I say get what you want and what is important to you or you will regret it. Our OTR microwave was placed low and is fine for me now, but we are remodeling now and I am a bit worried that "proper" placement will be too high for me as well as I am also 5'2. But we don't have a choice...I have a galley kitchen with not much counter space so OTR is the only option that makes sense. Even with our low microwave, there was room for a stockpot on the front burners. We live in an average tract house neighborhood and don't cook or entertain a lot, so getting high-end appliances did not make sense for us. I have had a GE Profile electric stove and OTR MW for 14 years without a single repair needed, so we went with GE Profile again...I also liked the looks more than other brands. Cabinets and counters were more important to me than appliances (my analysis paralysis was counters!). If you really have your heart set on GE Cafe or Bertazzoni, etc. then go for it! Otherwise you will look at your plain jane stove every day and wish you had gotten the model you really wanted. BTW--I bought my stove, MW and DW (Bosch) from Number1Direct.com and saved about $1,000....they carry the high-end brands as well. Everything arrived on time and was well-packed and crated.

I will be happy not to push the DW around every day, or move the trash can and cat bowls to access cabinets, or banging my arm on the microwave that sits on a cart that sticks out into the doorway. I also wanted to move the stove away from the bathroom door. If I'm cooking and someone is in there I am at least 15 extra inches way from them. I had to keep reducing my storage space in order to get the functionality that I was looking for (such as long stretches of open counter, microwave above the counter). Although I hated to lose 1 square inch I finally had to prioritize those things that would affect me every DAY when I use the kitchen versus storage for things that I use once a week, once a month or even once a year. So I will be storing some less often used things a little further away, maybe even in the garage, but the DAILY use stuff is easier. I know you have a budget cap and moving things around will start to eat it up fast, but consider trying to do things that will affect you all the time, even if you have to sacrifice some storage space. Which would you rather do, roll the dishwasher in and connect it every day, or bring the breadmaker in from the garage/basement twice a year...they're not comparable, but I think you get my point. Think about what annoys you DAILY and spend your money on that. On another note I can commiserate with you on not being able to discuss things with DH. In my case it's DW. When we started this project I just assumed she would be very interested in every detail. I quickly discovered I couldn't hold her attention with kitchen stuff for more than about 30 seconds. Who would have thought I would have married the one woman who's not interested in colors, design, styles (just kidding). But then my wife and I are a little backwards...we often joke about how we kind of reverse stereotypical roles. Anyway I found Gardenweb and I had an outlet for my desire to talk about all things kitchen... Of course I never really had to argue about anything because she would go along with whatever I wanted...so it's all good. :) - Jim

What you need asap is not a kitchen designer but a lawyer. I'm less confident than LWO about my ability to predict the way that the construction and real estate worlds are going to go over the next few months. There are so many uncertainties and possible scenarios. Because of that, if you want to proceed with this, you need a lawyer to review your contract with the builder before you sign ANYTHING. Talk through with the lawyer the different scenarios. Maybe things will go as your plan. But. What if you can't sell your house? What if your mom can't sell her house? What if you both can, but real estate prices are way down? What if construction comes to a halt? What if your area is put under a stay-at-home order? If the builder is unwilling to build enough additional flexibility into the contract to provide you options and/or you can't afford to lose your deposit should your house not sell and you have to walk away, I would not go forward right now. I would also talk to a realtor in your area before going forward. What is the market like right now where you live? Are houses still closing (now, not two weeks ago, which was a whole different world)? What are they hearing from colleagues in other parts of the country? I can envision a scenario where it might still make sense to move forward, but you need to proceed with EXTREME caution, make plans that protect you in worst-case scenarios, and do even more due diligence than usual. (Just for comparison, two weeks ago at this time my daughter was in school, my husband was going in to work every day, we were planning for our spring break trip, and the housing market was just starting to get hot with houses coming on the market for spring. 13 days ago school was cancelled through March, then a few days later through April. We called off our travel. Work became mandatory work-from-home for anyone who can. Now our state is under a stay-at-home order, so there are no house showings. Even before the official order, buyers were not willing to schedule showings of occupied houses. Things change fast these days.)

I would have to agree about not doing anything but a good clean and declutter. However, since you have already started putting primer and other things on the cabinets, you seem to be forced to paint them now. First thing I would do is give your Corian tops a thorough scrubbing ( I believe they give you direction for that on their site ) . I actually used a fine sandpaper on mine then scotch brite pads ( the colors have different grits ) . The top actually looked brighter and fresh. Once you have that color, then choose the cabinet color. I would stay in a warm white to compliment the tops. Don't over think it. If you wanted to paint the island blue, I think that would be ok too - IF it is the right tone. Otherwise do it all the same. Good luck!