My mother had a panel on the first DW in the mid-sixties. She had it installed on the replacement in the '80's. She would have put it on the latest DW, but didn't want to alter the newish floor so went with a shorter DW that couldn't take it. There was nothing wrong with the panel :) This is a flat panel (like her cabinets), not a fancy compound door front. That might make a difference. That is, the location might not be as easy on adhesives and joinery, and it might be harder to make a detailed panel fit a new machine. But nowadays, almost all of the panel DW's are integrated rather than button front, which should make moving the panel easier, as long as they keep making 'em.

Thanks all for the feedback! This house is going to be a big adventure, and I'm sure I'll be posting often. (Long time reader of this forum, but I've never had much to contribute before!) It may or may not have been gas originally. I rather suspect it was; it was a urban house even back in 1900, and that was common. There are two chimneys in the building and looks like two flues apiece -- but this is the only visible fireplace. (The other rooms simply have a chimney brest long since plastered over.) I didn't recall that the hearth was off-set, but that's part of the reason I took so many pictures. Everytime I go in I've discovered some new cool detail I didn't see before. Good advice on checking to see what the brick really looks like, lido; I'll defintiely see what I can find. What you're describing calliope is what I was picturing; nice ornate wood mantel and smooth plaster covering the brick up to the 9/12' ceiling. It certainly seems more appropriate for the room. Given the care the PO took restoring this place, I wonder if that was what was there originally, but it was so damaged by the time she got the house that she took it back to the brick to restore it, but ran out of time. There's a ton of research to do, and plenty of time to do it -- thanks all for the input! (Irish curls -- that's a really pretty fireplace. Is that a painting over the mantel or inset tiles?)

Sujafr - “We also discovered that you absolutely cannot go by the manufacturer's specs to know the height.” That is so terrible! What’s the point in giving specifications if they’re not accurate since that’s the whole point, you know? I think I remember seeing a small note on a set of specs saying they may not be accurate. *smacks head*. :) “That second pic looks like they pieced the panel between the upper and lower...not the best IMHO” I agree that looks a little strange. Our crown, I believe, is 2 3/8”. It’s ok, I was just thinking something a little larger, would look nicer. I don’t want to crowd the ceiling crown though. I suppose I could just buy small replacement piece if needed. I’m still concerned about the stain matching. I’ll have to do some test runs for sure. About your neighbor, I didn’t even realize they could do that with the hinges. Thanks for the link! Bee - DH did poo pooed that idea, but I think just because it sounds like a complicated pain. The laundry room is on the other side, and the wall behind the fridge is where the wall drying rack is. I could live with a bump out in there. With recessing it into the wall, I would need someone for cutting/new drywall as well as a plumber and electrician for the water line and electrical outlet, right? Unfortunately, I don’t thinking taking away the cabinet space would work well for us. Hmm… as for the cd, my current fridge is 21 something cu ft. and works great. However, if my kids end up with an appetite like DH during the teen years we’re going to need another whole fridge somewhere. :) The cd one I was looking at that fits is 20.7 or .9. Is the size really going to be that different? I know it’ll be wider vs. deeper. I’m hoping to get out this weekend to see it IRL. Suero - I agree with you. I think I’d rather see the side panels match the fridge even if it sticks out past the cabinets better than having it boxed and the fridge sticking out past the box. Since my fridge isn’t on the end I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to think it looks much better that what I have going on now (I’m referring to the cabinet set up - I know ss will look better). It’s the sticking out part that bothers me so that’s why I was thinking the counter depth fridge would take care of that. Hi Val! Thanks for the panel info. I really know nothing about kitchen stuff and what’s available and I’m finding this whole process somewhat frustrating. As for boxing the fridge, do you just go in as far as you needed to accommodate the fridge size or is there a standard depth for this? If we went this route, which I don’t really see me being able to convince DH at this time, I’d rather not have a bump out in the laundry room. “Put the refrigerator at the end of the cabinet run by swapping the refrigerator cabinet with the cabinet to the right.” At some point in life, this is going to happen but I was going to wait until we replaced the counters (& floors) or redo the kitchen. I’d like to have the fridge on the end with a wall beside it. “If you are not replacing counters, consider putting a butcher block counter top on just that section.” I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that done. I’m off to look for photos. We are keeping the counters at this point. I only got a few responses from the kitchen forum. I suppose I know what my options are at this point I just am having a hard time making a decision. We don’t have a large budget for this mini makeover and have decided to spend more on appliances than originally planned. I’m trying to sort my options out. I like details and I'd much rather have someone present me with a plan of options, lists, and prices and us pick one. ...And this is why people hire designers & GCs. And just because I feel like being chatty, my actual plans are to replace the appliances, stain the cabinets (GF Brown Mahogany), I like to replace the cabinet crown, add a 6" can above the sink and remove the wood valance, paint the walls BM Shaker Beige to coordinate much better with the counters and floor, paint the island a TBD color, change out valance fabric/considering making a cornice, replace fabric on chair cushions, and I’d like to replace the current art (main wall behind the table) with a set of botanical prints. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the backsplash area. I need to see some of these changes first. This post was edited by sheesharee on Tue, Mar 4, 14 at 23:03

Definitely some window seats as Virgil says...my initial thought. If you could have them constructed with all wood, and place hinges on the 'seat' you would have storage tooo. That said, they do have alot of nice stools one can buy and purchasing a matching set of rectangular stools in a pretty cushioned covered water color style fabric, or tiny plaid or pattern, might be less expensive and certainly more portable for extra seating in the room if needed. Maybe you could have a pair reupholstered to match any fabric Roman Shades or Valance you might put on your windows even? A painting is fun, but so is a vintage mirror with the silver backing a bit golden and speckled in time, if you can find one the right size...It should probably go to the top of the window frames on each side,-- and with all the rectangles, a round mirror would be nice. If you can't find vintage...you can maybe make one look that way ---or you can focus on the frame and get with a Mother of Pearl frame, and use a bit of real or faux, Mother Of Pearl tiles on your fireplace(if the contractor has variables). The world is your oyster, just what makes your family feel good in such a pretty space. Many options abound. This post will likely draw a ton of good ideas!