it'd bother me not to have drawers by the stove.

We shortened up our drawers either side of range with the plan of sinking the utensil containers into counter there so that they consume less visual space and are less of a bother; same with knives. Haven't actually cut into the butcherblock yet; that may have to wait until DH finishes siding and putting in new windows and roof and...sigh. You could do same above a cupboard area, if there were a divider hung from top to protect hands, etc. inside the cupboard.

It would bother me not to have drawers near the stove for utensils, pot holders, etc. Future potential buyers of your home may not be utensils-in-a-crock-next-to-the-stove kinda people.

Beautiful inspiration kitchens. Are you going to put the glass doors in as well? They're stunning :)

I would put at least one drawer next to the stove and not put in the paper towel rack. It's a neat idea, but having paper that close to the stove might not appeal to someone with young children, if you are thinking about resale...and you might find you need the drawer more...especially for utensils that don't look so good on display.

Can you change the pullout drawers to be a fixed front and all pull out at once attached to the front? This way you do not need to open a door all the way before pulling out the drawers. They'd all come out together. Which is more similar to the functionability of individual drawers.

You don't have dogs, you? I've had several that would grab the end of the paper towels and run. Having to make a choice, I'd put a drawer there, instead. But do what works for you. I think a drawer for plastic wrap, aluminum foil, etc. is needed by the prep area. I don't think resale potential will be hurt if there is not a drawer near the stove. Location and general condition are still the leading factors. Note all the posts here about recently purchased kitchens with huge flaws.

For resale, no. People get blown away by the look and don't stop to think about practicality. For everyday use, yes, I think you need as many drawers near your range as you can work into your plan. I use mine for cooking utensils, paper products, oven mits and towels, etc. It keeps the area around the range nice and neat.

florantha, your utensils inset sounds very practical. I've seen it in magazines before and thought about it here. I'm going with granite on my perimeter counters, so I'd hesitate to make to many cutouts.

The kitchen in it's previous life had a small 9" (12" face frame) drawer to the left and a 15" to the right (sorta). That 15" drawer was my silverware drawer, could you believe it was the widest drawer in that kitchen? Yes, I did buy it this way. riverspots and attygirl are right, the resale is not impacted. The neighborhood boasts two of the top schools in the school district (elem & middle) as well as the price of houses is extremely reasonable for our town, so yes, most people would overlook the lack of drawers or not even notice.
Here it is in all it's drawerless glory:

As for prep utensils, baking utensils, foils, parchment and wraps, they're all going in the new island which is the prep zone, immediately across from the range.

Either way, I think that I should re-work the plan to fit some drawers in. I think I will appreciate having the pot holders/oven mitts immediately accessible. I may have to break down and buy another cabinet for this.

Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts on this!