Thanks for all your input. We're getting a custom cabinet guy to do the work so he should be able to get things straight. dabunch- I'm with you on the natural woods. I'd love to see pics when you get things up and running fully with your PC. That's the same color scheme we're looking at. Our floors are Brazilian Cherry and we want natural maple cabinets. I've been thinking of some accent somewhere in the cabinets. The moulding thought was just mine, hadn't even passed it by my DW, yet. Plus the ceilings are on 8' so they may be too close together to pull of the different color. The other thought was to have just a couple doors in cherry. We're going with 30" counters so our uppers will be 15". Our current hood (Best by Broan so I don't want to replace it) is for 12" so I was thinking that instead of putting a filler at the back, we'd put 12" uppers in for the hood and accent them with cherry. That way if we decide we don't like them down the road, we can just change out the doors... It's all a work in progress. I'll be posting a layout soon and I like the idea of a storyboard for colors. I'm modeling it in Google Sketch up but haven't figured out the whole colors thing yet so something simple to see the colors might be the right idea.

You can use books or scrap pieces of wood or almost anything to elevate things up there, as those pieces won't show. You can use small bowls that you turn over to create a base, or get standing plate holders for large bowls, plates and platters. You can also buy acrylic display stands or risers - my Office Depot sells them. Don't be afraid to have a little of the bottom of the pieces hidden, tho. You don't want them to look like they are floating in space above the cabinets. LOL

When you signed off on the cabinet order, was the order placed right away or did it wait until the molding price came in? I bet you are being penalized for placing a separate small order and they may have a minimum shipping charge that you would not have had to pay if the molding had been ordered at the same time. Do not mention it until you get an answer, but if yes, it is more for that reason, you should let them know you expect they will take care of this without penalty to you and speak with a manager if necessary. They should not have placed your order until it was complete if it would cost you more to do wo without discussing it with you. If they didn't, you should not have to abosrb the cost. If you are still within the time when you can cancel the entire order with minimal/no loss, you might nicely inquire if that is possible while you work this out, and then place the order again with everything included. Before you say anyththing else you might want inquire if this is the case. The fact that the labor for the molding was included in the original contract clearly indicates that they were aware that you wanted it. And, yes, I think molding makes a huge difference in the finished look of the kitchen even if it is a very simple molding. The one exception might be a galley type kitchen or a contemporary style. JMHO. Unless DH is exceptional, most men don't place anywhere near as much importance on aesthetics as you would, but chances are when you go to sell, the molding will pay for itself. Sue

kitschyKitch: Thanks for your reply! Good riddance is the route we're heading! It's amazing how so few cabinets are without a crown (unless they're modern). I only found a handful of pics online. detroit_burb: I just measured. We have 82.5" between the bottom of the soffit and the floor. The soffit is a whopping 12" tall! GreenDesigns: Hmmm - staggered heights. That is a very interesting idea! I didn't think of that. I'm not sure if I would like the look of it in our L - but, we will have cabinets on the opposite wall too. I could probably get away with it here. Hmmm... Good food for thought. Thank you! Should the small appliance run be part of the L, or is it okay for it to be on an opposite wall? This is the wall opposite the L. I could make the white uppers with the space below it the shorter cabinets, and put appliances there. Hmmm... WALL OPPOSITE THE "L" THE "L" Emilner: Ah! Your soffit is 12" too! I will ask my DH if we could possibly reframe it. (He's been working his butt off for a year and a half now renovating our fixer upper house and still has a LOT left to do. I think I remember him telling me that the pipes come close to the bottom of the soffit in some places, and even if they don't, I'm not sure if he'll want to take on the task of reframing the entire soffit just so I can have my crown molding, but I will (gently) ask!) aliris19: Wow, that was a really informative thread! Thank you for it and for your thoughtful reply! The two things that stuck in my mind were the photo showing 15" inches as ideal for someone 5' 10" (DH is just shy of 5' 11" and I'm 5' 7"), and someone saying that an OTR microwave (which we are planning on getting) needs 18" (ack!!) - hope that is wrong!! Lol! It seems that the main purpose to have 18" is for small appliances. We don't have a tremendous amount of counterspace as it is, and aside from the coffee maker, I don't think I want them cluttering things up. So, they will most likely be stored away in a cabinet until needed. If that's the case - I guess my only "need" (want) for more space is for a crown. And like you said, there are other ways to go about making it look nice. We should probably mount the cabinets flush first and see how we like the look. So many decisions!! Thank you all again for your replies!!!