From what I understand, there is no recycle collection so I am not sure how we will handle trash. We are so used to recycling in our primary home. So they could get tossed together, but may not hurt to have a recycle bin in case they change eventually (or if we find some recycle containers somewhere ourselves). The trash will go out the back sliders. That is a good point on the island.. we were thinking of a longer island, somewhere around 80"+ to have comfortable seating for 3 and then possibly a smaller stool around the side for overflow seating (more likely a kid if we are at the dining table) and maybe even squeeze in a 2nd smaller stool as needed) . We were just discussing if we would want the larger ikea slab (97x25.6) and cut the length to ~80" but run them side by side to have a wider island-but that seems awfully big. We will have to test out the various overhangs to see what is comfortable. I imagine it would be the kids there alot or the ladies sipping a nice drink while I prep/cook. Not sure how we would use the rest of the space if the cabinets ran 24" deep in the island. Then we are left with 24+" of overhang behind it. Overkill? I will check out the ikea fans web as well! thanks-peeked at it , but seems beyond what I can absorb right now! They are very clever with all their tricks! Not sure I understand it all.

It is interesting to see the wide range of reactions to Sketchup. I wanted to add some thoughts/tips that might help the learning curve, or perhaps convince you that Sketchup is not for you . . . . Sketchup is a CAD program, basically you are defining line segments that enclose surfaces. The application is literal and precise, a 0.0001'' miss is as good as a mile. So the first rule is, don't size things ''by eye''. If you want a line 48.125'' long, use the pencil tool to start the line and type 48.125 [enter]. Don't drag the pencil to a smidge over 48'', that will not work. If you want to draw a line parallel to an existing line, use the measurement tool to pull a parallel guideline, then draw the line over the guideline. Don't wave the pencil tool around until the lines ''look'' parallel, they won't be. Second rule is that surfaces cannot be curved. Drawing line segments to enclose a space will not create a surface, unless the segments are all in the same plane (co-planar). Hence the need for precise lengths, if you're trying to draw table legs up from the ground, the top surface can't be created unless the legs are all the exact same length. ''Curved'' surfaces are built up from flat surfaces, which is usually too much of a pain for casual kitchen planning. Third rule is that the two surfaces of a wall have to be exactly parallel. If not, then the usual technique of cutting a window by drawing a rectangle and then using the ''push/pull'' tool to push the rectangle through the wall, will not work. Again, if you drew the wall by eye, you're going to have a problem. Fourth rule is, where possible, build an object (e.g. a range) by drawing the range's footprint on the floor, ''pulling'' that up to make a 3D box, then adding detail to the box, Don't start by drawing each side and corner of the range, that is too tedious. Fifth rule is, import rather than build. 3D Warehouse has hundreds of kitchen items that you can import into your model, some contributed by the manufacturers. Sixth rule is, make things into components. If you have an appliance, make it a component so that you can move it around, try it in different locations. if you have a cabinet door, make it a component so you can duplicate it 10 times rather than tediously drawing each door. The Make Component dialog box has an option for "glue to", you don't want that. I hope that helps. I agree w/ the comments that Sketchup has a learning curve. I wasted time discovering the above, I could have learned a lot faster if I'd known about the tutorial videos.

Kitchendreaming, thanks for your comments! I have posted at ikeafans but not about options for the 21" base. As it turns out I had a meeting with my builder this morning and 24" bases will fit at each end of the sink wall. :-) Our sink is a actually a stainless apron sink (already purchased) but unfortunately the drain is not offset. I'm still hoping to tuck a trash can under, even if it just sits on the floor of the cabinet and is not on a pull-out, for scraping plates, etc. I really feel that having the trash/recycling in the island is going to work for us. We usually have a trash bowl in use all during prepping, partly because the trash can in the rental we're in now is very inconvenient. In any case, the prep sink will now be in a 21" base, so that will give even more room under it for possible trash as well. So possible trash in three places, surely we can make some arrangement that will work. I have been pondering using larger cabinets instead of the smaller ones and some measurements I got today helped solve that. As I said earlier, now the sink wall has a 24" drawer base at either end. On the cooktop wall there is now a 36" drawer base, 36" cooktop cab, 24" drawer base, 21" sink cab, and then the oven cab. Kaismom, totally with you on the no water on the island thing. My kids are young, but I see them hanging out there for snacks, homework, art projects, etc. And I feel that having a sink and faucet would really take a lot of that room. I also envision us clearing the table to the island after meals, where I plan to store my food storage containers, ziplocs, wraps and foil, so I think the fridge being further removed from the cleanup sink will work ok. I realize it isn't ideal, but I do feel this will be workable for us and the best option given the conditions we are dealing with. I have to admit when I posted the plan I wasn't expecting such a negative response to the fridge location! But that's OK, I wanted to be challenged to take a second look at everything. Dianalo, so glad to hear you love your cabs and 36" bases! If you've read this far you'll see that I was able to upgrade my 30" to a 36"! and as far as the prep sink across the aisle, it has to be across the aisle from something right? Either crossing the aisle with boiling pasta to drain or with dripping, freshly-washed veggies to prep? :-P Thanks again, I really appreciate you all taking the time to comment! Cintijen

Hi Katrina, To your first question regarding moving wall cabs up and down: Select the cabinet to be raised or lowered. Go into 3D view. Get a close up view of the cab. To the right (maybe sometimes to the left, I'm not quite sure) of the cab you'll see an up/down arrow. click up or down to move the cab until it's at the desired height. Planner tips: If your software is lagging, it helps to give it some time after every click before continuing. When you select a cab, wait before continuing until the cursor stops spinning. All that will prevent it from getting overwhelmed. Make sure that all extensions in your browser are disabled. That seems to help. Keep saving often. I mean it: really often. Ikea updated the software about 2 weeks ago. Since then the planner works much better on my Mac Ibook using Firefox. I haven't tried to run the planner with Chrome or Safari since the update. I'm sure some layout experts will eventually chime in with design help. Good luck!