Granite-girl, No, the estimate was for cabinets, labor & sink. It seems high to me too but this is the first estimate so I don't know if what I'm wanting to do is going to cost this much. I've got other companies I'm working w/ so I'll be able to compare. I'm wondering if the 2 pantries and all the paneling w/ molding detail around the island is making it go up in price. I had an appt. yesterday AM and noticed the initial quote on the desk before some changes we made was around $17K. So after 2 hr appt. the changes I made increased the price $6K!! YIKES... The only changes were the glaze finish which is a 15% upgrade, the additional pantry which includes tearing out a coat closet & fixing wall w/ door, wood veneer w/ molding detail on island, corbels, wider crown molding, a mullion door at bar & decorative detail on spice pull outs next to oven. Does these changes seem like a $6K increase? I like the design except for bar area. I really would like to make the wet bar a desk for laptop, phone etc... I'd like to have a place for a chair and 3 drawers on right side. Not sure if there's enough room between wet bar & island. It's 40" between the two. Does that seem tight if someone was sitting in a chair to pass behind? I've chosen granite for countertops. The quote for granite is $3630 for 77 sq. ft of Level I granite. Additional $540 for Level II w/ standard edge.

I really like that you have a place to prep food out of sight from guests, but will you be using that personally or do you plan on having that space for caterers or paid help? Will you use that primarily *before* guests arrive so that your main kitchen is clean? If you are using it yourself while people are over you may feel a bit left out. (but you may get done a lot faster!) I wonder if you would rather make the "food storage" in the pantry area in to a top cabinet and a bottom cabinet allowing you more counter space. I think that if you (or help) were plating food or appetizers the extra counter space would come in handy. And you could still store food in the upper and lower cabinets (besides if you are prepping *before* guests arrive, you could easily get the food you need out of the main kitchen) I definitely see the advantage of having the sink next to the espresso machine. I am not sure I would move the wallovens to the fridge wall. i think you will really like having the long expanse of counter space next to fridge directly behind the sink. Hmm, would you rather have 2 dish washers in the main area, or 2 dishwashers in the pantry where you can stash dirty dishes after a party? If you got rid of a dishwasher you could add more storage in the island or even an extra seat. I wonder if you would rather a speed oven in pantry rather than a microwave, and leave the microwave handy in the main kitchen. I imagine wanting to heat up that cup of coffee or quickly heat up a plate of food and having to walk back to the pantry. Would you be using the microwave a lot prepping for a party? Normally, I dislike hallways because they quickly eat up space. But I do like the way your office is separated a bit, but near from the kitchen and family room. And I like how you don't have to walk *around* the wall to get to the pantry - it needs to be easy and quick to get to. And the fact that it is hidden is a great feature. -Will your guests hang out with you in the kitchen while you cook, or are you a bit more formal? or both? -Would you ever want a separate entrance into the formal dining, if you were to have caterers for example? I did notice that you had 2 doors to the pantry, it may get cramped, but what do you see using the 2nd door for (the one past the elevator)? Beautiful=)!

