Ikea has a kitchen design program which will give you top and 3d renderings..... various colours and styles. YOu dont need to use their kitchens but it might help you put things to gether so you have an idea of what you want

super susans or pullout half susans in bottom corners
I always want top drawers in all base units with that pull down for scouring pads etc in front of the sink

I agree, we did all drawers in the base cabinets and love the convenience. Counter-depth refrigerator, soft-close drawers, and an integrated panel dishwasher to match the cabinets are three of my other favorite features.

I love the counter space I have in my kitchen. Even though my kitchen isn't large, we can easily have two people working without being in each other's space too much. Any sort of pantry is a must for me, whether you are blessed with the space to have a pantry closet or just a floor to ceiling cabinet, like I have. I also love my Bosch range/oven. It has a gas cooktop, electric oven with convection and below that is a warming drawer. On my wishlist would be pendant lighting instead of recessed cans above the island AND I would love one of those solar tubes to let in more natural light.

Kitchens are noisy places. Check the sones on new appliances and make sure they are as quiet as you can get them. I love one cabinet with glass doors and glass shelves and interior lighting. I am also a fan of drawers as are others, especially large ones for pot and pans under a stove top with a separate wall oven. A stove top gets rid of that stand up back on a free standing range. A pantry is a must.

Thank you all so much. Great tips that I will incorporate in the design!

I love my bookshelves for my cookbooks. I'm about to break ground on a new house. My top "must-haves" were a drop off pantry and a mini prep kitchen. my pantry will be accessible from the mud room as well as the kitchen and it's big enough to have a sink, dishwasher, burner, and trash pullout in addition to storage.

I believe every kitchen needs at least one set of four drawers. Make sure they are at 12" wide or more. Also add accessories, accessories and more accessories.

Honestly, I know it sounds silly, but I can't live without my trash compactor! With a family of five, we only have to take out the trash once a week. It was a small investment, and takes up a little cabinet space, but so worthwhile.

Loves: convection, gas, warming drawer, pantry,cookbook storage, marmoleum.

We are a family of five and had 2 dishwashers installed when we totally remodeled our kitchen last year. I can tell you that this was the smartest idea, ever! No more dirty dishes in the sink, waiting for the dishwasher to finish so I can reload. Now my kitchen always looks tidy - especially when we are entertaining family and friends (which is often). If you have space for it, I would highly recommend considering this. A second dishwasher will not break your budget, but will be worth the investment :-)

Pullouts are a dream for me for pots and pans, and because I don't have room for a walk in pantry or closet, I had three sets of floor to ceiling cabinets put together, and incorporated fixed shelves and pull outs in those. i bought an electrolux slide in range/oven that has a smaller drawer for cooking below. generally, I love the electrolux because it is all electronic, and convection and has no knobs anywhere (i hate knobs on a stove), and cooks a twenty pound turkey in two hours, but the lower oven does not work nearly as well as I thought because the element is diectly beneath what is being cooked which often results in an undercooked top and and overcooked bottom of whatever it is that you may be cooking. If I could do it over I would have spent the extra money to open the ceiling to put in more task lighting, I would have gone with two tones of cabinets like white or cream on top and black on bottom, and I would NOT have any tile whatsoever, I would have put in hardwood instead. The tile grout stains and constantly needs to be sealed and cleaned. So there you go, good luck and take your time to choose. i rushed my remodel and wished I would have gotten more quotes and considered more selections before finalizing. And I wish I would have known about Houzz two years ago so that I could do what you're doing!

oh, and I wouldnt have chosen black granite because it shows absolutely every smudge and fingerprint.

Love interior drawer lights - makes everything so much easier to find !!!
Also, in my first home, I had concrete floors - we created storage space under the units for keeping can drinks cold ! Worked like a dream !!!
And lastly - I like to try and keep all my perishable (but non fridge) items in one large cabinet - so that I can keep an eye on what's current, what needs to be used etc etc easily ! Rather than having food stuff in each and every cupboard .... Makes doing the shopping list easy too !!!

One Plan Could you please elaborate on the under unit storage for can drinks?

Kao 7 I had an oak kitchen with black granite countertop and continued it up the wall for a blacksplash. I absolutely loved it Such an easy clean!! And I replaced (gradually) all my countertop appliances with black and they just disappeared!! My kitchen was open to the dining room which I at first hated because you could see my mess......... but then realized everyone spent most of their time in the kitchen area anyway so it really made no nevermind. Had a lot more help and everyone seemed way more comfortable in my home. 3 houses later, all with open area kitchens, I am opening up my kitchen area again

Loves: drawers as lowers, pantries (one with tall open side for broom, mop and outlet for dust buster), beverage fridge, counter depth fridge, quartz counter (very easy to clean)

Would have done differently: design oversight with height of outlets so now they are in the middle of my backsplash :(

Has anyone ever done outlets sideways at the top of their backsplash just under the uppers? I was thinking that it would leave a clean line but not sure if there are any safety or code issues?

Some outlet placement ideas:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-hide-those-plugs-and-switches-stsetivw-vs~495253

Check with your local code enforcement office. There is probably a height requirement. As far as I know there is no reason they can be located horizontally.

Thank you so much feeny and eagledzines for the info and ideas

hi Betty - we had the toe kick hinged so we could open it like the doors above ... we stored the can drinks in their cardboard and cellophane wrapping under the cabinets (between the unit legs) because the floor was concrete it kept them cool enough to drink straight away !!! saved the fridge from being cluttered !

wow what an awesome idea OnePlan....... Probably wouldnt work for me since my wood floors will be going in after the cupboards but certainly one I can hold onto for the future ~Thinking of the Arizona room in my park model.....~

Betty Bennett -- when wood floors are installed after the cabinets, the cabinets should be shimmed up to meet the floor height so the full toe kick should be above the floor line. The shims are set back an 1" or so, so that the wood can be inserted under the toe kick. A drawer in the toe kick will also work if it is put on extension slides so that it slides out further than normal to account for the width of the toe kick.

that might be an issue...... we had to install 5/8 inch plywood on top of existing floor and if we add another 5/8 inch of wood flooring so we have lost an inch and a quarter on the 8 foot room height.. we would barely have 17 inch counter clearance as is and to lose an additional 5/8 inch.......... yikes... I didnt think the cabinets would be shimmed LOL I may have to rethink the upper cabinet height
Thank you so much for the ifo Good to know BEFORE I go ahead and order cabinets