I really like your inspiration pics. It looks like the island & hood trim are black and the rest of the hood and cabinets are are a dark brown. I like that look and even considered something similar back in the planning stages of our kitchen (Bertch custom cabinet line).

Are you flexible in the design other than the MW/trash dilemma? I'm asking b/c I see a couple of issues, one of which you may already be addressing.

First, your DW & range are in conflict. If the DW is open when someone is at the range I foresee bruised legs! Why? Because right now the DW will be in the way of anyone working in and around the range. One step backward and you will hit the DW door...not a good feeling (I say w/experience!) If you must put the sink & DW in the island (a less than ideal location, btw), then at least move the DW to the other side of the sink so there won't be a conflict b/w it and the range.

Second...and this is the one I think you're addressing...move the MW from the island to the cabinets next to the refrigerator or to the right end of the island opening toward the end, not the range. Why? MWs and refrigerators work best when they're on the periphery of the kitchen where they are easily accessed by those working in the kitchen as well as snackers from the "outside". Snackers may still utilize them w/o getting underfoot of those working in the kitchen. Also, MWs generally work best when next to the refrigerator as most items cooked in them come from the refrigerator or freezer.

What type MW? Either a MW drawer (Sharp makes the Dacor...so the Dacor is really a re-badged & more expensive Sharp) or one mounted on a shelf that's under the upper cabinets rather than mounted directly to the overhead cabinets. A shelf gives you more flexibility in MW choices. OTR MWs as general rule, are more expensive than a countertop model. Any countertop MW can be mounted on a shelf as long as you have the appropriate clearances (see specs for clearances required.) BTW...we have a Sharp MW Drawer and love it! I don't think it takes too long to open and I have not had any problems w/the open/close mechanism...nor have I heard of any. We had no wall room and I did not want it on the counter. We're a tall family and putting a standard MW under the counter was not an option. The drawer has worked great for us.

As for the trash pullout, I recommend putting it on the island on the other side of the sink from the DW or next to the range so it can be easily used by both the cleanup zone (sink/DW) and cooking zone (range) & prep zone (probably to the right of the range).

Where do you plan to store your dishes? To me, the best place appears to be in the cabinets to the left of the range. That works really well especially if the DW is moved to the other side of the sink. It allows the other cabinets to be used for storing prep & cooking tools & utensils & dishes, pots & pans, etc...the ideal location of which would be to the right of the range since the prep zone will most likely be on the counters b/w the refrigerator & range. (Prepping will probably not occur very much on the island as you don't have a lot of clear counter space b/c of the sink and b/c it will be the cleanup zone where dirty dishes, pots & pans, etc. will be stacked...not a nice visual, btw, especially if you're sitting at the island!)

What are your aisle widths?

How much overhang are planning for the seating? Is the island all one level? (Makes it much more useful if it is.)

If you would like a great expanse of countertop to prep while visiting w/guests or to do other work on (like baking, crafts, homework, wrapping gifts, etc.), then I would seriously consider moving the sink elsewhere.

Did you notice that Teppy does not have a sink in her island? [Oh, just read that you already noticed this!] Yes, I would definitely reconsider. Try to come up w/a layout that leaves the island clear for those big projects, eating, staging food for parties (buffet, appetizers, or staging for moving to another room like the DR), and for visitors to hang out.

One thing you should be aware of...appliances in corners take up quite a bit of room. A 33" oven cabinet, for example, will take up approximately 48" on each wall. A 30" range may take a little less (maybe 45"), but it's still quite a bit of wall space. I do like corner ranges though! See the link below for SharB's kitchen w/a corner range (she has a beautiful kitchen!) (A 42" corner sink base cabinet (for a 30", I think, sink) will take 42" on each wall.)

Do you have a layout of the kitchen with measurements? Do you also have one that shows how the kitchen fits in w/the rest of the house (rooms surrounding it & outdoor entrances)?

If you'd like, there are several of us that will be willing to help you come up with an alternate layout, but we will need dimensions (walls, doorways, windows, distances b/w walls/doorways/windows, etc.) See the "Read Me" thread for more information about layouts.

Good luck & I hope all of this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: SharB's Finished Kitchen

I'm not a big fan of having the clean-up sink in the island, so moving it to the wall and putting a prep sink and MW in the island would be my first choice.

The "tower" drawing works for me, too, and would be a very close second.

