I've been where you are. I also didn't want a bottom handle on the range, as one big handle is more than enough. I dismissed the Jenn-Air due to all the bad reviews/repair records from people in the business. I didn't like the lip on the KA (from smoothtop to controls). I liked the clean lines on the Bosch and Jenn-Aire, but the Bosch won hands down because of it's reviews and style. We have the SS Integra and love it. It's roomy. The cooktop heats up quickly. The fan does come on whenever the oven is turned on but it's not loud, IMO. We haven't used the probe yet, so I can't tell you about that. We're quiet pleased with this range. Word of advice: Just make sure the minimum height of the Bosch will work with the height of your current countertops. If your countertops are less than 36", the Bosch will be higher than your counters. Our counters were lower so we had to build them up in order to make the range fit properly over the counter. I wasn't about to return the Bosch for one I didn't care for; I liked it too much. Also, if you don't have a slide-in currently, you'll need the 3" filler piece behind the range b/c the range does not touch the wall. The Bosch does not come with this peice - at least mine didn't. Any questions, let me know. Deb

Marcolo and Blfenton, the box thing in the southeast corner is just that, a box constructed out of drywall to take up the corner. I hate blind corner cabinets, so I would rather "waste" the corner entirely rather than spending money on corner cabinetry I hate, especially since it lets me put more efficient drawer storage on each side of the corner. It also allows me to have tall cabinetry on the east wall and uppers and lowers on the south wall, without having an issue where they meet in the corner. I might put a door in the guest room wall to utilize the 27" x 27" space from the other side to store items we do not need to get to often, like luggage. I agree that having the wall ovens 4' away from the nearest landing spot on the island is not ideal, but it is a big improvement over the 7' walk between wall ovens and counters in our current kitchen. If we move the wall ovens to the east wall, there is still at least a 4' walk to the island. Amanda, the trash pullout and dishwasher are on opposite sides of the sink cabinet. I will also have storage for dishes, Rubbermaid containers, plastic wrap, etc. on the south wall. That way, after meals, the plates and pots all go to the counter next to the sink, leftovers can be packaged, dishes can be scraped into the trash and then go into the dishwasher. When I empty the dishwasher, the dish storage is on uppers on that wall. It sounds like cooktops on islands are not popular. I agree it is not ideal, but it was the only way to get the entire wall of tall cabinets on the east side. My DH loves the look of that wall, and that wall will be highly visible from our kitchen and dining room. I would prefer a real hood to a downdraft vent, but, then again, I have lived without a proper hood for 10 years. Mahlgold, I am having trouble balancing the look we want with function. We plan to do prep on the island and the counter to the left of the sink. Those 2 areas give us more counter space than we have had in any prior kitchen. We do not own a coffee maker or toaster oven. Our only countertop appliances are a KA mixer, small toaster and blender. The mixer and blender will go under the uppers to the left of the sink (mixer in far left corner on an angle). The toaster could also go on that counter, or maybe behind the lift door on the left side of the east wall along with bread storage. We only do breakfast and lunch at home 1 or 2 days per week. I am not sure how many or how deep of drawers to put in the tall cabinets. I drew each side with 5, but it could be 3 or 4. This kitchen has so many more lower cabinets than we have ever had before, that I am not sure what to put in all of them. On the right side tall cabinet, I thought I would want a couple of shallow drawers at the top to store extra trays for the Advantium, pot holders (those will be kept in 3 different locations near all the hot appliances) and wine tools like the opener, Vacu-vin, etc. Maybe a drawer for DH's vast tea bag and leaf collection and related tools. We could put all the empty baby bottles and plastic plates for the kids in a drawer in that tower or on the south wall. On the left side tall cabinet, I could use the drawers to store pyrex, roasting pans, pie tins and other baking dishes that might not fit in the drawers below the wall oven. My stove top pots and pans and utensils will go in drawers below or next to the cooktop on the island, as I have several feet of drawers on the south side of the island. The wall ovens were put on the north wall (where they are in the current kitchen) because they are less attractive to look at. Also, if we get the side opening Gagg ovens, they would be difficult to place in the east wall because they need at least 8" between the hinge side of the oven and an adjacent wall, so we could not put them at the very end of a cabinet run. It is also tricky because we are trying to find space for 3 wall ovens: standard 30" convection oven, speedoven/microwave, and steam oven. They are too tall to stack all together in one column and still have at useful heights. I will use the speedoven/microwave more than once a day, so I would be miserable having that oven below countertop height. I also hope to use the combi-steam oven regularly. I feel like we should have 1 full size oven, but that one will get the least use (I very rarely bake or cook large meals), so I could buy the Thermador wall oven with the standard door and put it under the counter somewhere and stack the other 2 together on a wall. The problem with swapping all the cooling appliances to the north wall and the pantry to the east wall as was suggested is that the pantry is only 16-18" deep and the appliances are 24" deep, which would prevent us from having a 24" deep coat closet on the hall side of that space. (We really need a coat closet because the house does not have one now.) I will think about whether we can steal coat space from another room, like the guest room. I am debating the idea of a prep sink on the island. DH looked at me like I was crazy when I suggested a second sink 5' away from the main sink. We do not use the sink a lot for prep. We rinse the veggies, but then put them on a cutting board and move it to where we want to work. We use a large bowl to collect veggie or meat waste when we peel, chop and trim. Sadly, we do not have any family in this state, so no one brings us food to prepare. It is just DH and I in the kitchen now, although we hope our two daughters will like to cook as they get older.

