I'm posting your images into this thread since it makes it easier for others to see and comment.

(I only copied 3 of the 4 photos, one looks like a duplicate to me.)

How large is your aisle between island and sink cabs? If you only have 36" between fridge and island (tight for that long an aisle, IMO) and the sink cab section is inset by 6" because of the window set-up, then it follows that your aisle between sink and island is only 30". At least that's the assumption I'm making based on what you wrote and the overhead view of your plan (yes, it is confusing). That's really tight!

You asked about placement of the DW. It should go by the sink, not in the island (that would be inconvenient). Because of that area's angled walls, you need to add a 12" cabinet between DW and sink so that when the DW door is open, you have room to stand at the sink. The goal is to have 21" between center of sink and open DW.

Would you like lay-out suggestions? If so, we need to know more so that we can give you plans that suit your needs. See the "New to Kitchens? Read me" thread (link below) for tips on what information to provide.

Here is a link that might be useful: New To Kitchens? Posting Pics? Read Me!

Thank you lisa_a! I couldn't figure out how to post the pictures w/o the link.

I'd love to hear any suggestions you (or others) have.

When I measured and drew it out with graph paper and a ruler, I was estimating 42 in aisles between the outside perimeter of the counter and the island.

The nice pretty picture shows the counter protruding, but that's not what I want. I want the counter edges streamlined, meaning most counters will be 24 in deep, but the areas near the angles will only be 18 in. That should give enough walkway (42 in), just shallower countertop.

Thanks for the sink/DW advice.

To help guide layout advice, here are the things that cannot change:

The windows and doors in the dining room and kitchen. I'm just not up for that level of renovation. I live alone but frequently have people over for informal gatherings dinneroften. That's why I want a big table with bench seating.

My overall goal in the renovation is to increase storage so I'm trying to maximize my cabinet space up to the 9 ft. ceiling, hence my worry about it being too "heavy" with dark colors."

As mentioned, here are the appliances I want to accomodate:

27 in Miele oven, with 24 in steam oven stacked on top
24 in speed oven
27 in Sub-Zero ref.
27 in Sub-Zero freezer.
36 in cooktop
24 in dishwasher
double bowl sink for the bay window.

Thanks to anyone who offers advice.

Let me play with this and I'll get back to you. Few quick comments in the meantime.

AFAIK, there isn't a sink that will fit into an 18" deep base cabinet so you will need to go with 24" deep cabinets in that area, which means you'll have that jog you don't like. One way around this situation is to go with 30" deep cabs on each side of that bump in area. If that's not within budget, pull 24" cabs forward by 6". You'd gain deeper counters, which is a plus. That does however shrink your aisle between fridge and island.

Speaking of islands, how did you visualize setting this up? An island with 24" deep cabs, standard 1.5" counter overhang and the recommended seating overhang of 15" will be 40.5" wide. So either your island is going to have shallow cabinets or a shallow seating overhang. The latter will force anyone seated there to sit farther away to have enough room for their legs, which means they will extend farther into the aisle.

NKBA recommends 44" for walk behind seating aisles and 42" aisles for one-cook kitchens. Some GWers have gone with narrower aisles without an issue (although I don't know of anyone who has an aisle less than 36") but since you entertain often and have large groups of people over, you may not want to skimp on aisles, especially if your company joins you in the kitchen to socialize. You want people to be able to move about easily.

Given all of the above, I think a peninsula with seating is a better fit for your kitchen than an island with seating. But as I wrote above, I need to play with this before I know for sure.

Hopefully others will offer advice and suggestions as well.

How long is that wall across from the fridge?

How wide a DR table do you own or plan to purchase?

Are you wanting people to visit with you while you cook at the cook top? Or did the seating near the cook top just happen that way?

lisa_a. Just to clarify on the sink issue, the current double sink sits in a 24 in. deep cabinet, centered under the bay window. The "shallow" counter (in the current kitch) is about 36 in long, but the deeper bay allows for a normal sized sink in the center.

I'm okay with having a 42 in wide aisle,since I'm the only cook. The kitchen opens into the living room, so I'll have most guests hanging out there.

I don't think peninsula will work. I have that now, and I feel too boxed in.

I have so many ideas in my head, but since I was so bad at computer graphing I can't tell what my vision really looks like.

That may be so, but you need 24" depth for a DW so my point is still valid.

