I think the only correlation between the purchase price of an appliance and reliability is the cost of repairs. I've spent a little time on appliance repair forums, which are frequented by appliance repair techs, to see what they have to say about certain brands. My favorite is the Appliance Guru. One thing I noticed on that forum in the refrigeration section is how many posts there are about sub-zero. Now that is not a very common fridge in most homes but it is mentioned more often than I would have thought on the repair forums. Also you can learn which brands make their repair data readily available and where to buy parts. If your brand makes data hard to get (like appearently Samsung for example) repairmen will have a harder time fixing your appliance. Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Guru

I measured the space from front to back under the sink and it's 24". According to Yahoo! Answers that is standard depth for a base cabinet. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061016195518AAVAB32 I will lose one drawer to the right of my current bar sink to get the length that I want (36" - 42") The most fitting one so far seemed to be the Houser Novus, as the dual ledge / sliding system would be just perfect for certain types of prep I do often. However when I looked at the spec PDF, even though it said the sink was 18" wide, the cutting board that fit on top of it was only 15 3/4". I called 3 custom stainless places, and they all said that I would be shocked at how expensive a custom stainless sink is. If I have to go the custom route, maybe granite would be the way to go. Here is the concept of what I'm looking for, on steroids. It was featured on HGTV a couple months ago. I'm surprised scaled down versions of this are not common in small kitchens in order to turn part of the sink into a prep space. Maybe the concept doesn't really work well in practice. http://www.degiulio.org/work_signature_collection04.html Here is a link that might be useful: Mick de Giulio kitchen design

You have a few options. Dacor has a 46" gas cooktop. Miele has a 42" gas cooktops scroll to the bottom of the page. Personally, I would use this opportunity to move the cooktop from the island to a more user friendly location. Is there a hood over that cooktop? Going to an island cooktop that is more powerful, I would want a hood. Island hoods are notoriously more expensive. Downdrafts are also not recommended for gas cooktops because they disrupt the gas flames. You could also look at combi cooktops, which are available through Miele, Wolf and Gaggenau. These allow you to construct a variety of cooking surfaces, electric, induction, gas, etc in 12" or 15" modules. Three 15" modules from Miele would fit the space you have. This approach allows you to have several cooking surfaces. This is an expensive option and you still need a hood. Technically, the combi is what you have from Jennair with downdrafts separating the modules. If I were in your shoes, here is what I would do: I would move the cooktop and get a standard 30" or 36" cooktop. Get a hood and insert a wooden butcher block in the space created by the removing the cooktop. I know it was not the question you asked but the clearances around that cooktop in what looks like an island is not ideal and unsafe if you have small children running around the house. Good luck!

I'm repeating this because I accidentally posting it on your other thread: Corinne Masterson I responded to your other thread about looking for concrete-looking tiles. The Emser Hangar and Emser Uptown were not expensive at all! I got 12 x 24 Emser Uptown Sugar Hill for my shower walls and ceiling (steamer), and bigger tiles are usually less expensive. I got a 2" x 2" for the floor, and those tend to be more expensive, but it's a small area. For my Dad's house I got Hangar Sand 12" x 24" for the bathrooms floors, and a darker Hangar color for 2" x 2" shower floor. The tile cost is one thing, but skill, experience and pro-labor is another. My tile pro is so fantastic, he build my steamer, installed a very $$$$ entire linear mosaic wall, plus the 12 x 24 field tile walls and ceiling in my master; and believe me, I am not worried about waterproofing problems with him. AND he was able to make all the super-cheap Home Depot tile look like a million bucks in my 3 upstairs bathrooms he remodeled. The pro that you hire for the installation is more important than the tile you choose IMO. Cheap tile + cheap installer = a disaster of waterproofing problems, lippage, horrible layout, yucky and uneven grout lines, sliver cuts; don't do it!! Cheap tile + excellent/expensive installer = great for any bathroom: upstairs/ kids /guest /rentals /master: If the tile you like just so happens to be cheap, such as from HD or Lowes that's fine. An excellent installer will make it look wonderful! Seriously, my awesome installer was totally fine with HD tile for all our upstairs kids'/guests' bathrooms, and it all looks beautiful. And again, no worries about waterproofing when you hire an experienced pro and pay them for their skill and expertise. Expensive tile + cheap installer = so sad; you buy this lovely, beauitful, expensive tile, and then a hack installer ruins it and you get a disaster of waterproofing problems, lippage, horrible layout, yucky and uneven grout lines, sliver cuts; don't do it!! Expensive tile + excellent/expensive installer = the best of both worlds. We bought a very expensive mixed glass/marble/porcelain mosic for an entire wall of our master shower and the tile pro I hired did an excellent job installing it. There were some issues with the tile I selected, but in the hands of a real pro, it can all be handled. The reason I didn't type "expensive installer," is because "excellent/expensive" is the better description. I had an expensive hack trash my bathroom. Expensive doesn't always mean excellent. That's another story...