Are you in SF? I LOVE your house, truly is beautiful! The walnut cabs will look gorgeous!
Not too sure about that green subway type tile though?

What's going in front of the windows now? I liked that sink there! [I could see either prepping there or cleaning up there with a great view!]

The layout is interesting. Personally, I wouldn't want the DW in the middle of the Prep Zone and I would want the trash pullout in the Prep Zone & near the Cooking Zone ('cause that's where most trash & recyclables are generated). YMMV

If you're disciplined enough to always run & unload the DW b/f prepping for a meal and never allow anyone to load/unload the DW during meal prep, the DW location may work.

The trash pullout, though may be an issue. That's the biggest regret I have in my kitchen...my trash pullout is in the Cleanup Zone, not the Prep Zone...and it's something of a hassle!

I don't suppose you could switch the DW & Trash pullout, could you? It wouldn't affect the cabinets themselves...just their placement. (It would also give you another 6" of workspace for stacking dirty dishes on the left so they're not in the sink or in the Prep Zone. You need both clear for prepping and cooking.)

Do you use the refrigerator or MW much during meal prep & cooking? They're both pretty far away from the range. If not, then they're probably OK.

Is the door next to the range used much? The less traffic in front of a range the better (one of the goals of kitchen design is to protect the Cooking Zone and range/cooktop from traffic as much as possible.)

I didn't have a chance to look at your pics, but I'll congratulate you on making so many of the decisions already. A lot of the hard work IS done! I'm acting as our GC for a whole house reno, including the kitchen. No construction experience here either. I'm exhausted too. Take a breath and relax for a week before you'll need to make about a million more decisions!

What are you doing for appliances?

@Buehl -- thank you for the comments. Its funny, but you brought up many of the issues discussed with our KDs.

The integrated trash was definitely an after-thought. We've always had a stand alone trash can so moving it around as needed was never a real issue. That being said, I think we are okay based upon how we cook. We mostly compost and have a small bucket that is usually on the counter as we cook.

The dishwasher placement was really planned around the easy of putting away the clean dishes. They'll go into the wall cabinets above the dishwasher (and cookware goes into the large drawers next to it).

(Its funny you mentioned the discipline needed to unload the DW before cooking -- it's one of my OCD traits -- I have to have the DW empty and the kitchen cleaned BEFORE I cook.)

The refrigerator placement is a little far from the range, but still within a proper "triangle" space. The real negative is that our current F&P refrig opens the from the left rather than the right. Unfortunately I'm not planning on replacing it during the remodel. I'll wait and see if it drives me nuts.

The door near the range leads to the dining room and will have traffic. The only other possible place to place the range however was where it currently exists. This is just as much of a traffic issue when cooking.

The windows look out to a small inner covered patio. Its like a mini greenhouse. Unfortunately there is no way to properly fit a sink if you want space on either side. The current configuration requires an angled sink which really does not function. We decided to move the sink under the skylight instead -- and then add the open shelving above.

@breezygirl: Thanks for the support. We are keeping some of the current appliances:
Refrig - Fisher & Paykel
Range - Bosch Evolution 700
Hood - Zypher Tsumani
DW - Probably a Bosch Integra 500 (still sorting through the Bosch vs Miele battle royale)
Micro - GE Profile standard with trim kit

@jillsee: I hope you'll like the tile when you see the finished kitchen! The tile will go behind the long wall -- all the way up to the ceiling (with the open shelving in front of it.) While it will be a punch of color, I hope it brings a nice "period" feel to the space. And yes, we are in San Francisco! We love our home as well -- it has amazing pano views of the ocean!

Are you happy with your Zephyr hood? That's one of the brands I'm considering for my new hood. I like that it's USA built.

Sounds like you've put lots of thought and consideration into your layout. I look forward to the completed pics in a few months.

Your cabs are amazing--truly amazing! I like your choices, including your tile and love that you're putting it all the way up behind the open shelves. I'm trying to figure out how I can include some open shelves in my kitchen as well, especially by the prep area. Seems like it would really be nice to have prep bowls and platters handy on open shelves. I do wonder if you'll miss having your sink by the window, but understand why you moved it. I'm looking foward to seeing progress pics!