Here's my first pass for you, very rough since there are still dimensions I need from you (see below).

{{gwi:1968691}}

Here's what I did.

I moved the fridge/freezer components to the top wall, pulling them out from the wall to line up with the bay window cabs.

I moved the oven/steam oven to the bottom, pulled out from the wall to line up with sink cabs. I placed the speed oven across from them.

I moved the cook top to the perimeter wall, between ovens and sink. Unfortunately, the DW is between cook top and sink but I can't tell from your drawing if it will fit between sink and fridge.

The peninsula (this is basically an island against a wall) has seats for 3 - if it's at least 72" long. As I wrote, I've no idea what dimensions are so I don't know if this will work. If not, there are other options.

This puts all the cooking components in one area. You have about 80" between the oven/steam oven and speed oven and about 66" between cook top and peninsula. If you have a 42" wide table and a 24" wide bench for your DR banquette, you'd have 59" between table and peninsula, which is sufficient for back to back seating.

As I wrote above, this is very rough, just an idea. I'm having a hard time making sense of your dimensions. Please post the drawing you did on graph paper. That would be a huge help. Here are some of the dimensions I need.

How wide is the span between top wall (where you show ovens) and the wall between kitchen and DR?

How long is the wall between kitchen and DR? If that wall extends into the LR, I only need to know how long the kitchen portion is.

btw, it's easy to post pictures. Click on "share", then click on "Get Link Code" then copy and paste the HTML code (I chose full size but I always check preview mode to make sure it's not huge - side to side scrolling is a pain.)

lisa_a, the wall across the fridge (in the DR) is 178 in. The wall along the fridge is 110 inches to the corner, i.e., the indent to where the odd angle is, the lenghh to the start of the bay window is 116 in. The length of that angled wall is 9.25 inches.

I was thinking of getting a 36-40 table. I think that will give me just enough room in the dining area. I'm assuming the bench seating along the long wall and under the window, up to the edge of the door. How about that--another L-shape.

I don't really have a strong preference about whether or not people visit me at the cooktop. I mostly want counter seating for quick meals or snacks. I think that when entertaining it is nice to have a few extra seats handy, but the primary purpose of the seating is a daily eating rather than entertaining.

Here's a more accurate drawing. My giant drawing is too big to scan on the computer, but I think this has all the measurements.

I hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful:

That drawing really helps. I see now that the wall I need dimensions for is the powder room wall but you thought I meant the DR wall. Since the PR wall is only 14" - your kitchen is basically open to the DR - my idea to put the speed oven there doesn't really work.

Now that I have a better visual of your space, here's what I propose:

R/F to top wall as before, oven/steam oven to bottom end, near LR. Cook top between ovens and sink with DW between.

I pulled the cabinetry on the oven/cook top wall out to line up with the sink base, eliminating the jog but allowing deep enough cabs to the right of the sink to hold a DW. The cab between R/F and sink is only 18" deep, though, so no need to pull that out or have a jog there either.

Dimensions along perimeter are cab sizes. I estimate that the 27" ovens will need a 30" cab. Aisle measurements are counter to counter, counter to fridge (estimated depth at 27") and counter to PR wall corner.

The island is composed of a row of 24" deep cabs back to back with a row of 12" deep cabs, 15" seating overhang and standard counter overhang of 1.5". Speed oven is installed below the counter. I added a prep sink to the island - it can serve as a bar sink when you entertain.

The 12" pantry cab between kitchen and LR is solid base with glass cabs above - double-sided so that light is not blocked, sort of like this cab that divides kitchen from nook (I show a wall behind the pantry cab but ignore that):

You have 139" between DR wall and island, which allows you to have a 24" deep banquette bench, a 48" wide table that overhangs the bench by 4" and still have 71" between table and island. I encourage you to have at least a 42" wide table. You want at least 18" leg room and a 36" wide table just meets this. More would be more comfortable.

You wouldn't have to do a banquette with this plan. Place a 42" wide table 40" from the wall and you'd still have 57" between table and island. You would even have space to do a table that extends to 84" - seating for 10 - with this lay-out with 41" aisle at the bottom end of the table, 68" between table and top wall and almost 48" between table corner and fridge corner. If you need more storage, you could add a long, low cabinet along the door/window wall

If you only want 2 seats the island, eliminate the one at the lower end, replace the overhang and 12" deep cab with a 25" wide, 24" deep cab facing the pantry cab.

