we have the leibherr hcb2062, 36" fully integrated frig and love it and had no problems so far(installed sept). its quiet, roomy enough for fam of 5, easy to clean. freezer space is ok, we do have a freezer downstairs, so not an issue for us. i have a miele DW and love that also. i think you should consider a higher CFM on hood, i can't imagine 100 cfm being enough for anything you cook, no matter how you cook. don't have any of the other appliances. keep reading GW posts to gain more insight and read reviews from other sources to help you decide. best of luck!

I would also avoid a range and go with a separate cooktop and oven for several reasons. First, the oven: I would get a good 24"/60cm electric oven - the Gaggenau is my favorite because of its side-opening door (no reaching over or around the usual drop-down door to insert or remove your food) and its efficient use of space - very little devoted to the control panel, most used for the oven cavity. And its height is short enough to fit a 6" drawer above it - great storage for cooking utensils, especially if your cooktop is directly above it (you'll need to choose a cooktop that's thin, and whose installation instructions don't say it requires lots of space below it). Several other brands are the same size if you need something less expensive, although I don't know of any with a side-opening door. But rather than a 24" cooktop, I would get a 2-burner 12" or 15" cooktop for a small apartment. Think about it - do you ever use more than two at once? (If one is used for a water kettle, install an instant-hot water dispenser and you can free up that burner). Many good ones are available in this size, both electric and gas. If you're worried you may occasionally need a third burner, keep an inexpensive portable electric burner (or double burner) in one of your cabinets - these are cheap and they work reasonably well. The rest of the time, enjoy the extra 12" of countertop space! Another space saver - use an undermount sink (which shaves off 4 to 5" of width already) about 21" x 17" and mount it "sideways" so it's nearly the full length of the countertop front to back, but only the smaller dimension in width. This will yield the same space as a traditional 25"w x 22"l kitchen sink, but turned 90 degrees from typical. That won't leave any room for a faucet behind it, so either use a wall-mount faucet (preferable) or mount a single-hole faucet near one of the rear corners. Drain in the rear corner is best - it won't get covered up by the first dinner plate you put in the sink, plus the disposer beneath it also moves to the back corner of your cabinet, where it doesn't get in the way. A drain centered front to back, but off to one side is second best; avoid drains in the center. In any case, this arrangement buys considerable extra countertop width without reducing the usable space in the sink.

Thanks for the feedback! Here are a couple photos of the other side of the living room. The existing kitchen is 10' x 14' and the living room is 15' x 22', the area of the kitchen, dining area, and living room together is 25' x 22'. The fireplace is 7' wide and 5'6" tall, it is a behemoth. Removing the wall and changing to any layout other than galley are my two highest priorities. I cook every day and even if the only gain is in my own increased happiness during that time I think it will be totally worth it. We live in nice neighborhood with some million dollar homes, so I think spending the extra money to make the kitchen really nice would get us higher rent prices than just doing the minimum. I realize that my plans are ambitious but the time frame is flexible and 5 years is the earliest we would be looking at. In the 3 years we've been in the house we've averaged about 20K a year in improvements, we have two incomes, no children, and we don't take vacations, so right now we're able to focus our finances on reaching our real-estate dreams. We live in a Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. There aren't any universities nearby so it's not a student rental area, but the house located conveniently close to a highway, an airport, and several business centers so it would be good for professionals. It also has a very large backyard with vehicle access, and a nice, big shed with a workbench and built-in storage set up for a carpenter, and we are in an area with lots of auto enthusiasts and car shows. The workshop is an addition that we built for my home business, the exterior door was a requirement of the building department and is not something that can be removed. It is already well insulated, and we were going to install radiant floor heating when we converted it. I think despite the odd configuration and exterior door it would still be more valuable as a bedroom with en suite bathroom than anything else. It is already plumbed for a bathroom and it has a gorgeous view of our majestic, 200+ year-old oak trees. I did consider adding a second, smaller addition to provide a better entry to the workshop/bedroom. Mainly because it would allow me to remove the door to the garage (or move it to the other side of the fireplace) and have an L-shaped kitchen, which is my favorite kitchen layout. If we were to do that, what would be the best use of the new room? It would have to be small, like 9' x 14' or so, I was thinking it would be a laundry room, dining room, or breakfast nook. Thanks again, everyone! I really appreciate the insight and difference in perspective that comes from other people's opinions.

Mimipadv, would you mind adding a photo that includes the surrounding area? Just shows that area from a few steps back? This is very much what I would like to do between our fridge and oven column, but my father has had a hard time picturing the result. We are also trying to decide how high to hang the cabinets above the counter and you have the same coffee pot that we would have in our space!