In early 1900's kitchen, function would be more important than form. Since the handle is functional and you have been wanting to stick to the look and feel of an 1900's, that is what you should use. I know you are trying to disguise it as a drawer handle but if you think of it as a big heavy drawer, it still makes sense :).

My sink is the Ticor S405D and fits in a 36" sink base with no modifications. However, most of my cabinets, including the sink base, have 1/2" walls, not 3/4", so that may be why no mods were necessary. Others have had to modify their 36" sink bases by scribing the sides a bit, but it wasn't a big deal (at least that's what they said). We also prefer a double-bowl...and we also have a prep sink! Based on Shelly_K's description of how she works & uses a sink, I think she will be happier with a double-bowl sink. Here's a pic: And the specs... Dimensions: Overall: 35-1/8" x 20-7/8" x 9" Large Bowl: 21-3/8" x 18-3/4" x 9" Small Bowl: 10-1/2" x 15-7/8" x 7" It's a 70/30 sink. We went from equal-sized bowls in our old kitchen, which we hated, to this, which my DH, in particular loves (he does most of the cleanup). He thinks the sink is one of the best things about our new kitchen. My largest cookie sheets, roasting pan, and refrigerator shelves & bins all fit in the large bowl. I understand that some people have very large pans, cookie sheets, etc. and may need a bigger bowl, but it really depends on what you have/need, not what others have/need.

Custom should mean that you can get what you want that mass production does not offer. Cabinets offered every 3 inches is a function of mass production over the last 40 years or so as cabinets have shifted to being made from outside sources and not by the carpenters who build the house. Most larger cabinet companies order their doors from companies like conestoga who only make doors at mass produced levels. Now conestoga makes them to any size if wanted. Your semi custom companies as a general rule build the cabinet boxes and do the finishing of the cabinet units. Semi Custom generally means they will modify the parts they build which means the face frames and the box size. So you can modify depth and add an extended stile where a filler would go otherwise. A custom company is supposed to mean in its pureist form that they do not have a book of generic sizes and instead they design and price a kitchen of any specs and build it. I personally prefer the abiltiy to work with larger companies that have more years of combined expeirence with more expensive equipment and longer warranty that is backed by the length of time the company has been around. I do not see the worry of how long the local retailer has been in business over warranty concerns when the warranty ultimately comes from the cabinet maker. Now, to be fair most large cabinet companies that are custom need something of a base line to allow a person in a showroom far from the cabinet plant to design and price a kitchen quickly. This creates the need for a product line you can work with as a designer. A book of standard sizes and configurations is needed as a baseline to work from. We end up with a long list of modifications that can be done to a cabinet to create the custom layout where the standard cabinets are modified in countless ways to create the perfect fit and still be able to arrive at a fixed price as a designer who is not an employee of the cabinet maker. I work with 2 companies that have books like this. Yet one is custom and one in my opinion is not even though they call themselves custom. Geppetto will build anything I can dream that is technically possible. Bridgewood will not. Both call themselves custom companies. One is highly modifable (Bridgewood) and one is custom Geppetto. When I meet someone that just needs the cabinets to fit just right with no fillers and wants a low price I use Bridgewood and the price is lower. When I meet someone who wants a lot of personalized look to the kitchen and needs inset door styles I use Geppetto. Hoods are another animal that is a pain. Stanicci makes nice hoods and many custom companies offer them. A true custom company will make the hood themselves with what ever look you like. Stanicci allows a designer to use a symbol on a drawing and in a 3d that has an exact price. I like a wood hood or a custom metal hood from Rangecraft hoods. Ultra modern chimney hoods just do not do it for me personally. To each his or her own I suppose. Inset door style is definetly more elegant when used with a nice finish. I think you have made the right choice.

There is a 9" overhang on that side. We have a veneer panel for the entire overhang side. There are no plans that I'm aware of for drywall. Our previous cabs were 3" deeper than the new ones, so the wall fills in the hole in the floor tiles and gives us a whole extra cabinet due to pipes being brought down into the basement. Our granite slab is definitely large enough and it doesn't affect anything that we can see. The small l-shaped kitchen and island sit in a fairly large room. All the passageways to other rooms have the same width. I have an extra 4' x 8' piece of veneer panel that can be cut to cover both ends fully. But I thought something chunky would be good. I have frame and panel very plain shaker doors. I could order door end panels in this size. I could even bring a woodworker in here to bling up the whole thing with moldings and trim. DH wanted everything super-plain. This 'feature' is my chance to get something nicer. What would look the best? Budget isn't a problem.