Congrats on getting ready to remodel your kitchen! But honestly, I think you can improve upon this plan. Is your fridge currently against the wall as shown in the plan? Do you have any problems opening the freezer door with only 2" to its left? Even if you can, this location won't allow you the option to switch to a French door fridge in the future. It won't be possible to open the door wide enough to pull out fridge drawers. This is how wide I have to open my fridge door to pull out one of the 3 drawers. No way could I do that with only 2" between fridge and wall. You haven't allowed a decent aisle at the end of the peninsula. It's the only way in and out of the kitchen and it's only 35" wide. I think you need to reduce the peninsula from 108" to at least 101" (42" aisle); 95" would be better (48" aisle). You haven't accurately shown the width of the peninsula. You forgot the counter overhang for the cabinets, which is generally 1 1/2". So your peninsula will be 37 1/2" not 36". Two people will be able to work on a 95" peninsula if no one is at the range or the oven door is opened. It's going to be close quarters for more than one person at the range. And it's going to be impossible for someone to load or unload the DW when someone's at the range and vice versa because the range and DW doors overlap. Your plan shows a 12" wide cabinet between range and peninsula; you can't butt cabinets up against each other in a corner. You need to include a 3" spacer in the corner so that you can open drawers without them banging into the handles of the drawers perpendicular You won't be able to open the drawers without banging into the drawer hardware of the perpendicular run. Here's my corner with a drawer base next to the corner. That means that you'd only have room for a 9" wide cabinet, which Ikea doesn't make. You can correct that by shifting the peninsula 3" towards the FR or 2" by switching out the base cab for a 38" x 38" corner cab. Which brings up another issue. Ikea doesn't make a 36" corner cabinet, only a 38" corner cabinet. Here's your plan with the issues I see corrected (blue circles are people. Gotta use your imagination, lol): And that hasn't addressed the concern stated above: a 24" sink cabinet is undersized. That's what I often recommend for prep sinks. And the DW is in the prep zone between sink and range. Do you have pantry storage somewhere? Is getting 4 seats at the counter a must? Is the 9'6" measured to the DR doorway or to the dotted line in the first floor floor plan above? If the latter, what is the width of the wall to the DR doorway? If the latter, and you can get by with only 3 counter seats, consider this idea: No appliance door overlap, fridge doors can open unhindered, pantry storage included, fridge at perimeter so family and friends can grab drinks easily, plenty of room for more than one person in the kitchen, more than one good stretch of counter to work on, more than one way in and out of the kitchen, 3 seats (2 comfortably) at the counter, and a larger sink base with the sink is centered on the window. I forgot to mark it but I recommend that you get a single bowl sink with off-set drain and the sink cab with pull-out function so you can put the trash under the sink on the non-disposal side. You can get by with only 36" between FR furniture and island because the seating is on the long side, not the short end. Would this work?

Prep Zone...This is the zone where food preparation takes place. Food prep can be anything from making a sandwich to preparing a multi-course meal. It includes cleaning/rinsing food, cutting, mixing, processing, etc. For many people, especially those with small kitchens, their Prep Zone is also their Baking Center for rolling out dough, etc. 70% or more of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent prepping. It's the most often used and longest used zone in your kitchen! So, this zone should be placed in the most desirable place – where you will want to work and will enjoy working. . Cooking Zone...This is the zone where you take the food you've already prepped and apply heat...cooktop, oven, microwave (MW). Only 10% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent actually cooking. This is the least used Zone, relatively speaking. Think about it, you usually don't spend the entire time standing in front of your oven or cooktop watching your food cook. Sure, there are some things that do have to be stirred constantly, but most things do not. And even then, you usually still spend more time prepping before you begin cooking. This is the zone that should be the most protected from traffic, especially traffic that's "just passing through". . Cleanup Zone...This is the zone where the dirty dishes are handled! Tasks include clearing the table and counters, loading the dishwasher (DW), wiping down the table and counters, sweeping the floor, etc. Since the DW is in this zone, it also includes unloading the DW, so Dish Storage should be nearby – more on this later. 20% or less of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent cleaning up – most of which is not spent at the sink (see above). [In the past -- pre automatic DWs -- far more time was spent cleaning up because all dishes were done by hand. Today, the majority of dishes are washed in the DW and, with today's DWs & DW detergents, dishes don't even need to be rinsed! So, the amount of time spent in this zone is far less today! BTW, this is where the paradigm of "the sink must be in front of a window" came from – back when so much time was spent hand washing & drying dishes). Today, it makes more sense to have the Prep Zone in front of window or in the most preferred view/location.] . . OK, now we know what the primary zones are. So, how do we design a kitchen keeping them in mind? . Prep Zone...works best when it contains a water source (sink) and is next to or across an aisle no more than 48" wide or so from the Cooking Zone. Trash & recycle bins should also be in the Prep Zone. More trash and recyclables are generated during prepping and cooking and for much longer work time than cleaning up, so place the trash/recycling in the Prep Zone and near the Cooking Zone. It should have a minimum of 36" of counter space (with at least 42" much, much better) that is next to a sink that is uninterrupted by the Cleanup Zone (dirty dish "storage"). If you have only one sink, then the Prep Zone is on the side of the sink opposite from the DW. (The DW side of the sink is the Cleanup Zone in this scenario.) . Cooking Zone...works best when next to/across from the Prep Zone (see Prep Zone). It's also nice to have a water source as well as trash & recycling nearby. Note that a pot-filler does not count as a water source since pot-fillers do not have a drain, a sink bowl, or access to both hot and cold water. . Cleanup Zone...works best when separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This can be on the opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a water source and the DW.