I think the uppers look good (and functional). It looks like there are a lot of drawers in the lowers, and not much large storage.

I guess I am hoping that the pantry will hold some larger things. Are you thinking about taller items like pitchers? Next to the sink wall there is a door and then floor length window. Perpendicular to that is an under the stair pantry (which is super unorganized but it is there). I need to make a plan for that space as well.

What is happening in the corner between the range and sink? (both uppers and lowers)

It appears that the corner is just dead space.

Yes, I did leave a dead corner. I debated a lazy susan and then just went for the drawers. I don't have a lazy susan now so maybe I am biased. I just don't like the hinged doors.

I have no plan for the cabinet to the left of the trash. I was thinking drawers or space for cookie sheets??? For some reason the cabinetmaker drew it as one big cabinet with a 33'' top drawer?? I then asked for two separate cabinets, one for trash and another with about 16.5'' of space.

Forgot to say that upper is a blind corner.

This is the whole plan although the island will be different.

This is the refrigerator wall:

What do you have in the blind corner? Upper and lower? Have you considered a super susan or other organizer instead of a blind corner? In my old kitchen that blind corner was a complete dead zone of useless space. We now have a magic corner in the lower corner, which I love, but was a splurge. On the upper cabinet it is a corner cabinet with hinged doors that open to access the whole space:

Re: the corner
I have an openable cupboard next to some dead space in a corner--in my case I needed a spacer where a cupboard meets a corner to allow me to use roman shades on the adjacent wall. I've asked my cabinetmaker to extend the shelves from the openable part into the dead space in the corner from the inside since this is not a "box" construction and we can access that space for not much more money. Reaching around through the door may be a pain in the long run, but I don't think so. I will have some inches of tuck-in space alongside the corner cupboard from front to back. I anticipate putting seasonal glassware, etc. into that less accessible place and I'll stand on a stool to reach in if necessary. I couldn't bear to waste that space.

Re: the uppers by the sink
Will you regret not having two larger upper cabinets frame the sink for functional dishes and glassware storage? How important is the glass front concept for this kitchen?

Am wondering if you've really thought through the almost square spaces in the glass fronted shelves either side of the sink. What will you put in them? If you have a display collection that is 11 inches deep and 14 wide and can properly be seen when viewed only from front (since the sides are covered), hey go for it. Fancy plates? a collection of art pieces? Otherwise, this is a set of little tunnels that you may regret in time.

One idea that allows you to retain these cubbyhole shelves: put glass in the fixed sides also so the display becomes a real twinkle spot when viewed from the sink area because objects can be seen from two sides. I've seen this done in a photo in my inspiration collection (but DH vetoed it). I still think it's classy and adds airiness to a window area.

Editorial mode on:
Have talked to designers at HD and Menards about the fashionable little pigeonholes available through their cabinet lines. "What do people put in these?" The designers shrug. They think this is a dumb idea for wine bottles because it uses so much wood and the little long drawers that can be put into them are difficult to use and must be taken out and lifted back in in order to access them. "But people order them."

I can't thank you guys enough for your help. Let me see if I can digest all the information.

I have a bind corner upper currently and I have no idea what is up there. The shelf option that you have jrueter is really nice. Do you have any trouble with the hinges getting loose? I thought about a diagonal corner cab but I like the look of the square corners.

I don't need the glass at all. My designer friend tells me I will be wasting space. I don't have any real collectibles. I was thinking of putting some of my serving piece there. I thought it might make the window seem bigger but maybe it will have the opposite effect??? Having glasses on the side is an interesting idea. I am pretty sure that I want a little bit of space between the cabinets and the window.

bmorepanic - so are you thinking of an 18'' upper to the left of the range? I totally forgot about the door issue. I was planning on a wall hood and duct cover but I have not made a purchase yet. (Looking at Prestige Pro LIne 30''). My DH wants a 36'' range but I think a 30'' is better for our space???

I will give some more thought to the bottom lazy susan. That was my original plan. I may see if I can dig that plan up.

Blind Corner/Upper Cabinet...From my experience with my MIL's kitchen, blind corners are worse than useless...especially upper cabinets. If you think a corner cabinet is difficult to get into, these are even worse. When we cleaned out her cabinets last year, she had stuff in there that had expired years ago! She said it was almost impossible to get to anything there...and she's not short (around 5'8" or so).

