Good luck with yours theanimala. I'm with you on the regular Electrolux over the Icon. To correct some of my earlier comments, I looked at the regular Electrolux again at Lowes last night. It does have a grill below the control panel that vents directly out into the room and there are vent holes at the top and bottom of the door that apparently draw air from the kitchen down between the door panels and out the bottom. I guess this is to keep the door cool??? Then I went to look at the other ovens on display. All have some venting at the top but many are smaller than the one on the Electrolux and some have small louvers to direct it up or down. Most of the ovens, including my Dacor, also have slots above the oven box (between the broiler and the control panel) that line up with slots in the section of the door when the door is closed. It looks like the air flows from above the oven box, then down between the door panels and out the bottom. Does anyone know if there's a major difference in functionality between the two methods? I'm pretty much sold on the regular Electrolux as long as it doesn't make the kitchen significantly hotter than other models. As to my concern about the continuous gap between the glass panels on the Icon door, I had to laugh when I justlooked at my Dacor oven and it had the exact same thing. ALL the ovens have vents, thus the ability to get gunk between the layers of glass but this does give a little easier access. I guess reading a post about someone getting gunk between the glass of their brand new Meile made me a little paranoid. OTOH, the glass on my oven door is black so you wouldn't be able to see any gunk between the panels anyway. I'd still be a little nervous about all that open access to glass on the Icon.

When I was pricing out my old kitchen design, the Decora was more expensive than the Kemper. I know Decora does come standard with plywood sides and full extension soft close drawers while these are upgrades in Kemper. I'm wondering if they priced those upgrades into your Kemper quote. Your choice of door style and color can have a significant impact on the final cost. In some cases, a special glaze or paint finish can be a 20% upcharge. In Decora, the Antique Bronze (cream w/brown glaze) finish was a 7% upcharge while the Eggshell & White paint finishes were a 15% upcharge. In Kemper, the Amaretto Creme or Toasted Almond are a 12% upcharge. You might want to take a look at buycabinets.com. They have a spec. book that shows the retail list prices for the Kemper cabinets. They call them Somersby. I'm not sure what buycabinets discount from retail is but Costco had a 67% discount off retail on Kemper cabinets for comparison. The Warwick door style is the same as the Tyson one in Somersby and is the second most expensive door style even more than most of the door styles in Cherry. If you love this door style, you're in luck since you can really shop around as Kemper, Schrock, Thomasville (Home Depot), Diamond (Lowes), and Somersby are all pretty much the same cabinets. Here is a link that might be useful: Price list (warning-takes a long time to load)

thanks E Pal! Ok these are the quotes I have so far.. i'll post here then start a new thread.. also like a Greenfield cabinet they had, which I'm waiting for a quote on. Also called the 1st place and asked them to quote me the Plain & Fancy. I know it's an 8 week wait, and pricier, but so is the Greenfield. At this point what's another month with a teenager! this is what i have so far 4900 for Brookhaven(4 weeks) didn't love door styles/colors ? for Greenfield(8weeks)Loved a door in black on display 4200 for Kemper(2-4 weeks)Concerned about quality 3500 DeWills (8 weeks) seemed the best quality for the $$ 3584 Hanssem (2-3 weeks) Concerned about quality ? Plain & Fancy(8 weeks) Maybe out of my price range? 4900 Fieldstone 7-8 weeks STill waiting for two quotes and will do more searching tomorrow.. need to make a decision. Any feedback on quality or experience with lead times appreciated. dee

Hola everyone - I've been somewhat detached from the forum for awhile but have stopped in recently and was very kindly asked by malhgold to give my two cents on her AWESOME layout. First, let me say that malhgold's patience and persistence to get this right are such wonderful benefits to so many who visit this forum - the moral of the story being, do it right or don't do it at all. Also, rhome and lascatx sharing their insights and suggestions have time and time again demonstrated why this forum is so special and invaluable. You guys are the reason I keep checking in even though my kitchen's been done for 8 months!! :-) Okay, getting on to the kitchen layout and materials (and I know I'll be echoing the thoughts/posts of so many here): - malhgold, you've done an excellent job creating "stations" as we've discussed in the past. Clean up, prep, cooking, eating, storage, self-service for the kids, etc. Kudos to you! - Symmetry is huge for me and for that reason I would not move the stove at all, even if it frees up a little more space for the big sink. - For the black counters, I can only comment on what I have experienced which is honed absolute black (they had just been put in a home that we rented and nearly bought) - I hated them as they showed every little thing and I could never get them clean looking. If the textured black granites don't do that, then great! Otherwise, I'd be inclined to look for a black soapstone and would have no concerns that it would be inconsistent with the modern feel you're going for. - As for the cabinet door styles and finishes, your ID is TOTALLY WRONG and I agree w/ lascatx and rhome. Keep it the way you have it and don't think twice again - what you have planned is what is going to make this "malhgold's" kitchen, a reflection of YOU and your family - not a reflection of a formulaic style or some magazine spread - and it's going to be beautiful to boot :-) - I love the last rendering w/ the open shelves - I think it gives you some neat opportunities there for display and seasonal changes. One thing I would consider is taking them up to the ceiling as high as possible but keeping a frame around them like you show. I don't know if that is a supporting beam there but if not, I'd use the space - it would really heighten the ceiling in the room, give creat visual interest from the dining area and might possibly add one more stack of cabinets over the Advantium. - I also like the idea of a big honkin' butcher block piece for the left of the range to use when you need it and stash it away when you don't. There are some great options in different species out there and you can have one made so that it has a lip over the edge of your counter to make it look built-in. - I know it's probably the software but the tile lines on the range wall are something that need a little more development. However, choosing your backsplash is something to focus on once you get everything else ordered - you may end up w/ a unique tile pattern that will naturally dress that area and create its own flow or you could do a solid slab back there which you could have cut w/ some funky lines from the hood to the windows - nothing to hold you up right now. - For the toaster oven and coffee maker, I really like the idea of having some sort of pocket/recessed door at the little cupboard by the sink. Something with a small roll-out on which both appliances could sit so that they are used right there but never sit on the counter. An ALTERNATIVE would be to do something like is shown at your post at 14:17 on Sunday the 27th where you have one less stool at the main island (I don't think you need to change the counter material here though) - here I would put in more functional cupboard space on one of the island ends (I can't tell from the layout which end would be better but you might have to flip the refrig drawers from the west to the east to make it work) - you could then have a lift or similar in the cabinet under that counter which would hold those appliances for use and storing when you're done. - One last thing I would consider adding is runnels for a natural drainboard on one side of the main clean-up sink (probably the righthand or east side of that sink). All in all, you've done a great job and I love that you found a way to blend that back wall plumbing bumpout with the architectural partial walls between the dining area and the kitchen. I still love the brick wall :-) - one question, are you keeping the FP over there or closing it up?