it's no big deal. Plus, I was taught that spices and such are best stored in a cool, dark place. Our pantry wall provides very useful storage space for us.

Very nice kitchen, sweetwillie!

I have my eye on those Electorlux pair as well. It would sure be nice to have the Sub Zs but the price difference is HUGE. I have an LG 3 door now that I love and would hate to get less space in the fridge than I have now. I know Ill be getting more freezer space which is a BIG plus but no ice crusher in the door and we use that *every* day. How big are the ice cubs in the freezer? Hmmm I wonder if one can purchase after market ice makers for inside these units that will give smaller ice

Im so sorry to hear about your TV nook dilemma, but thanks to you I will not make that same mistake ;-)

Ill look forward to pictures of your finished kitchen.

Jeri