I don't really have a worry about accessibility to that cabinet. Most people have some kind of cabinet in the corner and it wouldn't have any more problems than any others, I don't think? I think the plans are lovely looking...Just gorgeous, in fact, and I think it is greatly improved over the previous plans for being the style and look you're after.

My only concern...How far did you end up having the sink from the corner cabinet. It looks like there's not much counter between the sink and cabinet? Anything sitting on the counter will decrease accessibility if the sink is too close and you might feel crowded in the clean up area. Another option would be to shorten the cabinets flanking the hood...maybe just a couple inches, and leave the end cabinets deep, but have them end at regular upper height, or just a little below....So you have the variation, but not lose the counter.

Mine don't have nearly the character and lovely detail you plan, but here is an example close to what I was suggesting:

I know you love the down-to-the-counter hutch, but I just thought I'd throw this out as another option if the sink area will be crowded.

I do love cabs that come down to the counter but do see a potential "tightness" issue. I know you love the cabs flanking the sink with the glass uppers. It's a great look. Another option since you have plenty of alternative storage is to use open shelving which I think would "go" with the look your after but add to upkeep with dusting and all.

Hi rhome,thank you for the photo. Last night while I was mulling this over I went back to my post about the hutch like cabs and yours was one of the photos I made note of; yours is pretty similar to mine with your deep bookcase tucked into the corner. Yes, I did think about the sink as well; I will have some room, not much to the left of the sink, and a lot to the right (where the dishwasher and trash are, but you are right, this is an issue. I do like your idea of shortening the cabs next to the range and keeping the depth and a little of the height of the outer ones. I am loathe to lose the variation in cabinet height, depth, and width more than anything else. How would you divide up the cabinets on either side if you wanted to widen the outer ones? Maybe 18" and 27" on the outer cabs and 24" (double door) on the inner ones?

Modelfla, I agree about the tightness. Aside from physically being cramped around the corner to the sink, I'm concerned about it *looking* cramped. It's a tall space (9ft ceiling) but the counter run on the stove wall is not particularly long, and I think those super tall cabinets are better suited to a longer run without a corner. I definitely don't want it to look like I was trying to hard to achieve a certain look. I do want it to look like the cabinets were built in at the time the house was constructed, if that's possible. Can I do varying heights and depths of cabinets and still used decorative brackets? Rhome, I misunderstood your suggestion initially; I thought you were talking about making the inside cabinets less wide but you actually said shorter (as in height.) I agree, but how many inches would you raise them?

Are you talking about raising the bottom height? Unless you're really really tall; I can't see making them too much higher and be functional. Does anyone ever use shelving and then put glass cabs above them? I have no ability to picture it in my head... I'd have to see it.

I love the look! Although I think the sink is a bit cramped and the sink run looks a little out of balance with the long run to the right and such a short run on the left. Have you thought about swapping the sink and the DW or the trash? Maybe the trash would be better to have closer to the stove?

I like that idea of swapping the sink and the d/w or trash to give me more room to the left of the sink. The d/w is a 24" and the trash is an 18" cabinet. Would it make more sense to move the trash to the left and leave 24" of counter to the right of the sink? Would it be weird to have the main sink so far from the stove? (I do have a prep sink directly behind the range.) I guess the only disadvantage to this would be that the d/w is farther from the dish hutch but I think that is minor compared to the left side of sink counter space I'd gain. Thanks so much for all your ideas!

Also, my KD suggested 15"depth for the outer cabs rather than 18". The cabs flanking the hood would remain 12" deep. Would you do 15" or 18" for your deeper cabs?

I actually thought 18" would be a bit deep. They would look hefty. I vote for the 15".

Here is what I was thinking. With respect for Remodelfla's fear that raising them would make them too high, I left the cabs flanking the hood at their normal ht and just made the others 2-3 inches longer. I would probably still raise the shorter ones a bit so the end ones wouldn't hang too long. I don't think it'd make them that much harder to reach. I'm 5'3 and the ones next to my hood are a little high, but not bad and they're 6" up from standard upper ht.

I'd switch the trash w/the sink, not the DW. You want at least 24" workspace on both sides of a main/cleanup sink. It will also make the trash accessible to the range and prep sink.

I think Buehl must mean put the trash where the sink is and shift everything to the right? If so, I agree. I think the dishwasher would be in the way if on the left of the sink, and I do like to reach the trash from my cooking and prep areas.

Hi. A couple of thoughts. First, you scared me saying the right upper would be unusable, because I'm planning one just like that. (See my post below about our lighting plan.) So I went to my kitchen and mimed it out, and I don't think there'll be any problem with it. I'm 5'6".

I also love to-the-counter, and stacked, upper cabinets and dislike corner units, so I understand what you're feeling! I think you did a nice job on the stove wall overall, but I do think the left, narrow cabinet is too narrow. If you could widen it, as you mentioned, that would be an improvement. Is there any way you could move the stove to the right a few inches, making room to widen it on this side as well? If the tall cabinets were more similar in width I think it would look more balanced. Hmm, here's another idea, that might help visually and functionally, but is a little unusual. You could narrow the door on the far right upper, and put a wider stile (vertical piece) on the cabinet's frame in the corner. (A sort of filler strip.) This would balance the glass door sizes more, especially if you can widen the left one. You wouldn't be using the right part of that cabinet, making access easier. You said storage isn't a major issue, so losing a little won't matter.

