OK, I'm kind of thinking about it, although I still have a piece of Thanksgiving's buckeye cake to get rid of. I did buy 5 lbs of butter for $1.25 a pound yesterday, and 4 jars of marshmallow cream on sale. Since I've decided that I'm not putting up a tree this year and I'll put up just a few decorations, I might have more time to back. However, I promised Amanda I'd take her Christmas Shopping and we have tickets to see "the Nutcrapper" (Bud's version of the title, LOL) and I need to do Christmas with my family AND with Elery's, AND I have Cooper to deal with, I don't know how much time I'm going to have... I'll at least make shortbread and fudge and some cutout cookies with The Princess and Bruvver and find enough time to watch Rudolph and The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Jim Carrey version of The Grinch with the grandkids. Annie

This is where I am at, DH seeÂs us remodeling kitchen in three or more years and I see us remodeling our kitchen in the next year or earlier. So, Right now I am more in the process of elimination as far as cabinet brands go. Many earlier brands have been eliminated due to size issues as in I want and need deeper and taller wall cabinets and prefer little to no fillers. Also, cost has been a big factor. I have a basic idea of layout but need help in changing the nook area and windows. Some appliances will be reused but we will replace refrigerator with the kichenaid 42" built-in French door paneled and replace the microwave with the adventium. I have the countertop narrowed down to three or four and know exactly what I want for the backsplash, still unsure of wall splash behind stove though. The kitchen sink has been narrowed down to two choices and cab hardware to three. I know what I want for lighting but havenÂt found exactly the right one, I will know it when I see it. Still tossing around the idea of wood range hood verses stainless. The doors of my dreams are simple $$$applied moulding but with most likely end up with nice raised panel for style of home. Husband thinks I spend way too much time thinking of and planning for the kitchen.

I like the way it's shaping up, and have to agree with RHome on her concerns. - If the rounded ends look good with your house, they do offer a nice seating option -- but then do them on both ends (which would really complicate your trash). If rounded ends aren't right for the house, don't do them at all. - I have a raised seating area and love it -- but I also have reasons for it that don't apply in your case. Mine separates the cooking area from the visiting area, protects the cooktop, and also acts as a buffet zone when we're entertaining. In your case, it would cut out useful prep space; in mine, it doesn't. Plus, my island is HUGE and needed to be broken up. Yours is very nicely proportioned and IMO, should be kept symmetrical since everything else is. - Because of the symmetry issue, I'd be inclined to agree with RHome about your sink(s), and maybe go with one like the lower soapstone one I posted. It'll also be cheaper and easier to fabricate. And a deep sink really CAN hide stuff! (That was one of the unexpected bonuses I discovered that I have really come to love.) - I've found that when the time comes to eat, most of the mess is around the range, since prep mess can be easily tidied as you go without messing with your timing. And a range mess will be partially hidden by your doorway. But since you're concerned about hiding a messy kitchen, and have an extra thick wall there anyway, what about putting back the pocket doors? We have a pair separating our dining area from the TV room, and in the right setting - which I think you have - they can provide the perfect sense of separation with openness. And you know, you can use 'regular' doors with a pocket application -- you aren't stuck with those flimsy ones you so often see.

Oh no, marcolo, what did I say?! Whatever, I'm sure it wasn't intended as a swipe and I do apologize, any and everyone!... the "group think" I was referring to was part of this sentence: "What I was referring to was the KD-group think that insisted I had to have a box around the fridge and I had to have a conference about it and insist and put my foot down and say no and then worry about it for months and months: 'what do I know that the KD doesn't know'? Did I make a mistake being so insistent....' That sort of misery. " I was referring to how unpleasant things felt for me regarding this stupid little potential wall next to the refrigerator. It was something I had to fight hard for, not having. My KD (no one on here) ... actually, I should say the person who sold me the cabinets as she had almost zero planning input - but she is a designer and I valued her design sense (in the absence of any formal training here). Anyway, this person told me, in a completely shocked voice "Oh there is no way I would ever build a kitchen without a box for the refrigerator. It just doesn't look good". I hadn't really even realized she'd included it in the plan; I hadn't in what I'd asked for. But this was during a meeting with her boss where we were trying to save some money (!) and it came to light that this massive hunk of wood was planned. Her point was also that it was required additionally for structural reasons. But her boss, a (former, I should think) carpenter, waived this away and said structurally it wasn't necessary as there were two walls. It was evidently a very expensive part of the bill as the piece of wood is large, requiring stitching together and much finishing. But that left me wondering what she knows that I don't know. Thus I came here with this question, wondering why I was so crass as to imagine such an installation different from the requirement of the "KD-group". Obviously, many many haven't boxed. Moreover many who do, do so wisely and serenely (as David and others point out). My swipe was at the way I was made to feel it was utterly unthinkable to do what I wanted to do, when in fact many have and do and there is good reason to; as it turned out my kitchen was just one such one. But I couldn't see that confronted with an angry person insisting I was doing the completely wrong thing way back when! This thread was really instructive for me first of all seeing so many boxed-in fridges that looked terrific, so many that not only looked terrific but necessary, and many more that really didn't need it; as well as articulating some of the reasons, in both directions, people have for going one way or another, reasons quite apart from design considerations. It's my impression that this is one decision that is squarely and flatly in the middle ground where reasonable minds can completely disagree, or also that reasonably different kitchens converge to the same solution and conversely, similar kitchens reasonably conclude with a different solution. The 'group think' I was objecting to was that evidently somewhere in KD-world is the rule that One Shalt Not Box. It flustered me! Apologies for: (1) the persnickety, overly-long explanation and (2) any residual unintentional insult I may have implied. Marcolo - thanks for noticing about the grain. That's something that was a new 'articulation' for me. That is, I've always loved the grain of wood I saw that some doors had more than others (I also love that clear open aspect that sometimes comes that it may have been Buehl? forget who - who pointed me to a great explanation of in another thread about how this arises when you sever certain plants cells at an angle). When we got a sample of the door my husband pointed out that it had a seam down the middle disrupting the wood grain. This was evidently required with "solid wood", a high-end upgrade. But this observation let to realizing that veneer might actually be preferable from some perspectives, like this one. He wanted an uninterrupted stretch of wood grain (I agreed) so these doors are all veneered. I really love it. And I would never have noticed or realized quite why some doors look better than others. If you want to see the wood grain and it's not too expensive (it was cheaper for us actually), I highly recommend this option. For some reason I haev associated 'veneer' with 'less-good', but I think I've been all wrong. It's quite a nifty technique. Silly prejudice again; not sure where it all comes from! Anna, you're cute. A bunch of people have asked about the Rainforest Green slab. I have noticed it's hard to get a good picture of the - I think it's sandstone and not marble? Not sure... whatever it is, it's shiny and moves and varies tremendously; hard conditions for a good picture. Oee of these years I'll get a good series of pictures. In the meantime if you're thinking of using it, you might want to know I think it can be difficult for the fabricator to work with. I think it's quite popular and therefore often thought not to be so difficult. But I think there's more to it. I'll gather my thoughts on it some more at another time. If someone's in a hurry, let me know. Thx!