7 walls! Wow, I can't wait to see the layout of this space! Sounds, interesting : ) Yeah, I'm much happier without my walk in pantry because I just couldn't keep it organized. It was where everyone stuck stuff and shut the door. I'm sure others on here would have had it figured out. And maybe now that I've been on GW for a couple of years I could even figure it out. But it's gone and I'm looking forward to the day we put a soapstone heater in it's place. Right now we have an extra table in that spot that interestingly enough is the new clutter catcher space . . . why am I not surprised? My DW keeps coming home with stuff that he can't bear to throw out as he cleans out the old family home. And guess where it lands? LOL now that I think of it, maybe we should have kept the walls and door. So the Winchester tile is the same thickness as the Brittany Coggs? And is it also undulated (wavy) so that it picks up the light? Wow! It's still pricey. Do you remember what the B C field tile cost? I'm glad at least that I don't have a huge area to tile. I have 12 - 15 sq ft so it shouldn't be too bad. Your tiles really look lovely! I've been trying to decide between BC and undulated white subways, seeing your kitchen makes me lean toward the BC. I think part of the trick will be figuring out what color field to go with. My cabinets are creamy white, so I will need to get samples and figure out what color tiles match or go the best. I'm pretty sure, though, if I go with BC that I'd want the blue deco tiles that I posted above. I love the way the blue-green-grey colors go with the soapstone.

Definitely walk in if you have the space in your floorplan (especially for new construction). With the walkin or reduced depth pantries with doors everything is visible and you can plan space for brooms, infrequently used appliances, and bulk storage. Walkin pantries have standard household doors which will last for decades. Downsides of pullouts are that they can move abruptly, which can cause items to shift or tip over. They are also are more fragile since the glides bear a lot of weight even with reinforcement. I can certainly imagine restless kids or grandkids slamming the pullout pantry closed or trying to climb up the shelves like a ladder.

You do not need full-sized pantry slides - you just need ones long enough to keep the thing coming out straight. You might be able to use a couple of full-extension light-weight drawer slides at the sides of the top and bottom, and then casters to carry the weight. The toekick would have to come out with the pantry if you do this.

We rarely have a need for a microwave, but after doing without for three years I knew I wanted one. We opted for the Bosch speed oven, and use it much more than I thought I would. Use is about 30% speed cooking, 20% microwave, and 50% of the time we use it as a small convection oven. However, the oven that has fully won me over is the steam oven. It is wonderful, and after some glitches with the control board it is working flawlessly (Bosch has been top notch for repair and service). It does everything that a regular microwave does except pop corn. Food reheated in a steam oven doesn't even compare to food reheated in a microwave. I've used all three (speed, steam, full size convection) at the same time on quite a few occasions and love having them all. However, if I had to pick just one of the smaller ones to go with my full size it would be the steam. I'd put a tiny microwave in the pantry for that rare need. Good luck with your new ovens!