As we are close to the end of our kitchen project, we just had our Electrolux 36 inch induction cooktop connected. We are getting used to it as we never had an inducton cooktop. So far we love it. Also love the 30 inch Electrolux Icon PRo double convection over.

Thanks for the responses! To my eye, the Ocean Antique looks like honed Verde Lavras--a deep gray-green with black and occasional white. I think it's the fabricator's solution to meeting demand for soapstone, at granite prices. For those who have seen the Mamadadapaige kitchen (one of my favorites!), the coloring is very similar. Florantha and others, I'm trying to figure out how to post my floor plan, but in the meantime, I've attached a link to a photo I found of a kitchen with a layout and design scheme very similar to mine. The main difference is that my island is a rectangle, without the round piece at the seating area. Flooring, backsplash and appliance placement are similar. Maybe mixing the countertops is the way to go? Here is a link that might be useful:

I also heard that one of the Korean companies was making microwaves. Sharp and Panasonic for sure. All microwaves degrade from the jump. The magnetron (is that what it's called? Too early for me..) degrades with use. Search the forum, and you'll get good explanations from Kas about this. Investing a ton of money in a microwave, therefore, doesn't make a lot of sense. OTOH, that part will last a heck of a lot longer than a few years, if you get a kitchen grade microwave (as opposed to a desktop cutsiepoo unit for which I have no data at all). The thing that makes so many microwaves "disposable" is wear and tear. If you have family members who SLAM the door, PUNCH the buttons, etc., and constantly fiddle with it, starting and stopping and opening and closing, and just using it a lot for one mug of hot water, the box is going to wear out long before the magnetron. If you're nice to it, and use it a couple of times per day rather than all day long, it could last 20 years or more. One of the things you can get with a more expensive unit, along with looks and snooty badge, is potentially a sturdier housing. It is also potentially possible to have a built-in unit repaired (I can't imagine it being worthwhile to repair a freestanding unit). There are people who do microwave repairs and they do make replacement magnetrons. The only situation where that seems like a possible good idea, however, is when you have the beautiful built-in that matches your beautiful kitchen which still looks like new. Re convection: The initial convection microwaves didn't work well as ovens, and also didn't meet the expectations of the buyers. That was before convection ovens themselves were well understood in the US. In the time I've been researching appliances and hanging out here (coming up on ten years), the general tone from users of them has gone from not worth the money to acceptable second oven. Again, I don't know if that's a change in quality or in user expectations. Convection ovens cook with circulated hot air. They do a good job roasting. Great for "cooking" or "baking" a casserole. Even baking a loaf of bread. For small things, like cookies, a lot depends on the pan, the cookie and whether or not it really wanted bottom heat. For most, it'll do an acceptable job. Some outliers really do better with a proper baking mode. Egg rising things like angel cakes and soufflés really don't like being blown about. If you can arrange the angle of the pan to the blower just right, it's possible, but still iffy. The heated air can also bounce off the surfaces in unexpected ways leading to uneven cooking/browning, contravening the evenness that you otherwise get from the movement of the air. It's likely that there are still poor ones out there, especially at the lower end. There must also be good ones. Just familiarize yourself with the features and abilities of the unit, and use that to sift through the consumer reviews to know whether it was the oven or the user, and make your judgment from there.

I just renoed a similar size home. Put new cabs with granite. No laundry though. $9k for remnants and chinese cabs. My last laundry room was $1k for ikea and laminate (probably less actually). Base budget for current build is $35k. A bit more square footage but it would scale down to $28k for you. So my suggested range is $10k to $28k. Helpful? probably not but really the best I can do. Add 20% for HCOLA. What you can do from plans is get linear feet of cabs. That helps. Island? Paint vs stain? Crown/end panels etc? Custom panels for appliances? Ceiling height and plan for uppers (stacked/tall uppers etc). But most importantly is expectation on door complexity and degree of customization.