Thank you for the bump, dani_m08! We definitely have no excess of storage space in this kitchen!

What you want is called an easy-reach upper cabinet. It will work great. Standard ones 24 wide at the wall with a 12 in door x 2. I'd suggest you make yours a little smaller than you have drawn, the hood is supposed to be wider than the range.

A variation on the easy reach to have a longer portion https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5884101/do-you-have-an-easy-reach-corner-wall-cabinet

I'd skip the open shelves on the other side of the window too. Could you possibly put the Berkey on a floor stand at the end of the cabinet run, i.e. off the counter? (i've never had one so I don't know if that's really inconvenient)

Thank you so much, rebasheba! I really appreciate the link and comments. That post will be very helpful for my husband to visualize the cabinet.

I do realize the hood is supposed to be a little larger than the stove, and will discuss that with him, as well. It would be a trade-off, since I think that would mean we would also lose a usable upper cabinet to the left of the stove if we widened the hood.

I would love to put the Berkey on a stand at the end of the counter run, but unfortunately that is where the slider opens and it would block the walkway. (The other 2 glass panels are stationary).

The hood doesn't need to be wider than the range. I would not waste precious cabinet space in a small kitchen just for that. Your hood's efficacy is determined much more by the blower than by having an extra 2" of hood on either side of the stove.

I had one of those "easy reach" cabinets and hated it. If you're worried about hitting your head on a standard width cabinet, you should be extra worried with a cabinet door that when fully opened can be much wider than a standard cabinet door and because it has multiple hinges, swings all over the place and is a pain in the neck to close and even open.

Based on your drawing, you're not going to whack yourself in the face with the cabinet doors you've designed unless you have some serious coordination issues.

It's hard to respond to your query about potentially using open shelves and if so where without knowing what you plan to use the cabinets near the stove for.

Thank you, HU, your first-hand experience is with the easy reach upper is invaluable. I mocked up a 21” door by taping a piece if heavy cardboard to a cabinet door in my own kitchen, and while it’s not perfectly face avoiding , it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as the 24” upper doors that I DID whack myself on in a former kitchen pre-remodel, ha ha!

We may retire to this home someday, but for now we are remodeling it to rent out to our daughter and son-in-law, so the storage will be variable. I did do a rough placement plan of items just to try to make sure things could fit, pictured below.

(I’m still working on the pantry layout…)

Huh, I like mine and think its really handy! Everyone is different. Laughable if you have a Lowe's or a local kitchen center near you you could go play with the options in the cabinet displays.

Thats a good idea to see if there is an easy reach upper on display so I could examine it myself. I’m glad to hear you like yours, rebasheba. I do have a hinged door on my lower 36” corner suzan in our current kitchen that I have mixed feelings about. It is a bit temperamental, and I have to be so careful that the door doesn’t scratch the cabinet when I close it. Is the easy reach upper kinda fussy like that?

Yeah, I have the same style on the bottom too. I have to say I don't find them finicky at all. They seem to stay where I put them when opening or closing, and not to flop around. Hardware and adjusting the hinges may be part of it.

Our cabinets are not really high end (Fabuwood, an import brand) and they use concealed hinges on the bifold door, rather than surface mounted. Look up Soss hinges to see an example of this type of hinge.

That's a relief to hear, rebasheba. Per your recommendation, I looked up the Soss hinges. Very cool! Thanks for the recommendation.