eggandart49, thanks for the kind words. I had no idea how difficult these decisions would be!! in our last house, it was ll about budget, so things were a lot simpler. Ikea cabinets, basic appliances, and we used our creative DIY ingenuity for some awesome -but low-cost- details that made the kitchen pretty "wow" on a slim budget. This house is an investment for us, a 3-year project. A nice house is a VERY nice neighborhood that needs major updating. The market won't allow Ikea cabinets and budget appliances here. Which is, on the one hand, fun.... but also problematic. I have expensive tastes, and so the fact that I have bigger budget makes me want to go all out on my perfect kitchen.... but resale is key here so I can't be too avante garde. I'd be very sleek, green, and practical in my perfect kitchen... but here we need to stay "upscale cottage" (cherry shaker cabs, granite). Still, it's nice to be able to look at the nicer things. I just checked with a local real estate guru and she thinks "pro-style" is the way to go (even an "unknown" name). given that I'd prefer to cook on one for the next 3 years, I think I will go for it. So now it's down to the Capital or the American! Capital has 4x 15k btu. I think the American has one that's 17k. On an completely different topic, i'm shocked at how chintzy the interior of our expensive (well, expensive to ME) fridge is. We're getting the Jenn Air counter depth french door model and the produce drawers and stuff are as bad as the el-cheapo fridge in here now!! you'd think for $2500 you would get a little better drawer slides and stuff. Still, I love the way it looks, and presmably it'll keep stuff cold!!! And, I found a floor model on sale for $1800! Anyway- thanks so much for your comments... they really help!! Stacey

arapaho, here are a few pictures of the moulding which also was purchased from Norcraft. As you can see, the sides of the cabinets are not finished. Once we were able to move back into the kitchen--two years ago!--our DIY project slowed to just picking away at it. Just last weekend my husband did the apron trim under the windows. I certainly wanted to be able to post our kitchen but wanted to wait until it was just a little more done. I'll give it an objective eye this weekend and see if I can force myself to commit it to the internet:) We mistakenly placed the cabinets too high, forgetting we had the trim. Not only did DH have to rip the trim down he had to do it at an angle to account for this very crooked house and the very crooked ceiling. It looks fine but I was sooooo mad at me for the placement. I just knew it seemed too high, but at least it's not claustrophobic at my counter area! You can see the difference when you look at the two ends. There was a LOT that got ripped off. The appliances are all GE, purchased from a local store in their scratch and dent room because that's what the budget allowed.

I have my MW in my pantry, which is not a walk-in pantry. As mentioned by others, my electrician installed the receptacle for it, which was an easy job. I don't like the looks of a MW, and didn't want it taking up space on my counter, didn't want to reach high for it, and didn't want to reach low for it. Since my pantry shelves are adjustable, I found the perfect shelf height for my MW. Having said all that, I am not a frequent MW user. I use it once a day to heat milk for coffee, and then may or may not use it one more time a day to heat a potato or the like. I leave the pantry door open while I use the MW, but my pantry is in a corner so the open door is not in anyone's way. Smells or steam in the pantry have not been a problem. I really like this arrangement of MW in pantry. However, if I were a frequent MW user, or had kids constantly heating stuff, I would likely place the MW on a counter or use the shelf Dianalo linked above. Although you didn't ask, but for anyone reading this thread and contemplating a built-in MW, I would add that I would never have a MW built into my cabinetry. MW's these days unfortunately have short lives and planned obsolescence. Expect to get 3-5 years out of them, no more. (To that point, don't spend a lot on a big-brand-name MW. With the exception of the GE MW's, almost all MW's are made by Sharp and Panasonic, then rebadged, so you will be getting no additional value if you buy a Dacor, Electrolux, Viking, etc., but you will be spending double what a Sharp or Panasonic would cost.) Given the short lives of MWs, the built-in idea is a poor one, because when you have to replace the MW in a few years, you may not find one that will fit in the space, you'll have to get new trim, etc. Better to have a location where it's an easy swap-out.

We had a GE that lasted forever 30 years ago, but THAT expectation is long gone! We put that one in the garage because my DW wanted a new, sleek stainless LG model. Not a lot of problems with the LG, aside from the flimsy interiors, BUT a really cool Samsung caught her eye. So, you guessed it, the GE went out (probably still running somewhere), the LG went into the garage and the fancy Samsung adorned our kitchen. It has LEAKED (condensation drain/defrost issues that they have known about FOREVER) from the beginning when defrosting. Thankfully, we have tile floors now, so no big problems, just an annoyance. Fast forward, we are about to do a gut remodel of the kitchen and flooring which will put wood everywhere. Scares me to death to have wood in the kitchen, but DW is locked in. We've been researching and shopping appliances, etc. for years, and while we'd love a built in subZ, I just can't get beyond the idea that it will cost as much as my first sports car, AND they also have some repair issues. I can also replace that fridge at least 3 times before I'm close to the cost of subZ SO, we've pretty much decided on a 36" kitchen aid counter depth, as it fits our design and has really smart internal configuration that will meet our needs closely enough to give up our standard depth fridge (we cook a LOT, and have ingredients and leftovers in the fridge all the time). We would have to go with a 48" built in to get the space we need. Now, while appliances certainly aren't built anywhere near as well as they used to be, we've had nothing but good luck with kitchen aid so far (over 30 years). Our original paneled KA dishwasher ran every time, and actually cleaned the dishes. Oh, it WAS loud, so DW wanted a "newer" sleek LG that was quiet. So, to the curb went the old KA. The LG was stainless and less noisy, but it didn't actually clean and dry the dishes well. Then, after the 3rd repair (door seals, spray arm, internal rack, control boards), it just flat out died on Christmas day. Since it was out of warranty, we went shopping (and researching) and ended up with; a kitchen aid. It's been pretty solid. Cleans the dishes, quiet, and has lasted for twice as long as the LG so far. We're planning to keep in as the only current appliance in our kitchen remodel. At any rate, good luck! Appliance shopping to me is more of a pain than an exciting event, particularly knowing that you'll be spending a ton of money, and it'll likely break in a few years....