Get rid of those pull-outs next to the range and make the drawers bigger.

Add more drawers instead of cabinet bases.

Don't have the upper cabinet next to the slider go to the counter.

No floating shelves!

Plan the fridge cabinet carefully, so you don't see the "unfinished" side of the fridge.

In my previous kitchen and current kitchen I went with just one color for the cabinets. There is enough going on in kitchens without adding "color blocking". Just a personal choice.

Thank you @chispa! We asked the cabinet maker to remove the narrow pullouts to the left and right of the range (they were for spices and utensils) and opted for bigger drawers, I assume that's what you mean? I'm curious where you think I should replace cabinet bases with drawers? On the cabinet that goes to counter, I'm curious why you think that's a bad idea? We went back and forth on whether that should or should not go down to the counter.

Agree no open shelves. The one place that looks good when cupboards aren't all the same is when the island is different than the cupboards, in my world.

Curious why no open shelves? It's only for about 30in and it's in a spot thats kind of between the kitchen and the family room, where we plan to keep the coffee maker and less kitchen stuff. I thought the open shelves might create a nice openness, and we could put picture frames or books or something (not for storage of plates/cups)

It’s a personal preference. I like the island and coffee area in a second finish to break up a sea of one-color cabinetry.

Personally I love my two narrow pullouts on either side of my rangetop as I find it very convenient.

Have you planned out what you are storing in the coffee bar area? Open shelving may not be practical. Likely you are going to need a place for mugs, coffee maker, supplies, etc.

I just received the updated plans, here is the idea with the open shelves. I'm envisioning a coffee maker on the counter, mugs in the cabinet to the right, and coffee/tea supplies in the lower cabinets / drawers. The shelves will be more for decor. Part of the reason I was thinking that is because directly to the left of this area is a doorway to the foyer, and across from the is the family room (family room is open concept with kitchen). I thought the shelves would help create a nice openness when you walk from foyer into kitchen, and also the look of shelves would bridge the kitchen to the family room a bit.

^^

No...........: ) on the coffee/pantry bar

Lopsided, unbalanced, and please note all dimensions? On everything? All walls, what are the appliance?

Clearance from sink wall to island? Not enough at 39"

The cad plan with every dimension please, is more informative, NOT the elevations.

Add all the dimensions to this:

And here as well

Just curious--where does the doorway to the left of the stove lead to?

Cabinet to the counter ... I think it is a bad idea to lose counter space in that prime prep location to the right of your sink.

Your island should be all drawers.

Under the wall oven, you could have more drawers.

Coffee station ... more drawers!

The only lower cabinets with a door in my kitchen are the sink cabinets and one narrow one for tray/cookie sheet storage.

Also drawers should be a mix of 3-drawer and 4-drawers stacks for maximum storage flexibility.

I love a coffee bar and have one in my kitchen. It is on a wall with a door that leads to the dining room. Instead of what you have, I would suggest all upper cabinets with glass doors. It looks very attractive and does not interfere with "openness" when entering the room.

Here are some ideas:

Butler's Pantry Bar · More Info

Washington Ave Osterville · More Info

Lower Vintners · More Info

^^^^Chispa's kitchen is perfectly designed (all by her) - so while she's not a professional kitchen designer, she definitely knows A LOT about kitchen design. I agree that you should add as many drawers as possible vs. cabinets with doors. Drawers are just so much more functional than digging in lower cabinets with doors = shelves.

Like Diana - I am also wondering where the doorway left of the stove leads?

Add the dimensions to the images as Jan has requested. You may be surprised by the layout "tweaks" that will be suggested = a more functional kitchen.

As to your original question, I like the idea of having the island and coffee station in a rift sawn white oak (or walnut - if you like walnut - I think it's very pretty). I may be in the minority - however, I planned my kitchen renovation four years ago - and it had a mix of rift sawn white oak wood and painted cabinets.

I am FINALLY getting ready to start my renovation soon - and I hate that it's become such a popular trend over the last couple years because it seems like I'm jumping on the current trend. However, I still love the look - and I'm doing this kitchen for ME. Plus, no one I know has mixed painted and stained wood cabinets anyway.