When calculating island depth, don't forget to add the 1" or so a decorative door, actual door, or finished end panel will add to the overall depth.

So, if the island is just one cabinet deep + overhang, the overall depth should be 41.5": 1.5" counter overhang + 24" deep cabinet + 1" decorative door/panel + 15" seating overhang = 41.5"

For an island with 24" deep cabs + 12" deep cabs facing the seating, the overall depth should be 53.5": 1.5" counter overhang + 24" deep cabinet + 12" deep cabinet + 1" door + 15" seating overhang = 53.5"

Oops, yep, forgot to include door depth. I do that when I have back to back cabs but don't generally include a decorative panel when it's a straight row of cabs unless it's a very long island and it's unlikely to be one box. I also add a panel if cabs face different directions and there will be breaks to cover. Why don't I always add a panel? Because it's an additional expense - an extra - and not everyone adds it. But I usually add that caveat in my post so that the OP knows to add an inch if they add a decorative panel.

And second oops, that island is composed of 30" deep cabs with 1.5" overhang and 15" seating overhang. I was scribbling too many notes to myself, trying to figure out configurations and clearances and grabbed the wrong numbers when posting. That's how I got to 46.5". If the OP adds a decorate panel on the back, then it's 47.5". Island to DR wall is reduced by 1", from 139" to 138". Island corner to PR wall corner doesn't really change. It goes from 41.1" to 40.7".

Perusing through houzz.com (so much eye candy, so little time) and spotted another glass cabinet along the lines of what I'm suggesting

[

[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by boston kitchen and bath Rob Kane - Kitchen Interiors Inc.

This one has glass on three adjacent sides with a solid back. You could do glass on front and back with solid sides or glass on 3 sides and solid on the side against the wall. I can't tell how deep this cabinet is but it does look fairly shallow. It's style is a bit more ornate than the look it sounds like you're going for but the idea can translate to a more streamlined look.

Thanks Buehl and Lisa A. This is helpful advice, and the pictures put it all in perspective.

What do you think about moving the cooktop to the island? I would really like to keep the cooktop on the island so that I can have wall cabinets on the long wall.

The pantry won't work where you put it since that part is open to the living room, and I'd like to maintain the open layout. ( What if I relocated it to the long wall where you placed the ovens. I could also put the R/F there too. Would that look okay? In case it matters, I'm interested in a contempary style.

The wall closest to the windows and Dining Room door would then be free to put the mixer, blender, etc.

I realize that the opening where I put the pantry is open, that's why I suggested a cabinet with a solid bottom and glass doored top. The opening is still 70" wide - generous - but you gain much needed storage. But since you don't like it, it's gone.

30" deep cabinets on the perimeter and in the island will provide a lot of storage. Have you tallied up what you own and figured out how much storage you need? If you haven't, you should so that you know your new kitchen will store what it needs to store.

I tried to give you an island large enough for a 36" cook top but at 72", you only get 18" on each side. I have an island cook top with 16" and I hate it. It's just large enough to hold a large pot or a medium-sized cutting board and that's it. But perhaps you won't mind having only 18" on each side of the cook top so per your suggestion, I drew it up.

You may - emphasis on may - have room for a 20" pantry. I'm guessing a bit on where the DW will be and it's placement impacts where the fridge goes and how much room is left for a pantry. I can't figure out how to measure the bay window area. What I need to know is the distance between the kitchen entry (at LR) and the corner of the front of the sink cab - what would be cab and/or counter frontage - but that requires more math than I can recall at the moment. I put pantry between fridge and ovens to prevent door collisions between these appliances.

What I don't like about this plan is exactly what I hate about my kitchen (remodel 2012, fingers crossed). The narrow section of counter to the left of my island cook top serves as landing zone for fridge, pantry and oven *and* cook top items *and* prep space, all while a lovely, long, stretch of counter on the far side of the kitchen is underused. Additionally, there's no way to provide an oven landing zone within 48" as recommended by NKBA.

So I drew up another option for you.

I moved the cook top to the top wall. I calculated that there will be 24" of counter to its left but I'm not sure how much there will be between sink and cook top. Could be minimal, which could be a problem so you might need to shift the cook top to the left 6".

The island would serve as prep station. Food comes from fridge or pantry, goes to island, then to cook top.

