My cooktop and hood are not centered on the wall. They do line up with the window on the other side (which is basically cented on that wall, but the walls are not even) and the center of the island and light fixture over the island. My wall is 33" DO cabinet -- 48" bake center (48" base and 45" upper)--42" hood -- 24" micro drawer base with 21" upper above. About 24" of the 33" oven cabinet is setoff against a 24" deep wall of cabiunets perpendicular to it. There is an open doorway there, so no corner cabinets. I think it all looks balanced because of the relationship between the walls, window, etc. In a different room, it might not work as well.

Thank you all for weighing in on this decision. I read each and every comment and you gave me a lot to think about! We ended up going to Bargain Outlet tonight to order different countertop. The Soapstone Sequoia tops that we bought ended up not being long enough (Big oops) and they won't work in the final layout that we settled on. When we changed from a range to a cooktop, we could no longer do the cut for the range, and it threw our measurements off. Somehow we missed that little detail until today until we set the counter on the cabinets and realized it was 6" short. : P (Must have been DIY dilirium.) But...we think it might have worked out for the best. We had bought the counters months ago when a local store was going out of business, and then more recently we got the cabinets. Seeing them together showed us that while they could work, they weren't a super match for each other. When we picked up the cabinets, they came with a few small sections of Bella Noche laminate, and they looked great together. Since we were going to have to order counter anyway, we switched directions and ordered Bella Noche instead. We never would have picked it from the little sample cards, but seeing the remnants with our cabinets helped us to know that we'd like it. While we were at Bargain Outlet, we ordered a 30" wide x 18" tall wall cabinet to place under the short wall cabinet in our layout. Our plan is to leave the doors off of it so that I can have a little bit of open shelving, but it will be boxed in along the side of the range hood like many of you suggested. Playing around with the shelf last night made me realize I could have a lot of fun with an open area there to decorate. We also ordered a glass door for the corner upper to help it feel airier over there om the sea of uppers, and it will give us another spot for displaying pretty serving bowls, too. Colors for the oven cabinet, hood and island remain to be determined. I don't really want to paint all of the uppers at this point. We have a busy family that the factory finish will probably handle better than a home paint job. Maybe someday, though! Now I have to see what colors look nice with both the cabinets and the new laminate. Should I keep it simple and do black? (Our fridge is black... and the cabinet doors have black lines along the details of the trim.) There are flecks of dark blue in this laminate too, although it's hard to see in the sample online. Bella Noche:

I don't know how much baking or cooking you have time to do, or if you have special diet needs for your family that might be a bit more intense, but your wall is so nice, a great wall oven would fit nicely wherever it is easiest and efficient, like do you do alot of pot roasts or long term baking? if you do, you will love the wall oven on that wall your frig is on. IF you wonder what to do, given my experience with the drop in unit not being as quality overall typically as a cook top and wall oven, but the oven is larger than a built in oven,I think, typically. So, if you really wonder, and if you enjoy baking things for the family like a roast and a pie at the same time or pies and cookies that require alot of in and out, you might consider a drop in unit, just for the economics of getting the 2nd oven area, as well as the wall unit oven on your pantry/frig wall cabinet area.... Than you get the effect of that table top cooktop, and the wall oven, and you have the lower oven for less money than a 2nd built in oven would ever be! Find yourself the best quality built in oven you might want, for the wall where the frig is, and than, knowing that a larger oven is typically part of the drop in range unit, get the nicest one you can either afford or tolerate LOL. That to me, IF YOU DON'T need the lower storage below the cooktop, of course, would be heaven. You have the 2nd built in oven, they typically will hold a standard roaster, but not a roaster and a sheet of brown n' serve rolls, or muffins also.....and you have the oven below the drop in range unit if you need it. Than, you can dedicate all the island storage on the dining room side of your island to the oven and stovetop cookware. If you haven't thought of that before, well, that's what you get when you go asking for help. Too many good ideas!? LOL I worked full time, and loved to have company for all the occassions that go with kids growing up, and to have that 2nd oven, just in case I needed it to keep the covered dishes warm that folks brought or to catch the overflow on the days when all 4 of us were feeling like baking projects for bake sales or food competitions with 4 H or the like.. What a nice kitchen you are going to enjoy! no matter how you determine in the end. I don't care for convection ovens too much, unless you want to bake something covered well(not home made pizza. HAHA) but a gas oven and an electric oven, would be nice options too. If you have a gas drop in unit, get an electric oven built in on your pantry wall, maybe??. I have no experience with the units where the cooktop is gas and the attached oven is electric or vice versa..tho I have seen them in stores the past 10 or 15 years? if that long..

maifleur03 - I know, right! That's why I had assumed all these years that it was made by a family member. Fori - That would sound reasonable if it were not for the fact that from what I read in this LINK (quoted below) the piece was made before the depression era. "Along the way, my research revealed a bit of the company’s history, which I will summarize here from the internet. Ancestors of the company go back to 1852 under various names, including “Jackson and Greenwood” (1852), “A. White & Company” (1857), and “Conant Brothers & Company” (1866). The company began manufacturing high-quality furniture in Gardner, MA, west of Boston, specializing in Colonial furniture reproductions. The first products of the founders of the Conant Ball Company were cane seat chairs. Later on they made bedroom and dining room chairs of mahogany, cherry, and walnut." "In 1868 a branch was added in Boston. In 1875 the firm name was changed to “Conant, Ball & Company”. In 1909 a Massachusetts corporation was formed, under the name of the “Conant Ball Company”. " "Anything labeled with the round logo “C-B” is probably no older than 1909. " "I do not know if the incised oval brand “Famous Reproductions of Old New England Furniture” was included on earlier pieces. In 1929, a branch of the Gardner factory opened in Templeton, MA. In the 1930s the company went into more modern lines, almost entirely of “rock solid maple”, in collaboration with the celebrated designer Russell Wright, who began to design ‘Art Deco’ and ‘American Modern’ furniture for them. There is an ebay forum on this mid 20th century line of furniture. Conant Ball closed their doors around 1980" Here are two different photos of furniture with the stamp/brands like mine...the only ones that I can find online. The bottom photo also shows a paper label and what that person believes about her stamped and labeled piece. "The stamp and Label appear to be from a company named Conant ball, from the Boston area. Some of their furniture was designed by Russel Wright, and can have some value to it. I believe the paper label is from around 1909 or earlier."