All the names provided above are pretty well known and have dealers almost everywhere. If you find a norcraft dealer you are looking at Mid continent just so you know. Midcontinent dealers have to order more often to get that name so they normally get the cabinets at a cheaper price. They pass the savings on or they may try to keep it. Some dealers on here will tell you that a indepent store with Kraftmaid gets it at a lower price then the big box stores. I do not know that for certain but I do sell Allwood brand cabinets known to be sold by costco. Allwood charges more to Costco according to my Allwood sales rep because they provide more service and support to costco then they do me. So that is probably true for Kraftmaid. Supply is greater than demand in the remodeling world so prices are lower then a few years ago. Some cabinet makers have adjust prices quickly others have not. Independent dealers have to keep their doors open so their prices are in many cases just trying to stay alive as demand slowly matches up to supply. Larger companies like lowes and home depot have an army of people that are comparing what other companies are charging and the result is each company tries to pretty much offer what another large company is doing for about the same price. Smaller companies that do not spend the money to build their name nationaly to the extent of the brand names thrown around here are usually a good bet. I read a lot of posts of people buying from what I call shade tree cabinet makers. It seems most are happy when they post their end results. I am teased all the time by sales reps I have to many companies and it is not a good idea. I run my business from school of Hard Knox everything I know is from being hands on and learning as I go. Many people on here would call me a fly by night dealer because I have not made it big to afford a large showroom to show off with. That really has nothing to do with my knowledge of available products and my understanding of remodeling as I have gone to school for construction management and have built 100 plus homes in my 20's as the project manager. That means I did not have the money to invest to start off going full speed at the start. I have had to learn what companies were out their how to get permission to sell the products. I have had to figure out which companies stand behind their products and which do not. I have had to learn who sells things at a better price then the next guy to. If you do not make the cabinets you buy low and sell higher for a combination of the poduct value and the value of your service to design and occasionaly be involved in the remodeling. I have seen the prices for and been involved in the ordering of products for about 40 cabinet companies. I currently offer to people I know about 20 of the 40. Here is a list of what would fit your question that may bring a different answer then anyone else on here. Niche market brands you will not hear much of here that are low priced are Brandom (limited lifetime warranty, and 39" wall cabinets available) Kabinart (plywood boxes only 10 year warranty decent sku availability) Bridgewood- Advantage Series (10 year warranty, they make their own doors for framed and frameless cabinets for all your European lovers out there, so you can specify special width or height (max 96") for a cost of about $100 extra per cabinet, they make proper wainscott panels for the backs of islands. True raised panels can be added to the sides of all exposed cabinets, and they have about 60 available modifications. I can give any of the cabinet companies listed above a run for their money and give you more customization to make it fit without any fillers if I wanted to. 6 square is a good in stock cabinet for the money if you like the door style and colors offered. Their cabinets are made as good as anyones. The roll out trays are even soft close full extension dovetail drawer boxes.

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. Yes, the fridge clearance is an issue but I was thinking maybe a 2-3 inch gap would do it, or have the door open on the right (not ideal, I know, but I've lived with that before). The eating area in the nook would not be isolated - the opening there is 4 feet wide and I can see all the way to the back corner if I stand at the current range location or where the new range would be. Anyway, my kids are 6 and 4 so safe enough alone for a minute; and right now I don't have any view of them at all when I go back and forth to the kitchen from the DR. Not earthquake country in upstate NY as far as I know :-) What an interesting suggestion, John. How much space would we need to make the chimney into a pizza oven? It goes up from the basement and through the 2nd floor to the roof and my guess is that it is the original chimney for whatever cooking range was in the house when it was first built (because there is another chimney in the LR with two flues for the fireplace and the boiler in the basement). Maybe the kitchen chimney even has an opening already. I can't wait to uncover it! A few months ago we tried to bash a hole in the dry wall over it to see what was back there but all we hit was wood framing. Then we lost our nerve and didn't want to make a huge mess so we stopped. We've hung a chalkboard over the dent in the meantime:-) Sorry for the fuzzy pictures - I will definitely try the Google Sketchup when I have a little time later this week. And I'll make a new post to ask about the layout. I still have lots of doubts and questions about the best changes to make. Debrak - I've got some of her books and I love them. Although I don't totally go for her devotion to open plan living, I like a lot of her ideas, especially because they mesh so well with our Arts and Crafts house. I bought her new book on remodelling, which I highly recommend, because she takes you step-by-step through all the different ways you could improve your house's entire layout before you get to the point of adding on. I especially like what she has to say about views through the house to windows onto the garden (which is one reason I am wondering about NOT closing off the doorway to the LR).

@Wes Hunt I believe Shiloh does an industry-standard post-catalyzed conversion varnish, so hopefully the finish will be more durable for you than Kemp would have been. As I'm sure you're aware, there are several different levels of pricing within the lines offered by W. W. Wood Products, Inc., Shiloh's parent company. Shiloh for some reason hasn't amassed many reviews around the web at the time of this writing outside of those on Houzz, but there are several threads here at Houzz that do discuss Shiloh's offerings and warranty fulfillment in depth. One of the things I've noticed is that people who went with the less expensive lines wished they had upgraded to the top Shiloh offering, and for people who did receive defective pieces, it was sometimes an issue getting satisfactory warranty service. If you are working with a reputable sales rep, hopefully they would take care of any issues you had promptly. Plenty of people have been very pleased with their Shiloh cabinetry. The tolerances on Shiloh's inset styles aren't as tight as you'd see from more expensive brands like Christopher Peacock or Kennebec according to some reviewers familiar with a wide range of brands, but for many people who want to save and yet still want that inset look, Shiloh does just fine for them. Of course, as you're aware, inset is not the only style Shiloh offers. I hope your project goes smoothly. Thanks for allowing the Houzz community to have input into your research process.

Vantage is dealer only, and higher quality than the box store. 40-50K should be very doable. But you need a better design. And to account for all the things you’re not thinking about. Electrical for better lighting and to update to code, plumbing disconnects and reconnects , painting, flooring removal (with dust control) and prep for new floors. And all the rest. There are no mid grade RTA lines. RTA in and of itself is for DIYers. By the time you add in the contractor labor for assembly, your costs are just as high as buying assembled. Conestoga is a upscale RTA, but it will cost you more than KM if you have to pay for assembly. You’ll end up with a better product, but it’s probably overkill for what you actually need. There are scads of mid grade lines, but cabinets are primarily sold regionally. Name off some brands available to you. Price should tell you though. For that space 12-15K would be a rough estimate of costs in a mid grade, with all of the needed finished touches, moldings, and panels. If you get quotes for less than that? It’s not likely to be mid grade. Or, it’s one of the junior lines from a mid grade company. Companies are cannibalizing their reputation by offering 5 different levels of product under one name. (Diamond, I’m looking at you!) People think that they are buying the mid line, and they are really buying the builder line. This is why you need the right Kitchen Designer. You need the guide services into the strange land. And the better design.