@HALLETT & Co. Thanks for your feedback

I told the cabinet maker to remove the fillers but they said they put the fillers in case the walls are not straight. They then suggested to move them by the stove. The base corner cabinets are 90°, the left one will have a Lazy Susan and right one will have one full shelf. See picture 2 layout.

There will be a gable to the left of the fridge. We won't have a trash pullout.

Why fillers and BTW cabinet makers are not KDs and those drawers next to the range are too small to be uselful adn you never want to pass the range on the way from fridge to sink. My advice get aKD to tweak this before and cabinets are made. The whole point of custom cabinets is they fit perfectly .Where will you put the trash ? I think that island is going to the barrier from fridge to sink every time you cook .

Ooh I had that EXACT layout with almost identical dimensions in a kitchen, and found out that there is not enough room for an island. It was very cramped for one person, no less two. You need at least 14' to get an island in with decent aisle clearances. Ours were less than 36" once you accounted for the countertop overhangs. And the island was quite small at the same size as yours. When we redid the kitchen we laid it out in a G shape with a peninsula, which is so much better. It's roomier and we can have seating for 2 at the peninsula.

Also, why do you not want a trash pullout? Where is the trash going to go? I would have it to the right of the sink. If it doesn't fit, then you could move your sink and d/w cabinets down a bit, or get a slightly smaller sink.

37” walkways even less at the fridge. Ugh. How will you load the dw? Also check your hood specs- the cabinet above the range looks too low

And as Patricia commented, the island will be a barrier between the sink and the fridge. Ours had a tiny prep sink that not only was too small to be useful but rendered the island smaller than it looked.

You might be better off voiding the corners and adding the 9" gained to the drawer bases on each side of the corners. 3" will be needed for filler to ensure all drawers clear the drawers on the other side of the corner. (Corner susan cabinets are 12" on each side, so 3" of filler and 9" of gained cabinet space.)

That should also eliminate the need for any additional filler b/c they can account for it in the filler b/w the void and cabinets.

I agree with others - your kitchen is too narrow to support an island. Yes, I know they're all the rage, but not all kitchens can support an island.

25.5" Sink Wall Depth

+ 42" aisle (minimum for a one-person kitchen)

+ 27" island (skinny island - 24"D cab + 1.5" counter overhang all around)

+ 42" aisle

+ 31" refrigerator depth, including handles (may be more)

================

167.5" = 13'11.5"

Your kitchen: 155"

167.5" - 155" = 12.5", so you're one foot short of the minimum.

In addition, as others have noted, the island will be a barrier b/w the sink and the refrigerator. Ditto the prep workspace (what there is of it) to the right of the sink and the refrigerator.

Refrigerator wall depth - make sure the wall is no deeper than the refrigerator BOX - not doors. Doors must stick out past the surrounding cabinets, walls, etc., to open fully. Most refrigerator boxes are around 24"D - how deep is the one you've chosen?

Is there a reason that wall "must" be 28" deep? If you cannot change that wall to be no deeper than the refrigerator box, then you will need some filler b/w the refrigerator and the wall. Probably only 3" or so, but some will be needed nonetheless.

As pointed out above - cabinetmakers usually are not KDs and often don't fully understand the needs of appliances or kitchen "best practices" (e.g., aisle width, location and minimum workspace for a prep zone).

Sorry but I do agree about the island. I have had clients do 40" walkways and 21" islands before but they never use the island top because it is too small.

I would put the fillers by the stove. I know you are doing custom cabinets and would love to believe that your room is perfectly level and square but we know that is never the reality. You could ask your cabinet maker to change the drawer bases to 26 1/2 and do an extended frame of 1/2" that could be cut down if needed.

Personally, I would not get rid of the lazy susans since they store a lot and this is not a big kitchen. The 26" drawer bases will hold a lot if you arrange it correctly - I have a 27" drawer base and I have 4 frying pans, a 6 qt pot , a 4 qt pot with steamer, a 6 qt crock pot and a full set of stainless mixing bowls all in that one cabinet. It is also a great size for tupperware.

It looks like there is a note to remove the valance across the window - please do - and the molding. If you feel the need to tie in the 2 sides, then return the molding back to the wall and run across the top of the window.

How high is your backsplash? The plan shows a 2 1/4" light rail - that could be an issue if you have some taller appliances that you want to sit on the counter.

What size ref are you doing? I don't think a 28" deep wall is enough to capture the crown projection. Even with a minimum ref panel depth of 25 1/2" ( so the countertop dies into the side of the panel ) plus a fascia piece 3/4 plus a crown projection 2 1/2 - 3" = 28 3/4 - 29 1/4". If your panel needs to be deeper, then the wall needs to be deeper. Can you remove it?

Back in the day, many kitchens were done with 36 - 38" walkways and people adapted to it. But that doesn't make it right or comfortable. If you have an active kitchen, you will see very quickly what a mistake that island may be for you.

Do you have any other option? I think a peninsula would be nice in this space, but we would need more context to determine that.

Just my opinions of course. Good luck!

Is anyone wondering why fillers in the middle of the cabinet run are supposed to compensate for non-straight walls?