Do you like having glasses stored next to the refrigerator? I do. It makes getting something to drink easier. If so, since you only have cabinetry on one side of the fridge, you may not want your MW taking up the uppers there. Under the counter there might work, though.

You don't have to have a built-in to like a drawer or Advantium to put your MW under the counter. Simply putting a shelf for that purpose and placing a regular MW on it works very well, too. That's what we have and we love it.

A few other things to consider about your layout...

Your island overhang looks tiny to me. If you plan to have seating there, you'll want to make sure you have sufficient knee room. For counter-height stools, you should have about 15".

If you are concerned about the amount of storage, you may want to make your drawer banks by the refrigerator single, wide drawers instead of two sets of narrow drawers. You lose a lot of space between drawers with the double stacks.

In the drawings, your hood is very high. Have you already chosen your hood? If not, you'll want to do that before ordering the cabinets, and make sure the cabinets are built to the specs of the hood. One that can function well that high is likely to be more expensive. Most require placement much closer to the stove top.

I have a microwave drawer and it has been in use for over two years. The problems in the showrooms seem to generally be caused by folks who insist on yanking the drawer out to see it even thought they put a sticker on it to tell folks not to pull -- to use the button to open the drawer. Sharp has modified the door design to lose the handle or to lessen what could be pulled on and had made at least one other version that you can pull to open (since I have mine, I haven't been shopping for them and am not clear if there is a fully manual and a semi-manual).

Even on the fully powered version, the drawer is not going to die on you the first time someone pulls on it. Trust me. I had every contractor who came through here suddenly lose their ability to read (sign said "DO NOT PULL -- Push button to open ONLY!") and yanked the thing open. I nearly had a fit by the third one or so -- but I haven't had issues with it.

Yes, you can put a small countertop model in an opening below the counter, but unless you are quite short or enjoy reaching into undercounter caves, I think you'd tire of that quickly. My family is tall and I realized I needed that placement for the micro but could not live with a standard one below counter height. I went with the drawer and have found it very easy to use and full of handy features (sensor reheat and keep warm among my favorites).

I would say don't spend extra for the Dacor -- it is a Sharp with different trim, but don't write off the drawer micros all together.

I know the conventional wisdom here and among other experts is to place the micro near the fridge because many things come out of the fridge to be heated in the micro. Well, for some folks it's mostly the pantry and popcorn. For others, it's used to warm and melt for baking or other cooking and should be near those areas. I tried to bal;ance the baking and cooking functions with traffic flow in general and decided that the hot things coming out of the microwave were the more important issue than the cold ones going in. I put mine in my cooking area, next to my baking area so it supports both, and at the end of a counter run nearest my table -- where the hot things that aren't used in cooking or baking are eaten. I'd rather take a few extra steps with a cold dish than I would the hot steamy one. If you kept the general layout, that would work with flipping the DW and micro. So there's my 2 cents worth on the micro drawer and placement.

Wow - some great thoughts! I need to digest what everyone said. In the mean time, here is a larger picture of the floor plan and the existing kitchen to show what is going on.

___________
Here is the existing (very ugly!) kitchen when we started packing up stuff for the tear out. Yes, I'm already starting that even before we settle on a new layout.

{{gwi:1829737}}

Here is the kitchen after tearing down the uppers and soffit. Yesterday, the popcorn ceiling came down - very messy!

>>>It looks like the island & hood trim are black and the rest of the hood and cabinets are are a dark brown.

Yes, I like this look a lot too. Unfortunately, my wife thinks it is too masuline! I think our island will be the same finish as the cabinets.

>>>First, your DW & range are in conflict.

Very good observation! I didn't think of that...the cabinet maker thought it would be good to have the trash at the end to make it more convenient for the "outside" people. I think we'll move the DW to the other side.

>>>As for the trash pullout, I recommend putting it on the island on the other side of the sink from the DW or next to the range so it can be easily used by both the cleanup zone (sink/DW) and cooking zone (range) & prep zone (probably to the right of the range).
Great idea. Now that you mention the DW issue, I like it in this spot also.

>>>Where do you plan to store your dishes?
We were thinking dishes to the left of the range, coffee cups to the left of that, leaving the counter space underneath (possibly with some sort of set-off) as a coffee station. We like the glasses next to the frig, pending the microwave decision.

>>>What are your aisle widths?
48" between the island and the oven wall. 40" between the end of the island and the wall to the right of the frig. We are going to cut that wall back a little.