If you do decide to mix painted and stained wood cabinets, don't change your countertop material for those areas also (as I've seen quite a few people do). If you mix stained wood with painted cabinets, using two different countertop materials tends to make most kitchens look too busy (I have seen a few LARGE kitchens that have mixed painted and stained wood cabinets + used two countertop materials that looked nice - however, the size of the kitchens definitely had an impact on how everything worked together when the project was finished).

Good luck with your renovation!

Good advice already -

I love a true coffee station with built in machines, sink, and trash - its just that now that they are trendy they tend to just be a random counter located across the kitchen from water and trash so can be inconvenient (they are in every air bnb I stay in these days and the first thing I do is move the coffee pot lol) - totally just my opinion

glass cabs seem way more polished than open shelving, which was a super hot trend but now seems to be waning, I’d do glass cabs over open shelving in a heartbeat

@dani_m08, not sure my kitchen is perfectly designed! LOL

In both my kitchens I placed the fridge further away than most on this forum would suggest, but it works for us. I used kitchen designers for both, but even they have their own biases. In my current kitchen I had to insist the KD keep shrinking the island and give we wider isles.

I don't think people realize how much better having more drawers is, unless they have lived with, or had a chance to use, a kitchen with mostly all drawers. Most of us didn't grow up with that and production builders still cheap out on that option, and mostly put in basic lower cabinets, so even newbie house buyers don't get exposed to all drawers in the average kitchen.

Another vote for drawers. In my kitchen every bottom cabinet is drawers. The only doors are under my sink and my island ( the gas line for the cooktop is there).
And don’t put a cabinet down to the countertop. It takes up precious space.
Glass doors add interest to your upper cabinets. Having them where they are visible is always a good idea. Mixing bowls and pretty serving pieces look good up there.

Attached some photos with dimensions! For those that asked about doorway next to the range, that leads to a back area with the garage door, mudroom, laundry, powder room, and a little closet/pantry. On the bottom cabinets being drawers, thats interesting. we have them designed so they’re cabinets with roll out shelves. curious if you think drawer is still better than that? my gut is to think drawer ends up getting filled and hard to organize whereas the pull out shelf is kinda the best of both - curious your thoughts!

No to cabinets with pullout drawers. I have them in my current house which was new and dislike them so much we will have them replaced with drawer stacks in our new build in a few months—-builder would not order and let us pay the difference. Drawers should be standard or at least an optional upgrade.

First of all, you lose space because of the guides. They are shallow and stuff like plastic storage lids are always falling to the back and hard to retrieve. Plus, it’s an extra unnecessary step—open Both doors, pullout the shelf—-why? The only cabinet I would have (besides the sink) would be a 15-18” tray/cookie sheet cabinet.

" Attached some photos with dimensions! "

Floor plan with ALL dimensions is what is needed.

Thank you all for the advice and feedback! I was originally just looking for design advice on the color of the island, coffee bar, and cabinets and am so appreciative to have received all this other advice on the cabinet design! I've contacted the cabinet maker and changed some of the pull outs to drawers in the bottom cabinets (I have pull outs in my current kitchen and I actually love them, seems I'm in the minority!).

Drawer > pull out > basic lower cabinet

Have you ever stored your dishes in drawers right next to your DW? So easy to put stuff away and even kids can do it since they don't have to try to reach an upper cabinet.

For your MW drawer, Sharp makes all of them, so order the basic Sharp model with the tilting control panel, which makes a huge difference in ergonomics and ease of use.

"No to cabinets with pullout drawers"

100%%%% No to pullout! the DRAWER pulls out, you get more useful space in ONE motion!

You will ask yourself why you had pullout : ) that is a guarantee. Looks higher end as well.

Dishes, pots and pans, glassware!! THEY ARE GREAT FOR EVERYTHING!

ALSO...... and again, Yes to below

"" Attached some photos with dimensions! "

Floor plan with ALL dimensions is what is needed.