Well, Toni, it's actually my father who has terminal oral cancer (diagnosed almost two months ago) and is talking about cancer treatment (oral and lymph node surgery, facial reconstruction, radiation, etc.). I don't feel it's appropriate to talk too much about for possible legal reasons, but like I've said...cancer is a horrid situation regardless of who in the family it is and what type of person he/she is, and it's a unique situation here, where the person diagnosed is rather hateful, and fairly broke. My dad's an ornery old coot, and always has been, and is of the opinion that a wife has no claim to anything financial if the husband has provided the income. His personality is impossible to describe. It's like, if you'd been with someone for thirty years, who has verbally abused you, quietly racked up credit card bills, never let you see a bill in that time and refused to give you any account information, and isn't quite all there mentally due to several strokes...and then after he's cut all insurance coverage, suddenly he has cancer and, with treatment, might live an extra year or two, you'd be caring for him, and you'd likely about go bankrupt in the process. It's very hard and very scary for my mom. Normally such things would be a family decision and with some consideration for the spouse, and with some more logic about the expense and the chances of survival. He's a mean old brute--an absolutely terrified one, yes, but still how he is. He's dying and not taking it well. You mentioned mood changes with cancer treatment...God, can't even imagine with him!! haha. I know families go through the expense and hardships of cancer treatment all the time. It's just, sigh, a weird household. I've certainly learned, know who you're marrying before you marry. And if this all progresses, we'll seek help. You're makin' me want to run out and buy some plants. ;) Such good news about your job, CG! I'm so happy to hear.

Gad I wish you'd have posted this when my walls were open. What a great idea...a pot filler for the espresso machine! I have a Delonghi and while I absolutely love it...I'd loved to have a pot filler to use with it since it's not right near either sink! I have a dedicated 36" cabinet to beverages...well the top of it anyhoo. I don't have room for the type of dedication you have, but if I did, I'd do it in a heart beat! Mine is focused on coffee and wine (the two most important drinks in our house). Could you put a cabinet above the station, mounted higher than normal (lined up with your others though on top) and then add hooks to the bottom of it for mug hangers? I have a great collection of hand thrown mugs so I am always thinking of great ways to show them off...and above that station of yours would be great. You could put them high enough not to interfear with your coffeemaker and still make them generally reachable for the user.

I think capturing backsplash space is a great idea, because vertical space is too often ignored. Ever since women entered the workforce, the kitchen industry has lost a lot of interest in cooking efficiency; it now defines efficiency as snacking, drinking soda and loading the DW with maximum speed. However, to pal's point, I'd be leery of things that disappear behind walls or cabinets. Once they break, they're very hard to fix.

I didn't mean to do that. I worked on the floorplan a while after malhgold posted about two islands and didn't see your response before posting it. So, here is what I think - unvarnished. I would want to have my back to the blank wall at the living room and look out through either window and the morning room while prepping and be able to pop out to greet people who wandered into the kitchen. So I would locate the prep space and a sink in an island that faced the outdoor porch off the morning room with seating between the island and the porch. I think I would place the clean up zone against the porch wall so it wasn't quite as far away from the dining room and the morning room. I would store the dishes in or immediately next to the cleanup zone. Refs are a quandary in that space because of its sheer size. I would be very tempted to close the opening on the living room wall and push the opening to the hall wall two or three feet away from the living room wall and park the ref and a food pantry there. I'm another who doesn't see the need for the frzr to be anyplace in particular, except that its probably your source of ice or if you freeze vodka. Kids love refs and microwaves, so I might start a kids prep with a wave they could use (someday) in the center section that juts out by the hall and have their dishes, dry snacks and paper products there. I wouldn't do the bake center inna cabinet because I would feel too constricted by its sides (like trying to mix in a small closet) and its doors would get in my way when open. (Altho it would do a splendid job of hiding the turbochef.) I might do an under-counter appliance lift for the mixer. I could find enough space on the island to mount one. Eventho I think lifts are really good solutions, I might instead do a deeper counter (30") on one wall with self-storing lift doors on part that disguised a mixer and flour canisters and such like stuff on the countertop because I think it would be easier to keep clean, organized and accessible. A good undercounter beverage ref is only two-thirds of the cost of your faucet:) Icemakers run $500 to $1500. If you entertain a lot, either can make sense. Good luck with your build.