@breezygirl -- unfortunately, the Zephyr hood is still in the box! Here in San Francisco, there is a Zephyr showroom and we were able to play with it before buying. I was amazed at the suction power and low noise. I hope it's as nice once installed at home. (Two local applicance stores recommended the unit to us as it is very popular for wok cooking.)

@flwrs_n_co: Thank you! We're really excited by the cabinets too ... I'll post pictures as we go. For us, the open shelves will hold a vase and some art work. More to liven up the space than for utility.

It is VERY hard work!!! I'm close to start date and have most everything in hand (or warehouse), but I'm still struggling with paint color. It is so hard to choose when everything will be so very different!

To be honest, none of your finish choices evoke a 1936 bungalow to me at all, with the exception of the gorgeous green subway tile. That doesn't mean I don't think it won't be attractive--the combinations seem really beautiful. But it does help to have a clear mission statement in your head, so when you unexpectedly have to make rushed decisions later, you already know what you're going for. I don't think 1936 is it.

Your house is really great, btw.

Your cabinets are amazing and will surely be the focal point with that wonderful grain and rich color!

The CS Buttermilk can resemble limestone, IMO, but have you sen it in a full installation? I loved the samples and was going to use it as well ...and then I saw it installed in a showroom and I had a very different reaction. I ultimately switched to a different CS color. The pattern is much more pronounced when installed than in the samples or in pics of installations, and it definitely has a quite greenish tinge--which in your case will work well with the green backslash but would not have worked for us. In any event, the pattern and tinge is unusual enough that I would make sure to see it installed IRL before committing to it.

Did I mention I love the cabinets?

I agree on the aesthetic...what you started with is pretty classic 1936 California bungalow, but it sounds like what you're going for is probably better described as transitional (modern with some nods to history, e.g., the backsplash). The floor, counter, and cabinets (gorgeous--love them!) are going to be decidedly modern, so I think you might want to embrace that and run with it. We're in much the same boat with our 1915 bungalow---started out trying to get to the period kitchen, but quickly found that was beyond our budget. Instead, I looked at it as creating a kitchen that wasn't out of sync with the house---which is a dynamic space, changing over time to suit new generations of occupants. Once I stopped trying to get a specific period "aesthetic," the space took on its own identity. It's clearly a 21st century kitchen, but there's some acknowledgment of the original space. We picked shapes and materials that are more traditional, but mixed them up with colors and patterns that aren't (not unlike your cabinets). That might help you get your head around how the different pieces mesh together (though honestly, for our kitchen I really didn't have a clear sense of that until after the cabinet install, when you could really see everything together). I also think it makes the space more fun/interesting that it doesn't look like lots of the kitchens you see online---more unique! My one big gripe with ours is that we chose painted cabinetry before we realized just how trendy it was getting. *sigh*

Re: hoods, we also looked at the Zephyr and really liked it. For breezygirl, though, they actually aren't made in the U.S. (or at least the mid-range ones we looked at weren't)---just the headquarters are based here. But as another Bay Area GWer, I loved that their U.S. distribution and some of their designers are based here (in Alameda), so it's about as local as you can get with those sorts of things. Our local appliance guy thought Zephyr and Kobe had the best performance for the money in the world of hoods, though.

Marcolo & artemis78 -- You're both right -- I really should have said the concept is modern with a nod to 1936. We originally started out with a more period design and backed away from it. (The first concept include green painted cabinets!) At this point we are very clear in what we want -- I guess the best way to say it is a modern kitchen that "fits" into house and references its history. I need to scan and post one of the concept art boards.

@sharonite: What color did you end up going with? We actually started out looking at limestone and then found the buttermilk. I completely agree the small samples are vastly different than a large slab -- but I still have not see a full kitchen with it. I like the "water drop marks" in the pattern as they are fairly subtle, yet still provide some movement. But I do not want anything to compete with the walnut cabinets.

