All good questions. You need to consider what you have, what you're going to get (small appliance-wise) and what you do in your kitchen. I love hiding appliances like toaster ovens, mixers, etc in a garage or cabinet. If you're a coffee drinker, have a coffee station. If you like to bake, have a counter low enough to roll out dough. Have dish and glass storage close to the dishwasher so it's easy to unload. Get two dishwashers if you entertain a lot or have a large family. Also consider separate fridge and freezer. Get a fridge drawer for beverages for the kids/parties. A seperate, high volume ice maker is also great if you entertain. Double ovens are great - make sure both the top and bottom are self cleaning. and the new French door ovens are fabulous! A wine fridge is great if you drink wine- I could go on and on. I'd recommend gong to several kitchen design stores just to see what's new and exciting. Pirch is a great store for that. Best of luck on your project!

My biggest pet peeves about my kitchen are 1) not enough drawers, 2) who decided lazy susans where a good idea? I hate it and would much rather have a nice big deep cabinet in its place and 3) no where to put the trash. I hate having a garbage can sitting out, a garbage garage is a must!

I would also add that having a big sink to be able to hand wash cookie trays and pans is a must! Either dual basin with one large side, or a large single basin.

Thanks A&J, great ideas there for me to think about. Appreciate you taking the time to answer!

I agree on the garbage, Jaimie! I have mine out now, for the obvious galley kitchen reasons. I was even thinking of two garbage cans in the same cabinet. I also agree on the lazy Susan. Don't see that in my plans anywhere. I'm now thinking that the big 36 inch sink is good, but I think I'll drop the middle section lower so it's not to the top of the actual sink. Then if I do have a roaster or cookie sheets, I can still fill the whole sink up and the middle section won't impede those items. I like the idea of the two basins, but there would be a need for one whole basin at times too. I'm hoping that lower middle section separating the basins will do the trick.

If you often have large dinners 2 DWs are awesome . I happen to love all drawers for base cabinet storage even under the sink and the only place i don’t use them is in the corners where I still think lazy susans make the best use of those spaces

I think I am going to use mostly pullout drawers for my base cabinets. I've seen some of my friend's in her new kitchen and she loves them. Thanks for the input!

My grandma has two bins in one slide out, and it is AWESOME! Trash in one, recyclables in the other.

oh, and don't store potatoes and onions in the same cabinet. each causes the other to sprout faster. try to find a cabinet that stays cooler than the others.

Good idea for no dividers where the cookie sheets are, I hadn't thought of that! And the assembly line for the dishwasher, that's how I have it lined up! And no, my frig at this point won't be in the way. Great advice on everything, thank you!

I love my two dishwashers.

I would love to have a pantry wall or a walk in pantry.

I love my freestanding hutch with platters and coffee cups on display.

I hate the pullout spice cabinet we paid big bucks for. Find a great way to store spices, but resist that pullout pantry spice cabinet.

Without a doubt, have seating at the bar or peninsula. People want to be there.

Don't forget the pets. Where will you put their food?

White counters show every. single. crumb. and drip.

Thanks for all your advice!

These are all great ideas and suggestions!

One thing that bothers me a lot is poor locations of power outlets. If you have a galley kitchen, you probably won't need to worry about an island having them, but I find that where the lower cabinets and counter end and there's a blank side, I almost always wish there was a power outlet there for appliances that have annoyingly short cords (like my griddle--which heats and cooks beautifully, but the cord is only about 18 inches long) or for when you have big meals and others helping in the kitchen (like at Thanksgiving when every inch of your counter space is being used and having one more person in the middle of it will make it way too crowded--but having someone at the end of the counter would be ideal).

So basically, don't short myself on outlets! I was even thinking they might be nice in my island, but I'm looking for a way to disguise them. Maybe on the ends or something with a panel that looks decorative but they're hiding within them. It would be really easy to incorporate outlets if part of my island was raised, but I've chose not to raise it.

Hiding outlets can be a challenge and depends on factors like your cabinet color and countertop overhang. There are a lot of ways to do it though, so be sure you don't shortchange yourself on them! It's one of my mom's biggest regrets with her kitchen. She didn't put one on the end of her peninsula and now that part of the counter is pretty useless.

My neighbor has the most amazing kitchen I have ever seen. Equipped with double drawer style dishwashers on each side of the sink. A large island with a long narrow prep sink down the middle for when multiple people are working and when they have parties they fill the trough with ice and beer and wine. in the drawers on each end of the island are matching silverware drawers, so no matter where in the kitchen you are you don't have to go around anyone to get to the silverware, its a little touch but super convenient.

