One thing with a 10" overhang is that you're not saving aisle space because stool legs splay wider than the seats for stability. Your real usable aisle space is from the stool feet over, regardless of whether they're covered by counter or not. On the plus side, maybe you might as well create an overhang generous enough to tuck them all the way under? It'd not only be more comfortable but look a lot better and be safer. Of course, it also means you need to choose and measure stools before making your decision. These tradeoffs are all very personal decisions, but, knowing how much even shallow storage holds, mine would be to look to the cabinets for the extra inches needed to make this work. I purchased ready-made Ikea 12" drawers for the top row of a line of 12" deep bottoms, with shelves below, so I would imagine drawer and sliding shelf mechanisms are available in a number of depths. If needed, I'd also plan storage for the Christmas dishes and the 3-element slow cooker used maybe twice a year, or whatever as needed, somewhere else in the house. This post was edited by rosie on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 8:13

@carii thank you for sharing your lovely kitchen, I would never have found Space.Theory without this thread! We're now getting a quote from them, too. I am also in Marin County and we're going through this same process of pricing out all our options for a very similar look to your kitchen. Would you mind sharing the information of the custom cabinet maker you got your quote from with the Shinnoki veneers? Thank you! Jess

Agree with Judy that the mirror should be the same color as vanity and side med cab should be the same color as the walls. Just be sure to get a satin or semigloss in the same color as the walls to paint the cabinet. Be sure to do proper prep to take the gloss off of all items before painting, use a primer, too. Top coat will stick better, be less likely to chip.

Cabinets are permanently installed built in obstacles. All floating floors should go around built ins, with an expansion gap, not under them. Only permanently fastened floors like wood or tile go under cabinets. The cabinets themselves need to be shimmed to the finished floor height, as that finished floor is the basis of all room measurements.