We're on the home stretch of a 12 x 25 addition on front of house. We jumped off the slippery slope at one point--very glad. We were trying so very hard to be disciplined financially. The big money was to go into infrastructure, energy conservation, etc. We had bought ala carte services from a local construction company. They don't have an architect but the in-house designer was essential for some calculations about weight-bearing trusses, ideas about roof lines and integrating old and new construction, etc. He had three brilliant insights that cleared away roadblocks in our kitchen designs--worth gold! And the company is a known entity for the city, so they could expedite the permits and connect us to good subcontractors so that definitely made the designer's services worthwhile. But... Modified Craftsman style is all the rage here and he's in the throes of it. Every iteration of the plans came with exterior elevations featuring angular exterior trim, variations in directions of siding boards, bigger and better exterior decor ideas, etc. etc. etc. Our original little house has painted wide board 1950s redwood siding, which we intended to replace with narrow steel. He had some opinions about the narrow board steel siding we used on a previous two-story addition; he wanted us to use Hardy siding on the addition, which would not match the narrow steel--how would you resolve that without extra bucks and residing the spliced areas? He specc'd out a big wood double garage door "to replace your other one when you redo the garage facade." Whoah! I said "think Swedish Farmhouse for a style. Red and white paint and narrow clapboards." But his gig kept going to the last iteration drawings. I figure we saved a number of thousands of dollars by simplifying his plans for "curb appeal" and DH was able to install the steel siding himself because we omitted all that facade variation and just went straight up to roof with same product installed horizontally. We will be repainting our old absolutely plain but still serviceable garage door in the spring with gray "mistake paint" from the paint store--$5 for a gallon. The front facade was done quicker and entirely DIY than if we'd gone with the design on the plans. I get to use the saved money for landscaping & decorative cement edges along driveway and I can pocket the rest. And I don't need to buy additional stuff to match his vision--exterior lights, mailbox, etc. etc. etc. We have kept the facade from looking dowdy, but it's no Craftsman bungalow either. I did buy some trim stuff like lights & house numbers, but on my own terms. Once the balance of the siding, the landscaping and driveway are finished, we're done. And believe me, the home improvement line of credit will nevertheless be fully tapped out. Slippery slope avoided!

I think I like the yellow cabinet centered on the wall, and no shelves. that has a nice, open look. that yellow cabinet will be really nice. amazing... a left-handed family! :) did you choose a sink size yet? how are you feeling about the rest of the layout? maybe you'll have to have a kitchen rule that dirty dishes can only go on top of the dishwasher or in the sink... not in any prep area! lascatx pointed out (in the other thread) that then you have two potential prep areas on either side of the range. my kitchen has two prep "spaces" so hopefully dh and i won't be in each other's way. i am going to attempt to have dirty dishes only "allowed" over the dishwasher, too. good in theory, at least! ;) i hope you're feeling good about the layout now.

archie123, my drainboard is 16 inches long. The standard for Stonemasters is 18 inches but I wanted to preserve some flat countertop next under the corbel shelves and they were quite flexible. It is about 16 inches front to back but I did not specify that, I think they decide that depending on the sink measurement. Many people get the runnels which are prettier but I wanted the smooth drainboard of ease of cleaning. I thought I would mostly use the Stages sink shelf for drying things but that shelf does not slope down at all and there is always a ittle water on it unless I wipe it off , so this integral drainboard in the soapstone is my most used drying area. Also, that sink including the raised shelf has become my most often used prep area so the integral drainboard adds even more functional real estate. I use this very low profile drying rack from Ikea which easily stores in the sink out of view if needed. BTW the templater mentioned that Kohler dxf files were very accurate and they trusted them. Mags438, the sink is I think my favorite thing! You are too funny. tea4all, the corbel shelves are already holding our most used bowls and mugs. The bottom edge of my cabinets are 19 inches from the countertop with an integral 1 inch hollow area underneath for undercounter lights etc. I designed the shelves to have the bottom 7 inches below that bottom edge of the cabinets (12 inches above the countertop) and 7 inches front to back. I drew the corbels poorly but asked Dutchwood to make the top part 13 inches front to back. tapering down to the 7 inches front to back for the shelves. The shelf thickness is 3/4 inch thick, the thinnest that the cabinetmaker was comfortable with. My upper cabinets are 15 inches deep so the 7 inch corbel shelf depth still allows the undercounter lights (mounted towards the front under the cabinets) to not be blocked by the shelves. I designed the shelves i because I wanted to have easy access to my most used items yet get things off the countertop. The height was determined by the location of my preexisting outlets and switches which also happened to be the right height that my coffeemaker could fit under (just) when not in use. I do pull the coffeemaker and rice cooker out from under the cabinets when in use because of the steam that they generate. I will eventually post a picture of the corbel shelves in use. Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea Boholmen dish drainer

I don’t think the Stages comes with a colander, at least it didn’t when I got it. It does come with a large wood cutting board, large white tray/cutting board, small tray/cutting board, 6 ceramic prep bowls, bottom sink grid, and under counter rack. The prep bowls are well designed to both stack and be reversible, although I mostly use them with the larger size up. I like the square design because it’s easy to use a wood spatula to scrape out the contents. The bottom grid hasn’t been a problem for me. You do have to lift it up or take it out to clean the sink, but that outweighs the advantages of being able to set things on it to drain and the fact that it protects the bottom of the sink from scratches. I do wish it was in two pieces so it would more easily fit in my dishwasher. It is so big that I have angle it to get it in and it’s hard to load other items around it.