Thank you for all the compliments for my GS. He's an acomplished actor already, musician & has a radio commercial airing on a local radio station for a Music store for Christmas, so I guess his artistic side is coming out in many ways. Punk, the tall glittery thing is a crooked tree, just at Grinch would have it!!! Luckygal, the goodies under the cheese dome are real, they are chocolate candy from Dollar Tree. Since Mrs. Santa has gingerbreads baking on her cookie sheet, I thought they were appropriate under the dome near her!

Looks so good May and I can imagine what a great time you had. That's a nice custom to keep up. I just had my ladies' night out Christmas dinner as well here on Saturday night. We look forward to ours each year. Thanks for the photos! Too bad you're not in one of them. SharonCb

chefkev- The room will be 15'x20' combined with the island/table parallel to the long side. I am hoping to have a 72" table (without leaves) to fit 5 chairs comfortably. If I can squeeze some inches off this I will, since it will be made to my specifications. Each leaf would be about 2' long, but honestly I am only getting them so I have them. This house was not built for a 10' table!! I was wondering about the stool seating not so much for myself, but for resale. I probably just need to not worry about that since we are planning to stay at least 10 years. I am also working withthe zones idea as opposed to the traditional triangle. One of the biggest problems is that the most appropriate place for the sink (under the window) is impossible due to the main electrical panel being directly underneath it in th basement. I am trying to keep the range and main sink and DW on the original galley wall (to save on costs, and also for aesthetics), but that requires moving the fridge to one of the long walls, therefore cutting into the island/aisle space. This will only be a one cook kitchen, and therefore I don't think I need as much manuevering space as you, and I am small as well. However, I keep trying to fit everything I want and keep coming up with 33" aisles between the perimeter and the island, which I know would be a tight fit. It is all about give and take I have learned quickly. Hopefully I will have a completed draft that I am somewhat happy with by the end of the week that I can post. As far as DIY goes, I feel like we are pretty capable, but our biggest obstacle is that we have a 2 and a 5 year old. It will probably take us awhile longer than most DIYers (like WeedyAcres) to finish our project. And then of course there is the budget.... Thanks for the link- I am reading over that right now.

amberley - sorry I didn't check in sooner. I love your layout - what a great 1st try! I spent an hour writing a post two nights ago an then managed to delete it just before I submitted it. I don't know if you've moved on from the drawing you posted, but I'm going to put in a couple of thoughts and hope at least one or two are helpful. Please bear in mind I'm not a "layout guru", but since this is a Chef's table I'm jumping in. 1. Would you consider switching the dishwasher and the trash pullout so the dishwasher is on the left? That would give much better clearance for walking behind the person unloading dishes. You could simply move the sink to the right 6" (the sink would be a little more behind the island, but 42" clearance should be enough for passing anyone washing dishes). Or you could also steal a few inches from the pantry to the left. This might make the hall/LR entryway a little tight. I don't know how much traffic this entryway gets, but there is another entry way just on the other side of the fridge. Stealing a little from the pantry could move your range a little to the left and give you a little more counter space on the right (it looks like you have only 15-17") for ingredients/utensils/mise en place and "on deck" pots/pans" 2. Also for better dishwasher clearance, would you consider shortening the marble area 6", getting rid of the mixer cab, putting your mixer underneath the butcher block and expanding your baking drawers from 30" to 36"? (don't know if this would cramp your "rolling" style) I'm biased against the mixer cabinets which have a shelf that positions up to the counter, because the ones I've seen tend to shake a lot once the mixer really gets going. 3. If you're doing volume baking, would you consider leaving space for a 18"x18" rolling cart w/5-6 shelves underneath the area labeled "bookcase or open for stools"? I made a 6 shelf one for myself out of Metro shelving. It has a cutting board insert top. It acts both as a cooling and loading rack for baked items (when kids are little allow pans to cool on counter for 15 min before putting on cart). It can store all sorts of baking and cookie pans & parchment paper/silpats. And it can be rolled to wherever it is needed in the kitchen. Just an idea! 4. Also for sheet & baking pan storage, have you considered using the cabinet above your fridge. I went with a 24"d x 36"w cab and put vertical inserts in it to keep the pans sorted and standing up. That way you only have to be able to reach the bottom corner to pull them out. It's a great use of an area that's normally "hard to reach" storage (unless of course you're really tall which I'm not). 5. I like having the microwave by the fridge as a lot of what I use it for is heating up leftovers. Would it be possible to add a shelf above the "Micro T.O. Stack" and put the microwave on it? (I know for some the unenclosed microwave is an "aesthetics violation"). If you can go with a smaller microwave that's only 18" wide, you get a little counter right by the fridge. This also keeps the microwave out of reach from little ones (Although now that DD just turned 11 and is allowed to use microwave, she's complaining it's hard to reach). You could also put plastic wraps and bags in the top drawer stack and use this station for wrapping/putting away food that goes into the fridge. I like having the plastic wrap by the microwave because I'm always using it to cover containers and bowls I'm putting into it. Again, I hope at least one of these is helpful. Congratulations on your fine start.