Not ideal - I'd like to see more separation between cooking and clean-up zones in the section between cook top and clean-up sink - and it still lacks an oven landing zone within 48" of the ovens.

If you could accept a jog in the cabinetry line, which would net an additional 6" to its width, I could elongate the island - I'd have to reduce it's width, too - to address this issue. That might work but I need to play with it a bit to see how well it works. If you play up the modern angles the geometry a lay-out like this provides, it could look very cool and sleek.

For its size, your kitchen is appliance heavy and counter and storage space are the losers. You need to balance these three things or you'll have all these great gadgets to store and cook food in but not enough space to store pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates, etc, nor enough counter space to prep the food.

Do you already own these appliances? Can you downsize the 27" freezer or go with a smaller fridge/freezer unit? That would help.

The other way to boost storage in your space is to go add it to your DR, either with cabinets on each side of a banquette bench or with a low storage cab as I suggested yesterday.

This has potential....

I moved the cook top in from the top end so that you'd have at least 24" to its right, which helps make up for the corner that needs to be cut to give you enough aisle room.

You have plenty of counter around the clean-up zone and the cook zone, landing space for fridge, pantry and ovens items, ample aisles and more storage. As I wrote, this one has potential. And I like the angles - there's repetition between the island's angles and the perimeter's angles.

One variation to this one is to move the cook top to the top wall as I showed in Plan D and move the clean-up zone to the island. It's plenty long enough to allow a 36" sink cab, 24" DW and storage for dishes, glasses, silverware and more. This would mean that you could do 18" deep cabs in the bay area, which eliminates the jog in the cab/counter line *and* means the island corner does not need to be clipped. You'd only have 2 angles - the bay and the island corner near the PR. You may be able to add a prep sink between fridge and cook top - it would be lovely to prep in front of the windows. I'll draw this one up later.

Here it is:

There will be approximately 53" of cabinet space to the left of the sink. Some of that will be used by the speed oven. If you ditch the prep sink, you could also place the speed oven below the windows in the 24" deep cab space. That would free up all of the cabinetry next to the sink for dishes, glasses, etc. I'm assuming that the oven can be placed below the counter. If not, then this plan won't work because you don't have enough above counter storage for another wall oven.

btw, the island is this plan includes an 1" for a decorative panel under the seating overhang. I forgot to add that to the above plans.

rhome, bmore, buehl - do you have any ideas for this space? Anyone else?

Lisa- Excellent plans! So many options...do you mind one more? I like the speed island on the longer island, but could it be with the cooktop version? You didn't angle the countertop on the island, with the sink there...so could you do something similar with the cooktop (where you have the sink) and put the speed oven at the end, again?

Then, in this last version, if you removed the pantry from that wall and slid the fridge/freezer down towards the ovens...could you put the pantry on the other end of the run? Where the cooktop is above? Then, you'd have counterspace on both sides of the bay, for more 'elbow room' and the cooktop would be on the island...as Decolisa asked.

Decolisa- I looked at Giada's kitchen...there are two...the kitchen she uses on the Food Network and her actual kitchen in Malibu. Which one do you like...or is it a bit of both?

They're both nice, but I think the Food Network kitchen is very pretty and I think that look would be wonderful, in your kitchen. To pull it off, it would be nice to have space for the white upper cabinets with the (looks like frosted) glass. Very stylish! I really like the glass tile, too (kind of an aqua color) and I think that would look beautiful, around your bay window.

One thing I noticed is that Giada has a wood cover that she uses over the cooktop, when she needs more prep space. That might be something to think about, if you want to keep the cooktop, on the island. Here's a picture of the kitchen from the Food Network (with island cooktop) and one from her Malibu home (with range on back wall). Hope these help :) {{gwi:1968698}}From Kitchen plans
{{gwi:1968699}}From Kitchen plans

Thanks, LL.

The reason the island corner is angled in Plan E and not in Plan F is because of clearances between the island and the cabs under the windows. In Plan E, the cabs under the window to the right of the sink are 24" deep (25.5" with counter) and the cabs against the wall to the right are 30" deep (31.5" with counter). In Plan F, the cabs under the window to the right of the sink are 18" deep (19.5" with counter) and the cabs against the wall to the right are 24" deep (25.5" with counter). That makes all the difference. If I didn't cut the corner in Plan E, there would only be a 36" aisle between sink, DW and island. An open DW door would block the aisle.