Normally a custom cabinet maker has measured the exact dimensions of the space. They do not need a filler to take up extra width because the cabinets are too narrow, because they make the cabinets exactly the correct width.

They may use a scribed filler at the end of the run, where the last cabinet meets the wall, and shape (scribe) that filler to conform to the non-straight wall. But in this case, if I understand the drawings, the range wall cabinets and sink wall cabinets meet in the corner. Therefore, the left end of the range wall cabinet does not have any non-straight wall to deal with, and does not need a scribed end filler. Same at the right end of the range wall cabinets, where they meet the refrigerator wall cabinets in the corner.

I would question this. If the fillers are "needed" because the cabinet run was built 2" too narrow, then I would put that 2" into wider drawers by the range - i.e. have one or more cabinets re-made. If the fillers are "needed" because the walls are not straight, read the explanation above and ask which filler is contacting a wall?

Or, if the real reason is this is not a true custom cabinet maker, but merely has a catalog of styles and make boxes of standard widths (24", 26", 28" and so on), then okay, that's why you have fillers. Ask if the fillers are on either side of the range, then will the drawers at the corner interfere with each other or with their pulls?

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.

Our kitchen is about 260 sq ft, and half of it is the dining area where there will be a pantry cabinet (18"x66"). We did consider a peninsula but it was not possible because of the bay window and the patio door next to the cabinet (left to dishwasher).

The wall to the right of the fridge is 24 3/4" and it is a counter depth stainless steel fridge. About 1" of the fridge "BOX" (grey) sticks out. The cabinet maker suggested to have that wall extended to 28" so that the side of the crown does not show, but it cannot be done as it is the wall to the kitchen entrance. The cabinet above the fridge will be 24 5/8" (includes the cabinet door). There will be a crown moulding return.

Panel/gable to the left of the fridge will be the same depth as the wall (24 3/4").

Well sounds like you and the cabinet maker have everything handled.

FYI. Cabinets are not made yet. We are still discussing about some changes to be made to the drawings.

Good luck with your project--I hope it meets all your needs.

Always err with fillers available. Walls are almost never perfect from front to back or top to bottom- new or old. We are a custom cabinet maker and always use 1" fillers against walls. Cabinets, no matter how they are measured, will be a square or rectangle even if your walls are not straight. We make the cabinets to fill the smallest dimension measured and those fillers are able to be cut to fill in any gaps between imperfect walls and straight cabinets. We make our cabinets to the mm, not inches.

I don't understand the purpose of doing a corner cabinet *without* a lazy Susan (super Susan). You can't reach the back of the shelf! If you don't want 2 susans then void that corner and add the space to the neighboring cabs as suggested. Or perhaps you have very long items to store in there :)

Do you have a vertical storage for trays and sheet pans?

Would you reconsider the trash? I know some people don't like the pullouts. But in your kitchen the trash can will always be visible. I also have a separate can but it goes in an alcove situation most of the time.

@Nova, why would there be multiple fillers in the middle of the cabinet run?

@John Liu in this case it appears that the corner cabinets are the reason. We always do 10mm fillers on each side of the corner cabinets when the cabinet runs are captive in either direction. Spaces between walls can be a bit uneven and a small amount of adjusting may be necessary. If regular cabinets are used to create a dead space in a corner, we do 3" fillers on both sides of the corner, overlapping each other, so that drawers and doors open without hitting handles. Usually our fillers are 1" on the ends by the wall in any other case. I am unsure why the contractor is choosing to move the fillers to the stove area instead of where drawn. Maybe he thinks it'll be helpful in the future if a width dimension changes a little in future stove models?

@Nova, it makes sense to me to have fillers at the corners, so the homeowner has wider choice of drawer pulls. Fillers to adjust for future range dimension changes - range widths are so standardized that doesn't seem necessary. Anyway, I think OP should ask this question.

Sometimes it works out where you can PULL the base cabinets AWAY from the wall. It leaves a gap behind the cabinets but you'll avoid the filler in the middle run of your cabinets, which always looks BAD with frameless. Must be careful with certain appliance fit and location.

Here's a quick example....not a real kitchen. The gap is behind the bases on the left side of U shape. You need to cover the GAP if it's exposed. In this example, it's hidden by the deeper refrigerator end panel. NO FILLER MID-RUN! Just pull the bases in the design...or you could order them custom sized deeper. But I agree....you need wiggle room.

Once had a kitchen with site built cabinets. We measured, but a huge bow in the wall was hidden from site when we were measuring. Luckily, I had left some room at the end of the run, so it was a non-issue....but there was barely a sliver of wall left showing once all was installed. Countertops had about 1/4" overhang. Lessons learned. Even though you leave wiggle room....sometimes bowed walls are hidden.

Thank you all for your feedback.

The cabinet maker suggested to move the two 1" fillers after I told him that I don't like to see the fillers that will leave a gap between the cabinets. I can ask them not to move the fillers by the stove.

There will be a space of 3/4" in the back of the upper and base cabinets because of the cleat system. As explained by @The Kitchen Place, there should be no fillers. Is that correct?