anybody have one of what they planted around the cable/phone company gadget? Our has a out of control yew growing around four sides and trying to eat the whole box. Cant be much fun to work around it and its a bit ugly/boring. :) Im thinking about changing it to ornamental grasses etc...

You should be able to purchase nice raised panel 4 panel interior doors in that price range. There's no benefit provided against warping by going thicker. I just dealt with a 12" beam that had warped over the years (It and all of the posts and beams in our house were installed after only a year of drying outside). I think that it would actually be pretty unusual for a raised panel door built from kiln-dried lumber to warp if it's finished. Sawdust and wood chips molded into things arguably have a place in home construction, but for finished surfaces, it's hard to go wrong with the real deal.

A2gemini~ I am loving the input so far! Let me explain why the cabinets are the way they are. I had quoted cabinets at about 13,000 online, big box stores came in higher and custom were way higher. Had a general idea about the baking center, passthrough, second oven where the fridge would go and sink/dishwasher. MIL was in Re-Store and saw cabinets and bought them on the spot. Hickory raised panel, solid wood. She wanted the island and figured she knew someone who would take the rest of the cabinets, either me or her sister who is re-doing her kitchen. Since then we have added a window, removed an exterior door across from the pantry and created what we have now based on these cabinets. I wanted painted wood cabinets and we currently have 850$ in awesome cabinets (yes that need to be painted) But I figure I can spurge on appliances at this point. The shelf to the right of the sink is to balance the visual impact of having different sized cabinets on the same wall across from each other over the sink. The desk area is a byproduct of placing what we had where we could, and I think I'm loving the idea of it. Might put my computer there, mount a monitor on the wall, hide the mouse and keyboard in the drawer. Its really growing on me. I also figure great place for working on recipes, or kids to do homework while I wash veggies. The sliding doors will be on the pantry side so there shouldn't be any loss of counter space on the kitchen side. That space will be about 44" but with the ability to turn around to the island for more space. Thanks for the input!!

I didn't respond before but I'm glad to hear you have things moving now after a frustrating situation. DHs can be SO good at diplomacy... I know mine is!