Mclarke, See? that was (and still is) my thinking too --- or at least how my mind's eye saw it should/shouldn't be. But taking into account all the replies (and they were all so right-on about it), I realized I was focusing too much on 'the look' and not what would be the best function for us. My plan when doing this bathroom: I'm not leaving this house without a toe-tag so I wanted everything as perfect for me as I could get it, for the long-term. This same height cab and wall is going to be very hard for this slightly (ha!) anal person to get used to! LOL Annie1971, Oh shoot---had I known, I would have saved all zillion white with pink speckled tiles for you! *g* Before joining this board, all those years with the pink tiles, I was brought up to 'match', to coordinate. So, all those years I went with a pink or mauve or burgundy bathroom. After joining this forum I learned how I could have worked 'with' that tile. I wish I had known about this forum years ago--would have saved me years of bathroom color boredom! And Mclark, I DO have very old, very pretty amber colored glass bottles. They remind me of pharmacy glass bottles. I'll dig them out of storage sometime this week and hopefully they will fit on the top shelf of the med cab. With the new, bigger window the light will reflect on the pretty amber color of the bottles. Great Idea - Thank you! You all were so helpful in making me focus on the function and other little points I hadn't thought about I figured I'll stick some pics in here to show you what we've done. As much as I'd like the cab to stay where it's at (held up with 2 screws so we could get the books out of there/out of the way so we could work on other things), function would be wrong so it's going up a couple inches. During the med. cab height dilemma, we also found the rounded front of the plywood countertop hindered me from getting close to the mirror. Countertop shape has been changed and I'm very pleased with that part. Again, all of you -- Thank you so very much!

I completely agree with you, jerzeegirl. Isn't the whole point of a backsplash to protect the wall behind the countertops? I think it would look even siller to have that much counter hanging out there past the cabinets and backsplash. But I also do think it isn't very good design to have the top and bottom cabinets not line up when all you have is a stretch of wall on the other side or some other feature that acts as a natural stopping point. So I like the idea of adding shelves to the end of the top row of cabinets. Then there is no question about where to end the tile.

It may not be popular to say this, but I'm going to. Yes, waterproofing is important but it's become a popular "thing" to hyper-focus on the full surface waterproofing. Full surface waterproofing, in my opinion, has become necessary, in part, due to the lowering of construction practices (cost cutting/low skill) while building showers. Yes, in recent years we are seeing more failures in showers, but not in old homes. Sadly, they are primarily recession era remodels. You wouldn't believe the showers we have torn out in historic homes where everything, back to the studs, insulation, etc. were bone dry! And those had no liquid waterproofing (not around in those days). But, of course we were doing mud walls, etc. back in the day. Methods have changed. BUT, the primary failures today are not actually the result of inadequate waterproofing on walls. They are the result of pan failures or improper wall board (green board, drywall, etc. that absorbs moisture and breaks down over time). We do a mud pan system with pan membrane and up all corners, and curb and seats, etc. with that membrane as well, where water is most likely to penetrate so the h2o would drain back to floor pan liner. And yes, the lovely surface waterproofing on top (except in steam showers = no no for other reasons). and we do minimal grout joints. My point is that, we need to focus less on the red stuff, and more on the other materials and methods for pan, corners, and curb, etc. It is what is UNDERNEATH that is your real risk for failure. Sorry daduran for the old school rambling here. As for the contractor who doesn't use caulk at change of planes, gone. As for the NTCA member (we are too), memberships can be a good thing but we recently did a little research locally on certain NTCA certified members and were surprised with our findings. You are wise to do the vetting that you are, and take all considerations into account. In the long run, many years of experience and the respect of both long term clients (multiple projects for the same client?), and the recommendations from other quality trades who know their work is a solid approach to your vetting. Good luck with your project.

Looking at your floor plan and the 3d mock up of the new space - I don't think you have enough room for the new plan. Given that the kitchen is 11' wide by 18' - you end up using quite a bit of the space for aisles / walkways. And the exterior corner makes a pinch point. Below is how I would envision the space working if it were re-arranged with an island - with ~4' aisles around the island. I wouldn't extend full height cabinets into the breakfast room - I think they're too overbearing for the space. I agree with herbflavor to go half depth - I would space them so they look more like a buffet / console than a giant wall of pantry... but then I'm not 100% sure about your needs. I just don't think that you have enough room to (a) have the fridge stay on the short wall and (b) have an island that extends more than like a foot. Here is a floor plan based on the 3D mock up... on it in red is the current end of the peninsula - you can see that the new plan is proposing to have the island extend past that spot PLUS add a seat. If you have the 2D/overhead view of your proposed layout, that could help clear up some issues... but again, I don't think yo have the space.