I think Jrueter's pic is a great use of that space and is easier to access things than even a traditional corner cabinet. It also eliminates the need for any filler in that corner to ensure all doors open full as well as miss knobs on neighboring cabinets. Jrueter's suggestion also gives you the squared look you have now rather than the diagonal door look.

Base Cabinets & Corner...Ditto for the base cabinets...a corner susan will ensure you don't have issues with doors opening/hitting knobs and eliminates the need for filler.

We have a base corner that does not have specialty corner cabinet...but it's a 27" wide cabinet that faces the other side (no wall on the side, so it's turned 90 degrees). There's also a half-inch or so of filler b/w that cabinet & the wall...so that provided us with 3-1/2" of "filler" so drawers would clear the neighboring cabinets' knobs/pulls. It turned out that still wasn't enough, so we had to add another 1/2" of actual filler...for a total of 4" needed on the one side (the drawers had to clear the WD handle...which stuck out further than the drawer pulls). The other side has 2-1/8" overall space so the the drawers & WD clear the pulls on the neighboring drawers around the corner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pet Center Installation

Okay, I will give it some serious thought today. My cabinetmaker had some weird lazy susan where the door sizes were not equal on both sides. For some reason I just hated that look.

Do the hinges really last ? My one concern is that the hinges will be coming off of the doors after so much use.

Our corner susan doesn't have the hinged door (which I am not a fan of), but has the pie-shaped wedge out of the susan that has the doors attached which rotate with the susan. I guess we lose a little of the susan, but it's my favorite corner solution.

Can that only be done with half-overlay door or am I totally misunderstanding your doors? I will have frameless cabinets.

My dad has that type of susan and I totally agree that the doors rotating with the susan are great. It is so nice to not really have to open anything. You just give it a little push.

I just don't think I have the patience for hinges. I don't know why. I know I am speaking with a total lack of daily experience with those type doors. Maybe I would love the additional space so much that I would never give the hinges a second thought.

My cabinet maker showed me a great blind corner cabinet you pull the racks out and then the hidden rack swings up into that space - so you can access it all.

I have a corner lower cabinet that is open from both sides. It is a HUGE pain.. if something gets back in that corner I have to move everything out and get on my belly to get it. The upper corner is blind - and only goes back 12 inches deep, and its very easy to lose things in there too. Hate them both.

If you don't need that storage space or like any corner options, maybe you could just do without it completely or have them make the blind go back part way, instead of all the way back into the corner.

YOur range run bothers me visually. You don't have symmetry in the upper cabinets but you do the bottom ones. It's usually done the other way around if you're going to attempt symmetry. Your range should be centered between two equal size uppers, because that is what you see the most of and focus on. You really don't see the base cabinets unless you are in the kitchen, and they are still not as prominent as the uppers. Then the bases should adjust their sizes based on the upper symmetry.

The upper cabinet asymmetry bothers me a lot. (Kinda of glad that it is not just me). I don't know why the cabinetmaker did it that way but to be honest I cannot figure out how to make it better.

I have some uppers now where the door is about 16'' wide. Sometimes I feel like I have to take a good step back so the door won't hit me in the face.

Can you think of a way to make those cabinets symmetrical? It is driving me crazy. I almost want to start over on the whole darn layout.

Forgot to ask - Do you think I should stick with the 30'' range for my space instead of 36'' ? I had already decided on 30'' but DH keeps bringing it up again and again. I think he really wants a grill.

Have you thought about open shelving instead of uppers on one of the walls? that might help you fix the symmetry and the corner issues...

What's on the other side of the range run door?

You might move the range closer to the door (12-18" cabinet on that side) no matter what size range you eventually choose. I'd stick with 18" if that door is important. This will break the base cabinet symmetry and might provide a logical reason for the top asymmetry. I like joy's idea of shelves or if moved closer to the door, a set of small picture ledges for spices or perhaps platters on edge over the small side - perhaps a tool rail underneath. If you both cook, I wouldn't move the range closer to the corner at all.

My issue about wall chimney hoods next to cabinets is the difficult to reach space where the chimney hood touches the cabinet - or worse, almost touches the cabinet. Dust and kitchen goo settle on the side of the hood and there's that little place where the intersection is where your hand literally doesn't fit. I'd rather have a little gap so I could get my hand between the hood and the adjoining cabinet.

Plus, it looks better to me not to have them crowded together. Another potential plus - the pot drawers might become wider. It does bring up the where does the backsplash stop question, tho.

30" v. 36" range. Good luck with those conversations! dh only wanted a few specifics and none of them had to do with cooking. I'm still looking for a way to work in a little red and green plaid (one of his specific requests).