Thanks again all for the comments.

Here's a color concept version of the mail wall in the kitchen.

I miss that great sink at the window too.

I'd probably flip the DW to the other side of the sink to keep the cooking area clear. I have 2 DWs now, so I make that step across the sink half the time. It really isn't that big a deal to step from one side of the sink or the other to put away the dishes.

Thanks for the hood info. You too Artemis.

Zac, I agree with Lascatx about flipping the DW. I really dislike prepping over a DW and would avoid it if at all possible. But I know that my pet peeves aren't everyones. ;)

I hadn't thought about that -- getting steamed! or having a warm counter where you want to roll dough. Those are good reasons in my book too.

I think your cabs are absolutely spectacular and I love the Listelli tile. I'm thinking of that as one of the choices for my master bath remodel whenever I have money again to do it.

I like your sink-range wall. Modulo the upper cabinets, that more or less is my sink-range wall and I'm now a big believer in having the DW close to storage spots for the dishes. DH and I and our guests must be OCD too as we never have conflict in the DW access/prep regime - wouldn't be surprising as I think most engineers are OCD to some extent ;-)

Get a good modern DW and the counter will be neither warm nor steamy ;-) While I've seldom done major prep work over the DW while it was running (see compulsive behavioural traits above re: clean-up and prep), I have done incidental stuff standing over it and I've never felt it was any different t standing anywhere else in the kitchen. Just get a good DW. (BTW, I must confess I never realized that the poor DW was held in such disdain by GW. "It's an obstacle" (in ways that cabinets aren't?). "It steams up the joint." Poor thing! and it was the only appliance I really wanted. I couldn't have cared two hoots if we forwent the stove or the oven - but the DW had to be here!)

So I generally like the layout: a few good sized stretches of counter to make it workable; not terribly fragmented, good access to the storage - food and otherwise - to the key sites. The question mark for me is the stretch with the old sink spot. That stretch is so out of the way that I'm not sure it will be used. In my house, it would become a graveyard for things we want to ignore since it sits forlornly out of the way. Is it practical/useful where it is for you? Is that microwave in a useful enough spot (I'm not much of a microwave hound so I'd never know). Were I to do this, I'd celebrate its isolation by giving it wine-bar status or breakfast bar or something equally separated but vaunted like that, but that may not be where you're headed with those plans. If so, I'd just suggest a second look because that bit is quite isolated from the primary stretch.

Looks great. I have enough familiarity with the kitchen run to know I'd be quite happy in that space. Enjoy.

ZDaddy,To answer your question, we ended up using the Blizzard Caesarstone, which is a monochromatic (no pattern) warm white (oh, and a yummy marble on the island!). I linked to a previous thread where I posted a picture and you can see the Blizzard over the dark cabinets in the perimeter. I love the way it looks, but it is decidedly not "period".

BTW, your main wall has the same footprint as mine. It's a very functional workflow.

Here is a link that might be useful: CS Blizzard, dark cabs

I just found some close-up pictures of a Buttermillk installation. I took these at a Poggenpohl showroom in Boston. Still hard to tell just from a pic, but it gives you some idea. Definitely could be pretty in the right context, you just have to know what you're getting. With your cabinets, I'm not sure whether it would compete or not.....

Thank you all for the comments and advice. We're taking them all to heart!

@Sharonite -- Thank you for the pictures! And I'm happy to say, this is what we are expecting. We originally looked at the Jeuresulem Sand color as well, but it seemed too saturated. We may take another peak at Blizzard too. Thanks for the advice!

@Mindstorm - The microwave wall for us will be more for the our son. We planned the drawer under the microwave to hold his snacks & play pots and pans. The other side is a bookshelf to hold cookbooks. I'm also thinking I may use the countertop as my baking station (and keep my mixer and a nice marble stab for rolling on the counter).

Isn't 3 yrs old still modern enough for DWs? Mine only steam when opening them while still hot, which you can control, but the counter above does get warm.