I work for a reputable hvac contractor in the south. We sell 80% and 90% furnaces, one-stage, two-stage, and variable speed. We sell AC and heat pump up to 18 SEER. We always try to give the HO a choice. It seems the bigger the house, the more the HO wants. For those with smaller houses, the upgraders tend to go for the AC first, then things like filtration and humidification, then the nice furnace. These are people who are gainfully employed and who plan to be in the same house 5 to 10 years later. That being said, I have a small house. I replaced my system 9 years ago, upgrading my AC to 12 SEER and adding Aprilaire filtration. Now, the one thing I really wish I had done is upgrade to a variable speed furnace. As far as that contractor goes, you may have to read between the lines some more. Maybe he genuinely cared about your parents' best interests. Maybe the president backed him up. Maybe you can find out what he sells to younger couples in small houses. Maybe Lennox has been putting out some bad product. Maybe he is thinking about switching brands and does't want the call-backs. Maybe he is a stick in the mud.

Small technical note - if you pull the wall cabinets out an inch, fillers in corners or blind corner cabinets can become challenging to figure out as both runs need to now be an inch shorter. Also, remember to leave a little slack because your walls will not be square, level or straight - and I do mean little, like 1-1.5". Personal opinion is that it would be just fine to break the line in the uppers and just use single doors over the refrigerator. Why? Visually, the cabinet depth is already changing and it's a big box anyway with the side panels. Also, because you won't be able to open those upper doors except with a ladder. With taller doors, you might be able to reach more stuff before pulling out the ladder. I have bakeware stored on the cabinet floor with trays on a fixed shelf above with tray dividers. I can reach both things without a ladder because I only need to grab a bottom corner to slide out trays.

Wasn't she the winner of "America's Top Dog?" When Gomer said that yes she was, Barnaby mentioned that he is a scout for "America's Got Talent" and he would love to have Margie on next year's show. Well, Gomer got so excited, he was stuttering and stammering and grabbed Barnaby's hand and shook till it almost fell off. Barnaby gave Gomer his card and said that he would get in touch with him for an audition. Gomer grabbed Margie and they jumped in "My Mother the Car" and he was telling Margie about all the the things they were going to do if they won. In the meantime he had to work on some new tricks for the show.

I do think the dispersal of counter around the sink will be a LOT better for the clean-up use, and I agree with you that it looks nice visually. The counter dispersal was the main reason I suggested this. I really think only 15" or even 18" between the sink and the wall is going to be awkward and annoying. However, setting the issue of the counter aside, the dishwasher placement -- middle, left, or right -- is more of a judgement call for you. In the middle, it impedes both doorways. I agree it's not a full blockage of both doorways, but for me (a clumsy person), impeding is worse than blocking. Because if I can squeeze by the dishwasher door, I will try, fail, and bash my shins. And if I tried to do it fast enough, probably bash my shins, trip, and kill myself. If dishwasher door were just flat-out blocking my way entirely (as opposed to merely impeding), I'd either have to enter the room at another time or close the dishwasher so my way is completely open to enter. The fact that I am totally uncoordinated would never come into play. If placed to the left, the dishwasher blocks the dining room door, but is out of the way of everything else. This means you can easily and freely use the entire kitchen and go in and out of the pantry while the dishwasher is open. To the right, the dishwasher blocks the pantry door, but is out of the way of everything else. This means you can easily and freely use the entire kitchen (one of the fridge doors couldn't open quite all the way, but you could still use the fridge) and go in and out of the dining room while the dishwasher is open. So, if you were only considering the dishwasher placement, you'd just have to decide between those three options (middle, left, or right) which works best for you. As I said, this is more of a judgement call. Is it better for you to keep the use of of all doors and walkways at all times, even if it makes some agility/grace necessary to use them, or is it better for you keep only one walkway open, but having it be wide open and easy to use. And if you pick the latter, then is it better to have the pantry door always open or the dining room door always open? This decision would be easy if you go in and out of the pantry 10% of the time and in and out of the dining room 90% of the time or vice versa. So deciding to block a door and which door to block would be a no-brainer. But if both doors are in constant use, that makes keeping the dishwasher in the center more attractive. However, I think the counter space weirdness caused by having the dishwasher in the center makes that option so unattractive that I would be looking exclusively at which door I want to block. If you are thinking that it makes more sense to have the dishwasher block the pantry, you could have both doors -- pantry and exterior -- swing out. Or you could make the pantry door a glass door so someone coming in can see if the dishwasher is open rather than discovering that upon opening the door into it. Or you could just not have a door to the pantry -- it could be a doorway only. (As an aside, I'd personally rather a bigger sink. There is a difference between the space you need in a sink to simply physically fit your largest pan and the space you need to manipulate it easily as you flip it around washing it. The latter is quite a bit larger.)