I actually don't mind S/S; prefer it to plain white. I have a double S/S sink with *large* drainboards on either side: that's why I bought this otherwise unremarkable house all those years ago. Love the sink, tolerate the rest. For years I used a powder cleaner from a pots-and-pans manufacturer; they aren't around anymore and neither is that excellent cleaner. After much trial and error have found "Cameo" brand which is almost as good. Use it according to directions then go over again with very dish-soapy water and rinse thoroughly, then towel/polish dry. I do this about once a month (the sink about once a week) and have no problem with fingerprints or water stains. My prior stove was almond, yes: easy to care for and never tattled if I didn't wipe it clean right away. One consolation: the appliance repairman tells me the new stoves only last about ten to twelve years. I have high hopes that the fads will be back to almond by then, lol.

I'm not arguing against doing the save/more/money route for sure. Refacing cabinets is usually more expensive than one would think and doesn't seem to last as long as one would hope. That's why I'd be doing a little at a time (pay-as-you-go). You are going to have some "casualties" in any re-arrangement. For instance - you move the range to the other side of the room - you get a spot without a cabinet on the current sink wall. For the short uppers, you could load a pot rack or plate rack underneath or place another open shelf underneath so it matches the other side. I know you'd really rather have less cabinets on that wall but your existing cabinets look built-in-place and can be hard to move. They are also the wrong sizes - like there isn't a 31" base cabinet and it doesn't look like it could be made. Someone would need to create a new built-in place cabinet for the hole where the range was AND for the hole beyond the dishwasher where you want to shorten the run AND for the uppers beyond the window. It becomes a lot of parts and materials. That's why I'm suggesting starting in a way that can be "stopped" and restarted later. Ikea cabinets (without the door or drawer fronts) are seriously cheap. It's a reasonable way to approach the design you like without incurring a big price tag and a long down time where you can't use your kitchen. You could also think about creating that great "accumulated look". Again as an example, find something cool looking that could be the pantry - like an armoire. Take out the tall cabinet beside the "range hole" and the wall cabinet that was over the range and put the new cabinet in. Put together a 68"-70" sink unit with a trash pullout, 36" sink base and dw. Find a hutch and place it on the hallway side of the new sink unit for dish storage. On the other side - match or complement the new section. Very little funds, great new look. Here is a link that might be useful: Sample lift door cabinet.

Actually, I forgot the window cluelessincolorado marked was drawn on there. (It's an earlier version before the current floor plan) It's actually not there -- just a hand drawn idea when we talked about how to center the kitchen window. The windows to the right and left of the door mirror each other. They'll be double and not triple windows. The window as planned is about 6' and will be counter height. The kitchen is the area between the front door and the garage.

I like my current purse. It's not very big but is big enough for me. Has an outside zippered pocket that I put house keys, earphones, and the key ring that has all my store mini rewards cards on. Another outside pocket that has a snap, doesn't get used. There are little side slits that I keep my cell phone in and use the other side to carry cds (books from library) that I listen to in the car. They fit in there perfectly and keep the cd from getting scratched up when I'm carrying a bunch of other stuff to my car. Inner portion has a large area for my wallet, car keys and lotion pod. There is also a zippered area inside that has big rewards cards, on the other inner portion there are 3 pockets that I keep lip gloss, pens, eye drops and chap stick in. I now wish I had bought 2 of these purses so when this one wears out I would not have to go in search of another 'perfect' purse.