I looked into the pro series when it first came out, but the price put me off. Interesting that it has a spiral bound sidekick a la the early Time-Life Foods of the World series--probably my all time favorite.

Sharon - consider that 42' may be a little bit wide as its difficult to set a plate/drink down from that distance. However, if you have ever seen the old westerns where the bartender slides the drink down the bar, there are potential drinking games you could invent!! I might add, that I considered a 6' deep 8' island with a herb garden in the middle at one point, but opted against it and against a cook top in the space. Good luck! Sounds like you have a vision and know what you want. This is not a 1 size fits all world. Downdrafts are nice because they keep the visual space open and the newer models with high CFM work well. However, I would consider the retractable models, as this can provide a needed barrier from those sitting at the island the the heat/ mess of a cook top. As pendent lighting, for distance, 3" is a guideline.

Well, our first order of business is removing all the 3" baseboard (!!) that isn't even clear trim quality wood and restoring some "natural order" with a smaller opening to the dining room from the living room and creating an arched opening. That little "dinky wall"? I'm thinking of creating a Craftsman like "cabinet/column half wall" type of thing. Just to give the foyer (I'm from the South ;-) ) some space of its own. Also, every single interior door (3 - we're not talking big money here) is hollow core - and beyond that, they don't even match!! WTH??!!! The only interior door on the main floor is the powder room door - we already have a traditional five panel coming. And proper hardware. Yikes. When you start to think of it, it all really adds up! Marcolo, if the first floor offends your sensibilities, I'm afraid the second floor would make your head explode. It surely does mine! In the 90's reno, they removed all the Craftsman era details that were in the house and while not a true Craftsman, I think that restoring some of that feel to the house will be a better fit than Miami Vice. I'm just ignoring the vinyl windows for now ::faints:: We felt the house has good bones, is in a great neighborhood, and can clearly be nudged toward a modern lifestyle just not quite that modern. :-) The 90's reno made it so not a family home but we intend to change that with a plan that gives us 3 independent bedrooms and 2.5 functional bathrooms. That's to explain the choices in the kitchen that are more forward thinking/traditional rather than what would suit only my family (we could, for instance, have a 10 cu ft. fridge and an 18" dishwasher but I know those aren't good future choices for a hardworking family house). I'm getting my plans from the KD today. He really just drew up my initial impressions, so let the games begin!!

Carolina Kitchen and Bath - the trash is not next to the range. There is a cabinet between the range and the window. The trash is under the sink. The distance between the wall and island is supposedly 30 inches. As there are other doorways in our home that are this wide (and some smaller) this seemed OK to us. I think the distance from the front of the range to the kitchen island was 36 inches, but I will check.