As for your suggestion to move the pantry cab in Plan E, I'll wait until decolisa pops back in to see what she thinks (it's not as easy to alter her original Sketch-up image. I should have just whited it all out to begin with.)

And an oops. In Plan F, the distance between island and DR wall is 145", not 139". I forgot to check that before posting. That gives you even more leeway for a DR table and chairs, decolisa.

I shouldn't try to think when I'm hungry.

Correction to above. The cabs on the sink wall and fridge wall in Plan E are 24" deep (25.5" with counter) but because the window area is inset by 6", the 42" aisle shrinks to 36". Hope I explained that better this time. My comments about Plan F are correct.

Lunch time! My brain needs recharging.

I notice that you do not have a vent listed in your prospective appliances. You really need to address that issue in your planning stages as well. An island vent will be a lot more costly and more difficult (paid labor) to accomplish than will one on an exterior wall. Either way, you need to add that to your appliance expenditure and space planning.

Good point, GreenDesigns, thanks for mentioning this since I forgot to do so.

decolisa, I posted about my experience with island venting in another thread.

... the big downside of an island cook top is the cost of venting. It's much more expensive than perimeter venting. Costs would begin at $1000, easily, and go up from there....

Hoods are better at capturing smoke and steam than pop-ups. It's recommended that you purchase a hood 6" wider than the cook top and almost as deep for best capture... There are some gorgeous hoods out there. It could be quite the focal point.

Pop-up downdrafts rise anywhere from 7" or 8" to 14". The higher they rise, the more effective they are and also the more expensive. They also tend to be noisier (more bends in the venting cause more air noise). I have one (have an island cook top in a 62" island, too small, moving to perimeter when we remodel) and it's okay but it is 17+ years old. New models work much better but even so, they still aren't as effective as hoods. Oh, the other thing with pop-ups is that they pull on gas flames, especially back burner flames. I've had mine pull the flame out when the vent was on high and the flame was on low. Another reason to get the highest rising pop-up you can, if you go this route. At least new cook tops have the auto-relight feature.

You can find more information about island venting with a forum search. Definitely check the appliance forum, too.

Thanks for all your help. Let me try to reply to the main points:

@lisa_a: You asked about the distance between the edge of the kitchen to the corner (from LR to kitchen). That's 110 in to the first corner,116 if you measure to the edge of the second corner); the other wall is 60 in and 66 in w/the same geometry. Those darn corners!

You did an amazing job in working with my kitchen. I really like E, that gives me the cooktop on the island so that I can have more storage,i.e, upper cabients on the perimeter. I also like that plan E takes advantage of the angles in way that is playful and makes it look intentional, rather than something too expensive to change!

Do you think I could take the island wider still? Maybe another foot. I like the simplicty of a built in bench (and the storage). It's not just a space-saving measure. I think ultimately I can seat more people there when I really need to--like on holidays. I want to be able to seat 10-12 people, but I don't want to have to move 10-12 individual chairs to sweep under. I think if I keep the bench I can get more island, righ?

@laveder_lass: I like both of Giada's kitchens. But her real home kitchen is too dark for me. I like the warmth of the glass, white and cherry in her TV kitchen. I actually think a combo of the sleekness of her real kitchen with the colors of the TV kitchen would be ideal

@ Greendesigns. I have though about venting. I'm planning to do an overhead vent, 42 in. I don't really think downdraft works that well, and in my case the contractor said it would be more expensive to vent since I'd have to break concrete to vent downward.

All of you guys are great. I am so lucky to have the help of people who are better at this than me!

Decolisa- That would be a nice combination! I like the colors of the TV kitchen, too. Do you also like the marble countertops?

Another question I had...what kind of cooktop do you want? Something sleek that blends in with the island? Do you want the appliances to blend into the cabinetry or do you plan to make any, more of a focal point?

The banquette will be really cozy and still offer a lot of storage and seating. It will also give you a chance to add some color/texture and softness to the kitchen. I think that's a nice feature, especially in a more contemporary kitchen :)

You're welcome! I like the angles of Plan E, too. Instead of fighting what you've got, it plays it up.

An island a foot wider? Where? And why?

