Fixer, you are right about the gray paint. I did some mock-ups with gray paper and that is certainly an option. For now, I have moved on to the back splash, hoping the distraction (both mental and visual!) will help. KitDet, don't worry, there's no way I will paint the interiors red. :) Too much of a good thing, IMO. Particularly if I go with the green tile I am headed for. The funny thing is that this decision to have the interiors all done in a light color was intentional and well thought out -- for both aesthetic and functional reasons. Even though I specifically ordered light interiors in all the cabs, someone took it upon themselves to do a "that's the way we always do it" on my order and the glass front cabs all came in with stained dark interiors. They all went back to be rebuilt. Plansrus, the cabinets were made by Apple Valley in CT -- not custom. It is a standard finish called Tobacco. The wood is cherry. Kind of a shame to stain cherry so dark, but I was afraid maple wouldn't take the stain as well and the decision to go so dark was sort of last minute, well after the cherry cabs had been specified and priced. The room is very bright and I do appreciate the grain of the cherry though.

My first buyer prospect did not take the house, so a few days later we put it on the NMLS. The first day, we got three offers and took the strongest one, which is a bit over asking price. The buyers are totally thrilled with everything in the house. They love the soft-close drawers. I feel really gratified that I could create a kitchen that someone will love to use. I never even finished polishing the SS hood. I can't imagine any other house in this price range with a 36" SS hood instead of the ubiquitous mircrowave over the oven. I am not sure that I spent much more to get this effect. I knew that the buyers for this house would be young and be likely to have affinity for contemporary. The realtor said they were in tears when they saw the house because it is their dream house. : ) All along we kept trying to give a really good product for our imaginary buyers and make them happy while staying on budget. We did not stay on budget but everyone got a good deal. I think I could have spent less but I am not sure I would have made as much profit by doing so.

Hi all--I realize that I never replied back to the questions on my own thread so finally turning back to this. I realize likely no one who cared months ago cares now, but hey. A month after we moved back in we headed off to Hawaii for our destination wedding following by mainland-side reception a month after that (hosted at the 'new' house), then the holidays so it was a crazy year for our family. Anyway--the questions: **Bicyclegirl** "Can you tell me about the roll out dish drying rack you got from Amazon? I haven't heard about it. If you have a picture, I'd appreciate being able to see it.' See link below--this thing is brilliant, but you need an under mount sink to make this work. **housebuilder14** "wow - i love the island with the waterfall and the sink. I have been debating between thassos pentalquartz and corian and I keep going back and forth between the two. anything else you can add re: choosing corian. also i love your sink. i thought i would do stainless steel and never even considered corian-- worried about staining plus you cant easily replace it. would love to hear more about that decision too. i heard that corian white yellows -- have you heard that? did that worry you. **Hydragea** "Wow, I love what you've done with the place! It's very interesting that you eventually chose Corian over Quartz. What went into that decision? Also, what are raceway outlets?' On the Corian points--now that it's been installed for 5 months or so I can render a preliminary verdict. We absolutely love it! It always looks so clean, is not prone to damage, and cleans up very easily. I love that we can bleach it to disinfect periodically as well (don't do that to granite or quartz). The sink is a real treat--there are no dings or scratches like there were almost instantly after I installed a new stainless steel sink in my last place. And the stainless one *always* looked grungy unless I had just cleaned it. Not so with the Corian sink (and wouldn't be true of any other white enamel sink). And just a little elbow grease applied to the entire surface and it looks perfect again. Just remember--Corian does NOT stain. It is non-porous and stains cannot penetrate the surface. If it appears stained it just needs to be cleaned. Re Corian yellowing, I don't think that's true. Colored Corian like colored Quartz is not necessarily color stable and will change under intense light (I've read of people having faded quartz counters in areas that are directly under a skylight for example). However, white Corian is entirely UV stable and is certified by the manufacturer for outdoor use in direct sunlight. In Europe and Australia they've even used it to clad the exterior of buildings, so yellowing doesn't happen with this stuff. Re the decision between Quartz and a Solid Surface--it really came down to the fact that we had seen so many great contemporary kitchen photos that had used Corian we decided we wanted the same look too. And then as we researched it, I fell in love with the integrated sink option from the Vaso collection, ZERO visible seams, the low maintenance of it, and the texture and look of the samples we saw in showrooms. The DS even says, after living with it, we can't imagine having anything else in the future. The manufacturer claims that their customer satisfaction rate is something like 98%...we are among those pleased with our decision. Re the raceway outlets--these are outlets mounted on the underside of the cabinets--like a power strip. So we've got tons of power for mixers and blenders and such but no ugly outlets marring my beautiful backsplash :) Good luck to all in their projects! Here is a link that might be useful: roll up dish rack

I'm trying to find some things. These may show some or all of the elements you need. Some of the frosted cabinets may or may not be aluminum. I don't think you can ever have enough natural light. I wouldn't eliminate the windows. [Modern Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by Minneapolis Design-build w.b. builders [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Chicago Interior Designer ADS Design hood between windows with cabs on outside. Not black though: [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Boston Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors While these didn't combine everything you needed in one photo, I think it shows that the frosted glass and the windows gives a different look and will read differently in the room. I think what you're picturing will work just fine.