I second the idea of moving your sink, switching it with either the trash or the DW. To me it looks visually cramped there. I also think you want to be able to open the upper right cabinet without crossing over the sink. Would switching the sink with the trash give you enough room to do that? If not, switching the DW would work. Especially since you have the other sink.

The depth of the outer cabinets -- I have a feeling 15 " might look better, and it's more than adequate for storing dishes, etc.

I've been going through this same process for a long time now. It's exciting, but I'd advise you not to rush it. Make sure you're really happy with the plan before construction begins.

Good luck!

I think having the trash next to the corner, then slide sink and dw down would be better. The trash would be more accessible to both stove and clean-up sink and still keep 24" of counter to the right of sink.

I will be the vote of dissent (it is election day after all, LOL) in that I don't like the staggered upper depths. In general I like the staggered look, but not in this case. IMHO, it looks like there are too many little pieces put together, a bit more modern looking. I think it would look better if all the upper cabinets are one depth giving a more cohesive "pantry" look to the cabinets.

Egganddart, I mimed it out also and I felt I could reach the left side of the cabinet okay but the right side is going to be mighty tough. I am 5' 2" (although I lied on my drivers license and said 5' 3".) One of the reasons I like the cab going to the counter is that it will make reaching the first and second shelves easier. That was also a reason I moved the cabs out to 18" deep, to give me better access, but I think you all might be right, 15" is a better depth. Especially if we can't widen the left cab and it stays 15", it would be weird for it to be deeper than it is wide. To be honest, I'm fine with the glass hutch on the counter where it is, but I so often get carried away with form over function, I just wanted to get a reality check from some more practical people than I and make sure I wasn't breaking the 8th cardinal rule of kitchen design by running a cabinet up against a corner above a counter. The gas line is already in for the range and can't be moved. Rhome, thank you for your rendition. I do like it but I think I can make the on-the-counter cabs work if I use the suggestions here and cut back to 15" depth on upper cab and switch the peninsula run so that it goes: trash (18" cab) , then sink, then dw.

Sounds great! It's just good for you to think the options through and be sure you're happy with your choice. I have gotten the impression that you would always be sorry if you didn't get your counter cabinet, and reducing it to 15" and putting the trash in the new spot will really solve the spacing issue. I actually think that trash location will be better functionally, too, so the change is a big plus all the way around.

If you put rarely used things on the right side of the cabinet, and keep a step stool nearby, you can get that stuff when you need it.

I also go for form over function often, unless someone really talks me out of it. We're aesthetically driven!

mom2lilenj, thank you for weighing in with your "voice of dissent"! Your thoughts have been lurking in the back of my mind as well, and I needed to hear them out loud. In your opinion, is it only the depth variation that is making the space choppy/busy/modern or the height variation as well? In other words, would you keep all the cabs uniform, all in a line (no on-counter cabs.) And finally, if I do keep them all the same depth, should they be 12" deep or does anyone do all 15" uppers? Rhome, part of me thinks you're right, I won't be happy unless I get my counter cabs. Heck, I've been harping on this for months. But then I wonder if I'm just being stubborn and refusing to view the space the way it really is. Maybe it is the wrong space for counter cabs, and a run of wall cabs, with perhaps some decorative brackets for the hutch effect, would be more in keeping with my vision. Thoughts?

Nope. No reason to waver on your vision...or substitute details to 'fake it.' Now that you have the room in between that cabinet and the sink, so that there's no real functional conflict, I think you should have what you've been wanting or you'll regret it. You've expressed a passion for this style of cabinet for quite awhile now and worked pretty hard to get it.

Those are my thoughts.. :-)

Thanks rhome. I am the world's biggest second-guesser. I swear I don't see how I am going to get to the actual end of this renovation.

"I am the world's biggest second-guesser."

I am right there with you and completely understand. I am learning to divert my attention to other things, since I can't really change many of my decisions now that my kitchen is mostly finished...

It's funny the kitchens I've accepted in houses we've moved into without a 2nd thought, because 'it was what it was,' and I made do. Now we get a chance to do it our way and we nitpick and let every detail bother us, being so hard on ourselves about our choices, even though the kitchens themselves are SO much better than any we've had before! It's a sickness... ;-) Try to enjoy the process and love your new kitchen!

It is only the variation in depth, to me, that looks choppy. I like the "center" area shorter in that it frames the cooking area and gives lots of function. I personally like the cabinets coming down to the counter. And with the sink moved over and the shorter uppers flanking the range, I don't think you NEED that counter space for function, especially with the island right there.

Some old cabinets had variation in height (on the bottom), I actually bought an antique wall cabinet with the center shorter than the sides. It was ment to be sitting on a base, but it's going over my sink area. The entire cabinet is 52" tall, with a 28" wide center area that comes down 28" from the top, but the top of the cabinet is flat. (hope that makes sense) I love the look and it will give lots of headroom for the sink. The cabinet is 12" deep with inset doors, my larger plates fit but most of my platters don't (I have another place for them), so if you can I would recommend getting all 15" uppers especially if you want inset doors.