If you or your spouse doesn't know what 36" ranges cost, pricing a few might bring clarity.

That door leads to the DR at the front of the house. I don't know if I want an 18'' single door there and a 12'' seems tiny all on its own. I need to get start drawing some pics.

I think some shelves would be nice. I guess I have seen some people do a little wine rack in the middle there. I need to go back and study uppers in some inspiration pics.

I think people that can live without upper cabinets have a great advantage. Sometimes I wish I had a wall of windows where I couldn't put in uppers.

We are looking at the new Capital open burner range. It is similar in pricing to Bluestar, maybe $3499 for 30'' and $4999 for 36''. To get the rotisserie and self clean adds another $1500. (Probably not doing that).

There are some basic things I want to accomplish with this remodel and I can't wait to have those features in my new kitchen. It is frustrating not being able to get the little details right that make it look good. I guess that is what KD's are for. The cabinet guy is not good at this kind of detail and in fact told me that one of his clients worked on their island design for a year but still hated it after it was installed. That is kind of telling.

If you do a 24" corner cabinet, either angled or L shaped, then the range run has room for flanking symmetrical 24" wall cabinets to either side of the hood and will match the drawers below. Blind corners are a big PIA, so I don't know why he didn't do that before. If you take the suggestion to make the flanking cabinets smaller, then you can do 21" and have 3" of open space around the hood on each side, or 18" and have 6" of open space on each side. With a really pretty hood and pretty tile for the backsplash, the open space becomes more important and more of a statement. If you're going to do a cabinetry integrated hood, then no open space would be needed and the wall cabinets could abut the range hood cabinet.

You are right about the corner cabinet. I lost the symmetry when I got rid of it. I really like jrueter's solution. It helps the other side as well if I lose the 15'' glass cabinets.

I think I will stick with the wall chimney. So I need the gap to let the cabinet doors open? I guess I looked at pics that did not leave a gap and never thought about the problem with the doors. nat-md has one of my favorite kitchens but she will have the same problem?

Will a 21'' cabinet be okay for double shaker doors? I am doing slim styles and rails but I don't know what width yet.

I can't wait to get a backsplash up there. I just want some color in here and less wood!

Something just seems off. The current plan just doesn't seem to have flow that I have seen created here on the boards.

The window size seems off somehow. Hanging too low, size?

What if you put the range where you have the refig wall? Refrig where stove is now. Pantry could go around the corner where the desk area is now.

What is the final plan for the island? The current placement of door swing for refrig seems awkward, no place to put things unless island sink is moved.

We would love to put in new windows but it is just too expensive. We have a full length glass door and window just at the end of the sink wall and the room is open to the family room.

A friend did suggest moving the range but unfortunately it would put it directly in the path to the DR and the front door. That wall is not deep and backs up to the basement staircase and can't be adjusted.

The fridge they pictured is not what we will be purchasing. We are going for the Liebherr CS2062.

I think the cabs come too close to the window over the sink and to the stove/ hood. even a 30" stove should have about a 36" fan over it.

drawers (or the look anyway) on either side of the desk area. looks odd as is.

my favorite pull out drawer - use next to your trash pullout?

Yup on the doors. There are a couple of other ideas.

Some people are happy with a chain that prevents the door from opening. Your cabinet maker might know where to get a 90 degree hinge. Otherwise, the door just bangs into the hood.

Gotcha on the upper cabinets. That would drive me crazy bumping into the hood like that. So cut back on each side at least 3''?? It is all these little details that are so important. I will ask the cabinetmaker what he normally does there just to see what he was thinking.

How much space would you allow around the window? I want more but don't know what is reasonable. I have a 30'' cabinet to the right of the sink now and it is plenty of room for all of my dishes and glasses. I would rather not feel crowded when I am standing at the sink. Right now I feel like I can't breathe over there.

desertsteph - I was thinking a pullout would be good and I definitely need a space for tray storage. Okay, one more decision made. I think I am buying a 30'' 600 CFM hood from Eurostoves but I will ask if I need to go with a 36''.

I don't like the desk cabinets either. This may sound crazy but I may have the cabinetmaker make the cabinets for the sink and range wall plus the pantry and stop. I am buying a beautiful free standing fridge and I have a server I can use in place of the coffee bar. My budget is maxing out and I cannot make any more decisions right now. The coffee bar/MW area is DH's and like I said, he is not being very helpful. If I make a mistake over there I am going to have to listen to the whining for years to come.