If you're only talking about the seating section, yes, that should work. But you'll have to watch the angled section so that you still have decent clearances between island and powder room wall corner. But I wouldn't make the lower section of the island a foot wider. You want to be able to circulate through the space easily, even when appliance and cab doors and drawers are opened. You may be the only cook but if you entertain 10-12 people regularly, that's a lot of extra bodies in the kitchen. Give them room to move about so they don't get in your way. Much. ;-)

If your goal is to gain more storage, good plan. There would be room to add a row of cabs back to back against the cabs facing the fridge wall. For example, if you swap out the 30" deep cabs for 24" deep cabs, back these with 15" deep cabs, increase the seating overhang to 17" for more comfort and allow 1" clearance for the doors on the 15" deep cabs, you'd end up with a 58.5" wide island - one foot wider than I proposed.

Making it wider is fine but give it a purpose. You can still go with bench seating with a 46.5" wide island. Hopefully your crew is okay with getting stuck on the inside of a bench when you have a crowd over. ;-)

As for the dimensions, that part I got. What I can't figure out is what is the distance between the end of that run and the center of the sink cab. That's what I need in order to figure out cab sizes and to know how large a pantry cab you have room for. But your cab maker or GC will figure this out for you, too, so it's not critical.

Adding an extra foot to the seating section gains you even more of a buffer between diners and cook top - and that's a good thing. ;-)

Hmmm, maybe you are right about not squeezing people in. I'll have to think about that more in the final plan. I wish there was a wii version where I could have the kitchen plan in 3-D and walk through it with special glasses.

So let's assume we go along with something like E. What about colors?

Cherry only on the island, white on all the perimeter? Cherry on all base units and white uppers on the perimeter? What about the tall units? Where should I use glass?

Oooh, the fun stuff! :)

I like the cherry island and lower cabinets, with the white/frosted glass uppers. Very sleek, especially with that hardware. The plain white in the other kitchen (no glass) looks a little too flat, to me. The glass tile backsplash brings in some needed color and texture. The fridge/freezer could have the cherry panels, but I like the ovens in the stainless steel.

If you like plan E, I'd have the white upper cabinets over the speed oven, on the wall, to the left of the bay window. The glass tile backsplash could go around the window, which would look very nice.

If you decide to move the pantry to that wall and slide the fridge/freezer down...then the white/glass upper cabinets could be on both sides of the bay window. Which do you prefer?

I'm planning on paneling the R/F, and I agree the oven should keep its steel. I'm tempted to switch the R/F and pantry location. Then again, I'm unsure about whether it should just be an end unit on the other wall. I'm not really sure about the placement since it is hard for me to visualize.

I think the idea of glass uppers on the pantry and each side of the bay window would be nice.

I'll have two stacks of upper cabinets since I'm taking cabinets all the way to the ceiling. Should the upper- uppers be white or glass?

Blast, I'd typed a message, hit the wrong key and it went away! Argh!! Try, try again.

I'm good with spatial and function aspects of kitchens but I stumble when it comes to design advice so I'm hoping that others chime in, too.

I love the stained lowers/white painted uppers look so that gets my vote but you can't go wrong with your other choice. And actually, now that I look at Plan E, the only uppers you'd have that could be painted white and could also have glass are the ones on the top wall - the 60" section. All other cabinetry on the perimeter is tall storage (pantry) or oven column. I'm afraid that having only one small section of white painted uppers will look unbalanced, like you ran out of cherry cabs and made do with something else. So you may be better off going with cherry perimeter and white island.

You can lighten the look of all that cherry on the perimeter with glass fronted uppers in that 60" section. However, think about what you'll store in them so that form doesn't trump function. If you look at Giada's TV kitchen, the frost glass does obscure items but color still shows through.

When you say tall cabinetry, are you referring to the pantry? Or do you mean uppers that sit on the counter? If the latter, they are usually shallower than the base and have a drawer at the bottom. That way you can have items on the counter in front and still open the cab doors. You could do one of these in part of that 60" section but I think I prefer only uppers here. It's a balance thing again. One upper with glass, one upper to the counter with glass, each the only one of its kind in the kitchen. If you had more uppers, then I'd say, go with a to-the-counter unit. If you look at Giada's TV kitchen again, you might see what I mean about balance.

Have you discovered houzz.com yet? Gobs and gobs and gobs of kitchens just waiting for you to discover them. Seriously addictive. ;-) Ooh, I just did a search for "white upper cabinets" and found this stunner.