I'm 5'9" and I love having an island a few inches taller than the perimeter counters.

MN code requires outlets every couple feet, so even if I didn't want them, I had to have them. So, definitely check out what's code, because chances are you'll have more than enough outlets.

Drawers! Big, deep, and long drawers! We actually put all our dishes in drawers and it is so much easier to stack and access.

Have the big 36" sink, but have a small sink on the island for veggie cleaning or whatever. Also, I wish I had a pot filler over the stove!!!

I host most of the family gatherings and I really wish I had two ovens! I'm good about doing dishes as we're preparing things, so 2 dishwashers isn't necessarily needed for me. However, if you have the budget and space, I'd go for it. Just remember that dishes can pile up and be dealt with later, but if you need to cook a turkey and a few pies that's an issue with one oven.

Lastly, I really wish I had checked into a custom cabinet maker. I had assumed (shame on me) that it would be out of the budget and did semi-custom cabinets. Turned out it wouldn't have been much more and I wouldn't have some issues I have now.

Best of luck and have fun!

What a great idea, that prep sink and having it double as a cooler!! Brilliant!!

So many great ideas herein! Only thing I can add is to pay close attention to lighting needs. I thought our designer went over the top with all the lighting, but now I see that having lots of options is really handy. We can turn on all or just some of our pot lights. We have pendants over the peninsula, under cabinet lights for the counters, display lights for the display shelves, etc.
And I can't say enough good things about hiring a kitchen designer. Ours came up with ideas we never would have thought of.
All the best with your kitchen!

T.J., I'm 6'1", hubby is 6'2", son #1 is 7'0" and son #2 is 6'6"....I'm actually raising my 4x8' island to 42 inches to accommodate mostly myself and not having to stoop over, but also the fact that we are a tall family. I won't do the regular countertops that way, but I am doing the island that way. Granted, my kids are now grown at 22 and 19, but they do come back periodically and they will have their own kids some day which I'm pretty sure will also be tall.

Having said that, I am doing all custom cabinets because of a couple of little glitches in my layout, plus of course, this 42 in high island. Sadly, I don't have the space for two wall ovens, but I'm desperately trying to convince my husband into a freestanding double oven that I have my eye on, an LG I believe. Would I use it all the time? No....but when I'd like to have a lot of things going at once, I'd love to have it. Hubby things my crockpots would do just fine for that, so we are at a crossroads.

My island is just one big island with nothing in it but tentatively a microwave drawer to save on wall space, and a whole lot of drawers, etc. I've also decided not to raise any portion of it. It's just the one big slab of granite at this point.

And I'm with you, I don't need two dishwashers. I can get by with one.

Thanks for all your advice!

btaylor10, you're right on the kitchen designer. My first go-round with her, and she had ideas I hadn't even thought of. Thank God for her and her ideas. It's always nice though, even after her, to get ideas of the public to see what they like. Thanks for the lighting tip...you're right, lots of options is best!

Colbran, just one more and you have a basketball team! We live and breathe basketball in our home. :-)

The pull-out garbage/recycle is a must. II would love, love for most all base cabs to be wide drawers. They are so easy to use---well worth the money! My large single-bowl sink is my favorite. I never want another divided sink! (My daughter can't live without her divided one.) I don't like a french door fridge either. I prefer a bottom freezer w single door top---one less thing to open & close.

Take time to analyze what works
/doesn't work now. Tne flaw I see in large kitchens is a work triangle that is too many steps apart.

A pantry is a godsend. I can't imagine using those pull-out racks. We had no pre-planned work stations in our current spec house, but created them ourselves.. Coffee/tea between sink area & kitchen table. Bar area near entertaining space. Baking prep on sink side and food prep near cook top. Be sure you have adequate counter space around the sink, cooktop, oven and fridge. You need a place to sit items you are working with. (Just saw a Houzz pic with ovens right next to fridge & no counter. How dysfunctional!) Two ovens are a must. We have oven & 1/2. The small is used all the time, as it heats up quickly. If we had the space I would love two dishwashers---one for clean & one for dirty---for the lazy folks here! Your kitchen does not have to be big, just well organized.

Think about flooring. I think hardwood is the best (the real thing, finished in place). It's easy to clean, easy to stand on & adds a warm feeling to the kitchen. We don't have a luxury kitchen, but its very functional & easy to use.

I'm planning on tile in the kitchen area over to the edge of the island, and then the rest will be wood. Tile at the entry way to tie it together, and tile in the laundry room as well. And I agree, the kitchen does have to be well organized!!