Concrete has very little tensile strength which means those little lips will snap right off without steel reinforcement. 18" isn't very high so you could just make concrete posts with some rebar and just lag the wood behind that. I use structural ibeams and lag 4x12 pressure treated in the channels. The steel is set in concrete.

I love; the cabinets, counters,tile flooring and stainless steel appliances. I really dislike; light fixture, the red valance over the window(nothing would be better),the trim board over the window and the cabinet hardware. I would sugest stainless steel cabinet hardware, your choice of styles. If you like red, then how about a red canister set? Or a red toaster oven, mixer and blender? So far your doing a GREAT job!!!

Benjesbride, where does she lose the 2"? It appears that she is not aware of the loss. Rebeccamomof123, are you pulling permits to do the work, or do you live in an area where the city/town/county inspectors are going to become aware of the work and expect to come in and inspect it? Or is your area more like where I live and anything short of an addition is something that no one will notice and that inspectors don't drop in when workmen are around unless it is really obvious that a big job is being done? The reason I ask is that your clearance for the toilet-to-tub distance is right on the edge of being okay. Some towns will not let you get that close. If you could get inspected by the code enforcement officer, or if you are doing this with permits, you need to draw this up and get it approved before assuming it is going to be approved. If you need to steal back a couple of inches to make it fit, one option is a wall-hung toilet. Your contractor opens up the wall behind your toilet and puts the tank and flushing works inside the wall (not the stuff you have, it is custom made for this purpose) and then the toilet part actually hangs off the wall and never touches the floor. It is much nicer for cleaning. All of Europe has been doing it this way for years, I hear. http://www.geberitnorthamerica.com/en_us/target_groups/enduser/products_enduser/toilets_2/concealed_systems_1/for_toilets_1.html

First off, can I say your avatar is adorable?! Love it. : ) I was looking back at the previous posts, and I think the minor tweak that Mama Goose suggested has some potential. I still vote for a door directly from the kitchen to the pantry. Please here me out... if you move the freezer into the pantry, then you can put a landing counter next to the fridge. Above it, you can put a standard MW that sits on a shelf, which would be very convenient. Even though you'd be paying a little bit more now to move a few studs, I'm guessing it would still be less expensive to do that + standard MW than the price of a fancy drawer MW. Just a thought. I'm not sure what you're planning for pantry storage, but a landing counter might be nice in there for things going in and out of the freezer. I'd love a counter in my pantry for some of the items I don't like on my counters: crocks of sauerkraut, fermenting kombucha, fermenting kefir, etc. I agree that setting this kitchen up and pretending to work in it is a good idea. One of the issues I've run into when the workings are on one side of the island, and the cleanup is on the other is that I end up playing ring around the island to get things. The prep sink does help with this somewhat. Picture making apple pie. The apples need to be washed. Would you rather wash them at the prep sink right by the fridge where they came from, or to run them around the island to the cleanup sink? I remember scenes like this from our old kitchen: What do you do when you go to bake at the island on the fridge side and you are missing measuring spoons. Where are they? In the DW. Run around the island, retrieve them from the DW. Go back to where I was working. Now I need to melt butter. Pull a stick out of the fridge. What shall I melt it in. A bowl? They're being stored on the other side of the island. Around the island I go to get a bowl, trot back and melt the butter in the MW. Then a child comes in and wants a drink, round the island again to help them get a glass, add your own scenarios ad infitum. By this point, cooking is starting to lose its thrill! I think this is why folks are trying to have you consider having the working side of the island so that it's on the same side as the cleanup sink. It helps reduce the circling around the island. I do like the fridge, freezer and pantry all in the same general location, if possible. This helps you to be able to retrieve the food items all from pretty much the same spot.