Read over the order several times. Really study it, picturing in your mind how each of the pieces will fit together. Compare the part numbers on the order form with those in the cabinet catalogue, making sure that no mistakes have been made.

Also, check to ensure that your needed trims are ordered: kick plates, filler, scribe moulding. It just slows everything down if you have to wait for those little things (don't ask me how I know!).

Schedule more time than you think you will need. Drop the kids off at a friends house before you go and give the Mom money to buy pizzas in case you run late. : ) It always takes longer than you think.

Stay calm and focus on the details.

Sandy

What busybyme said plus

Be ready for buyers remorse. It will pass. It passes faster with a nice cuppa something with some alcoholic content.

Take care and take your time.

busybme had great suggestions. here are a couple more:

pay extra attention to blind corners (if you have one) and where your fridge is - is there room to open the doors?

make sure you go over any drawings/elevations from the designer with the order to see that each cabinet is ordered exactly as you planned - including the way the door will open and check against the catalog.

check the specifications for each piece - color, door style, hardware (full-extension, soft-close, etc), any upgrades (matched interiors, etc)

And if for some reason you change something at this point, be extra focused to consider any ramifications

And don't feel guilty or rushed for taking your time to do it right now. Much better now than later!

Thank you busybme, bmorepanic and jreuter! I'm getting more and more nervous as the day goes on.... I think parting with such a big chunk of money may be the biggest contributer...and of course me making a mistake... ugh...I like the cup of alcoholic somehting idea...maybe I should bring it with me...haha : )

So with the full overlay, soft close...should all that be written out on the order? I'm assuming that I shouldn't just take their word that that's what I'm getting....

I'm right there with you! I was supposed to order last week, then it was Monday....and here it is Tuesday, and I just can't say "that's my final answer"! Hung up mostly on stain and glaze/no glaze (extra bucks).

Good luck to you!

If you are ordering a new frig, make sure the opening is tall enough as well as wide enough. And also the pathway into your kitchen for the frig is big enough for the frig.

Walk thru your kitchen prepping a meal and pulling things from cabinets, and see how that feels.

Once you receive the cabinets, open every box as soon as you possibly can upon arrival to check for damaged pieces. If you find any, then immediately call your designer.

Deep breathing helps too!

Have you posted your design here and gotten feedback? If so, then most likely most of the "gotchas" have been caught by someone here. If you didn't incorporate advice given here, then you did it out of knowledge...you made an informed decision and should be OK with it.

So now, relax, take a deep breath, and go ahead and order!

Take the advice given above (especially the "more time" advice!) and good luck!

Good luck Roxy, I'm right behind you.

Other measurements to consider:
Centerline for the vent. If going up, make sure there is no roof truss there, if you can look in the attic crawl space... By moving the range a few inches may make installation easier.

Centerline of the sink: does it need to line up with the center of the window? Can you trim it out, if not. (would be nice not to use a trim piece!)

Order a bit extra molding and toe kicks, if you can afford it.

Ceiling height: does is match with the molding proposed?

Check the drawer depth carefully. Is it the correct configuation? Will they line up properly? (For example, all top drawers are 6 inches....)

Yes, everything should be written out in the order, ie type of hinges, interior fittings included, type of lazy susan used, trash system used etc.

We are goint through our custom cabinet order right now. We need to do sign off. We are actually finding that there are things that make a big difference, ie roof truss. We opend up a wall so we can see. Dry wall guy in coming any rate... We found the main gas right where the vent needed to go. We think we saved $ by moving the range (made no differece in the kitchen) and not the main gas line!

My lessons learned... aren't great, but maybe they can help. Probably silly, but I learned a lesson there somewhere. :)

I have to second, third, fourth, and fifth the previous comment re: fridge. We didn't think of this in our last house and bought a big side-by-side fridge. Guess what. It went along the wall, so we never could open the freezer door any further than 90 degrees. NEVER even dawned on us before it was too late.

If you will have built-in appliances, do your cabinetry choices allow for small adjustments? E.g. what if that great micro drawer breaks, and the newer model is 1/4" too wide?

Have you specifiedvertical/horizontal installation of handles/pulls? This may sound really silly, but our first cabinet shop installed the cup pulls SIDEWAYS, so they opened to the long edge of the cabinet. What?! They claimed they were sure we had discussed that... and no where on my order had we specified.

In addition to opening fridge doors, make sure you can access more than one appliance at a time (if needed, depending on number in family, etc.) Also make sure your walkways are ample enough that you can comfortably access your appliances without having to do the hokey-pokey around your island, etc.

I've recently discovered the importance of cabinetry placement relative to dishwasher exhaust, or vice-versa, as my parents recently discovered their birch cabinets have bowed due to a side exhaust dishwasher. Ok, this one is more on the appliance side, but still something I just never would have thought about.

Make sure you know the exact formulation of the stain that will be used, or if it is "proprietary", buy some to have on hand. Touch ups, future additions, etc. will be very hard to match unless you know exactly what you're dealing with.

Sorry this isn't much help, and kind of all over the place, but hard lessons to learn! :)

thanks everyone!!!!! I'll report back....maybe with a hangover.... haha : )

I just wanted to thank for everyone for their support! The deed is done.... phew! : ) I actually purchased the Kraftmaid cabinets all plywood construction at Lowes...wound up paying approx. 3k less than anticipated since they had all these incentives like 10% off, free sink base and a 1k rebate...and the woman I worked with was a joy to deal with!

Now onto granite, back splash and appliances.... OMG.... ~throwing back a nerve calming beverage~ haha