>>>How much overhang are planning for the seating?
We decided against the island seating. There just is not enough room in our space. Thus the rounded overhang will have to go.

>>>Is the island all one level? (Makes it much more useful if it is.)
After going back and forth on this, yes, the island is all one level. Slightly higher than the other counters (38").

>>>Try to come up w/a layout that leaves the island clear for those big projects
This is something we hadn't considered until reading this and seeing a couple other finished pictures. I really like this idea. However, we don't have a window in the kitchen, and my wife is concerned about being at the sink facing a wall. We'll have to think about how this might work.

>>>appliances in corners take up quite a bit of room.
Sorry, a bit of misunderstanding here. I didn't mean in the corner, but rather along the wall next to the corner cabinet. Similar to Teppy.

>>>I'm not a big fan of having the clean-up sink in the island, so moving it to the wall and putting a prep sink and MW in the island would be my first choice.
We are going to consider this. I definately like having the island counter open. Putting a prep sink in the island would be quite a chore though. We live in Florida with Slab floors. Plumbing requires tearing up the foundation!

>>>If you are concerned about the amount of storage, you may want to make your drawer banks by the refrigerator single, wide drawers
Very good point. I noticed that too and asked for that change. In fact, we want single wide drawers everywhere, including on both sides of the range.

>>>In the drawings, your hood is very high.
Hmmm...the actual fan! I haven't considered that...good point!

>>>don't write off the drawer micros all together
Hearing from a few folks like you might make us reconsider. However, if your read reviews (amazon, eopinions, etc.) they tend to sound negative. Plus, after hearing a few folks rave on-and-on about their Advantiums, my wife seems sold on these!

Thanks for the great feedback!

Different positioning with an etch-a-sketch elevation of wall "A".
{{gwi:1829740}}

OK, you know the soffit can come down, but slow down befoer you have everything torn out and nothing to go back and you don't know where to put it. You've got some serious work to do before you are ready to go any further.

Are you planning on taking the cabinets all the way to that beam and the doorway? If not, your plans are too long. If so, make sure you give yourself some room for ease at the doorway as well as counter overhang. Even an inch or two back can help the doorway feel more comfortable.

Search out opinions on micro drawers here -- there have been many threads and I think everyone who has had them has been happy with them. reminds me of the appliance sales people who told me I'd have to clean gunk out of a Bosch filter everyday and kept me from getting a better DW years ago. After reading the real life experiences of folks here, I bought Bosch for this house and am very happy. I've cleaned those filters (rinsed them under running water) no more than half a dozen times in nearly 2-1/2 years. Just not that big a deal, but the clean and quiet is enjoyed daily.

Oh no...not masculine! I think it's gorgeous! (And I'm a woman!)

Facing a wall at the sink. Consider this when preparing a meal:

70% of your time is spent prepping
20% is spent cleaning up
10% is spent cooking

If your DW is unhappy about facing the wall, I would be more unhappy about prepping facing a wall!

I was also going to suggest a sink bumpout (like your inspiration pic & BmorePanic's layout) or even a 3" to 6" increase in the cabinet & counter depth on that wall. If you can swing 30" cabinets all along the new sink wall, that will give you an extra 6" behind the sink...you'd be surprised how much of a difference that makes not only for the sink but also for work space in general.

However, if it's between a deeper island and deeper sink wall, I'd either split the difference or go w/a deeper island b/c the island will be a great work area for a variety of tasks.

If you were already going to put the main sink in the island, why would it be more of an effort to put a prep sink there? (B/c you're putting 2 in maybe?) To be honest, though, I'm not sure you really need a prep sink since the main sink is so close to the refrigerator & island. It would be useful for a multi-cook kitchen (or for a kitchen with someone cooking & someone cleaning up at the same time...which is what happens in our home all the time!)

Speaking of the island...do you need to eliminate the curve altogether? I like it...

Advantium vs MW...the Advantium is certainly more versatile. It can function as a second oven but remember that when it's functioning as a second oven it cannot be used as a MW. What is nice about it is that it can be used as a straight MW, as a convection oven, and the two combined. However, as you had not planned a second oven anyway, it would definitely be an "upgrade"! One caution, check the Appliances Forum...there have been some issues w/the lights (light, IIRC, is used as part of the cooking technology, not just for viewing). Oh, and check the specs & features carefully...at one time the 120 was actually more versatile than the 240...but that may have changed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliances Forum