[

[contemporary dining room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2103) by san francisco interior designer Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

It's the reverse of what you wrote - stained uppers with frosted glass, stained island, white lowers and white talls. You could easily do something similar - white uppers with frosted glass, white talls, cherry lowers and island. That would give you balance.

If you're stacking the uppers, are the top ones smaller or are they the same size...as in Giada's real kitchen? Also, what are you storing in them? Do you want to see inside, or would glass at the very top, be better?

Visually, I like the frosted glass, because it lightens the uppers a bit, bounces around the light and gives you a peek at what's inside...but not too much. With all the cherry, it would be nice to have some sparkle. Do you like the glass tile backsplash? Do you plan to have any colors? The aqua (at least it looks aqua) would be nice to pick up, over on the banquette cushions, too :)

@lisa_a: What a cool picture. This is great inspriation. When I say tall cabinets, I mean anything that is a floor-to ceiling unit, even if it isn't conencted. I guess it is more precise to say floor-to-ceiling section. I think I get your point on the lack of true uppers. You're right, it could look unbalanced if there are only 2-3 true upper cabinet sections--too much contrast.

I think I need to be a bit more creative with the glass. Maybe the "lower-uppers" are better with glass. I guess I always see the "upper-uppers" with glass so that seems more familiar, but I like the glass being at eye-level.

@lavender_lass: I think I'd do different sized uppers. I think it will look better to have 42 in + 12 in. rather than one big unit. For some reason the same sized units don't appeal to me as strongly. I'd like to hear your thoughts on either the overall look or practicality of my direction.

I will definitely do frosted glass. I LOVE frosting so why not have in glass. I will also do a solid piece of glass ont he backspalsh rather than tile. I'm going to keep it in a light green/aqua color. I have other mid-century pieces and I think keeping the color trend tie in the accessories in the living room. I like the idea of picking this up ont he seating cushins. Great suggestion.

I think you may be at the point to have this design professionally drawn up with full specs and all. That means deciding on cabinet construction - framed or frame-less - so that you have a better idea how much space the appliances cabs will require. You also need to check specs for the ovens. I allowed 30" cabs for the 27" ovens but they may be able to go into 27" cabinets. It depends on cab construction and mfg specs.

You'll also need to determine just how the DW fits between sink and fridge - remember to allow a 12" cab between sink and DW so you can stand at the sink while loading the DW - since that will affect pantry size. If you move the pantry to the top wall, DW placement will affect the width of the upper between window and fridge.

As for cab widths, don't go so narrow that the space can't be used well. Keep door style in mind, too. If you're doing slab fronts, it's less of an issue but if you're doing anything with rails and stiles, a narrow cabinet door (I put 12" in that category) will look out of proportion, especially given your tall ceilings. Actually, even 12" wide, stacked, slab-front uppers will look disproportionate.

There's nothing wrong with discussing design options in the abstract - heck, it's fun! - but seeing your choices via Sketch-up once you hammer out the details will help you clarify your vision. Then you can post the images here and get more pertinent feedback.

Speaking of fun, check out some of the new glass patterns on the market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kelly's Kitchen Sync: 5 Glass Patterns for a Glass Door Revolution

Decolisa- I prefer different sized uppers, too. I like the taller cabinet, with the smaller one above. Frosted glass on the upper cabinets and aqua glass backsplash sound wonderful! It's going to be a beautiful kitchen and so much fun to spend time in...with all that comfy seating at the banquette and stools at the island. I love a kitchen with lots of seating, where you can help prepare a meal, eat it, and sit down and visit when you're done. Very nice :)

Thanks for your guidance. I have a much better sense of where I need to be now. Wow, I've gotten so much out of your assitance. I really appreciate it.

You're welcome! Keep us posted, please. I'm still waiting to do my remodel so I live vicariously through others' kitchen remodels. I especially love "reveal" threads when finished kitchens are shared with us.

Came across this kitchen at houzz.com and thought of your kitchen, decolisa.

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105)

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105)

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105)

It's an Ikea kitchen, which totally floors me, because it's not off-the-shelf looking at all. Notice how the talls and upper uppers and island are stained and the lower uppers (that's sounds like an oxymoron) and base cabs are white. No glass but could be added. Anyhoo, another possible combination for you to consider.