remodelfa- I could do that (standard depth) pantry, but it would make the clearance to my island only about 37 inches or so...kinda tight. But doable..my main holdup is I really didn't want a deep pantry- wanted that very convienent 12 inch deep one..hmmm.... buehl- Can't recess into that wall, family room (not large) behind it. I am so torn. This is NOT my dream house. I figure we'll be here anywhere from 5-15 years (sorry can't narrow that down more!) :) So I have 2 choices: ECONOMY VERSION: keep OTR micro and recirculating vent (right now my Jennair electric cooktop has downdraft that I never use). Would be an efficient use of space- plus its the GE Advantium which I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be using a LOT- so I need it in convenient spot for me. To keep costs down I can also resist the urge to go induction cooktop w/a wall oven, and just get an electric slide in. LUXURY VERSION: if I move the micro elsewhere (say to under the island), then I'll need to purchase a hood, pay to vent outside (not sure how much that will be- if its possible to hook up to the vent that already goes outside from the downdraft part), buy induction, buy a wall oven etc... I'm already going to do hardwoods (~3500$ for kitchen and family room), granite (~3500 depending on which granite), I've already upgraded to stainless DW and fridge (spent ~$2400)...and good chances the cabinet guy plus install will end up being around 14...we're also extending the hardwood into the bathroom, so need to replace the toilet and vanity while we're doing that (~1K).. Eeeek! PS here are some pics to give an idea of what I have now: PS There's a bullentin board on the pennisula (held down by toaster oven) to try to mimic where my island will go...bulletin board is 36 in across...also I put a 48 diameter round glass top (from my patio) on top of my kitchen table to visualize the 'rounded end' of my imaginary island...

I am not an expert on clearances at all, so I'll leave that to others. We ended up putting our microwave right next to our fridge, since we mostly use it for heating up leftovers. If you use yours in the same way, that's the spot I'd recommend. We didn't do anything built in, just a small one on the countertop. Will the left side of the island be where you would normally keep cookbooks? Will they be easy to consult there? If so, I'd go with shelves. I see low shelves like that as unlikely to be a "display" focal point, when you are likely to be giving folks some beautiful countertop to look at instead. (Another idea would be a wine rack, if you are red wine drinkers.) If you want to use baskets instead of shelves... I associate the wicker baskets with potato and onion storage. I would look for the kind that slide out on wooden rails, rather than just having baskets that sit in the opening. I have always imagined that the basket would scratch up the wood if you were pulling them out often. If you were doing that use, I'd face them along the galley rather than on the end of the island. There's also a photo floating around here somewhere with an island that has a built-in cubby for a roll of paper towels... it strikes me that you might have a good use for that on that corner of your island, since it's right near the fridge (where spills often start).