Oh thank you all so much for your responses!! It's so helpful... sara the brit: do you have photos of your Ikea corner cab? akchicago- I did consider a corner sink, but I REALLY want to be able to look out to my garden from the sink :) live_wire_oak- I do need to talk with the KD at my cabinet supplier, I know. She is great. But since we're waiting for bids back from the carpenters and haven't as yet totally finalized the space available, I don't want to waste her time yet. (She had completely hammered out our old layout back in January, and then...with advice from this forum... we decided to move the kitchen to a whole different room! So all her work on previous layout was for nought, and I don't want to make her start again till we're sure about the new layout.) It's a difference of 6" on one leg and 18" on the other, which make a lot of difference in our tight layout! I am HOPING to have the numbers this week (it has been 2 weeks already and not knowing what plan we can afford is just killing me!) and then I'll meet with the KD again. Again, thanks to ALL of you who responded, it is unbelievably helpful to get this input. These things are really major splurges for us and I really don't want to spend extra $$ if I don't have to! I will post the layout in a sec after I scan it. Stacey

Thank you all for your helpful advice. First of all, let me clarify, that I do value the kitchen designers and meeting with them a few times to gain more insight into their approach, the chemistry, any wow ideas, etc. At the same time, I do have some definite thoughts on what I want to do so I'm hoping the KD can enhance my vision and point out things that could be better done in a different way more efficiently. I am also asking for references. I posted my list because that's the part I am having trouble with since I really want to understand the cabinets and what makes one more expensive or better quality than another. I also would like to know out of curiousity, what is different about the truly highend $250K kitchen and their cabinets vs. the brands I am looking at. Is it an exotic wood? Is it a lot of custom detailing, etc.? The extra money can't all go to the KD. It would also just confirm that I'm doing the right thing given my simple tastes even though the reno budget is less than the 15%-20% of the house but could reach six figures. I like to learn and want to understand the terms e.g., "max door without a stile" is foreign to me but I want to know what the KD is talking about to make an informed decision or to have more influence. For example, I discovered that Woodmode/Brookhaven said they used particle board for the frame and I read about MDF being higher quality than that and plywood even better. So I know that if I go with WM./BH, I will need to factor in an upgrade to plywood. This makes me wonder about all the other things on my list that I sort of know but not really and maybe things that haven't even made the list. Point well taken that there are things beyond the list that I might not know about. However, we did hear about Rutt going into bankruptcy and emerging a different company. However, that doesn't mean that I want to ignore the things I can learn about. The comments about all of the brands, particularly P&F and Rutt being good brands is VERY reassuring and helpful. I will try to focus on them a little more. I happened to look at the Woodmode options for pulls/handles and really didn't like any and figured we would just have to buy those separate. Not sure if that would be the case for the other two. While this wouldn't be a make or break decision on any brand, if I see a trend of a bunch of things that in total are a deal breaker that would be useful to me. Maybe something like the thickness of the drawers or shelves doesn't really matter. Iakuval, first, I hope I've clarified to you that I am looking at the kitchen designer. I did find your segmentation of buyers interesting and am not sure where I fall. Price is important but not the driving thing at least not yet. On shopping for a kitchen, Sure, we have a range of the budget but it's a pretty wide one. Once I see how the costs come in based on my "outcomes" approach of what I want in the kitchen and adding up costs, I can see where I want to cut if it seems unreasonable. On shopping brand/color/door, I think every mfgr has the style I am looking for. Therefore, I do want to compare the quality of the cabinets themselves. But true, If KD and all other things are equal, then a small thing can sway our decision, Roco: I will check out Crown Point, though it is a late entrant. I don't want modern. We like transitional or contemporary but sometimes I've seen what I would call "modern" called contemporary. Maybe it's updated traditional? :) Goosler thank you for the net net of what you think I will find. I operate under those assumptions until I see otherwise. We haven't chosen the GC yet. We are meeting 3 on Tues and hopefully 1 the following week a fifth seems AOL and maybe not up to the job - we want licensed and insured contractors familiar with the permits for our town I will stat another thread when I have time and can find photos. I will call it something like "White Cabinet Kitchen Remodel Follow Up" Thank you all for your comments! I feel so fortunate to have stumbled upon this wealth of minds/knowledge. Plus, everyone seems very welcoming.

Thank you everyone! I have given everyone's ideas and suggestions a lot of thought. I'm grateful for the support of possibly going with DH's favourite plan, even though it's very unorthodox. I'm so grateful to you guys for giving me so many ideas and working within the oddness of this room. I really like sena01's idea of running the stairs in both directions, and I've combined that with Lavender_lass's island idea and come up with this: (thank you to you both for the continued help!): The island could having perching for 2 stools, space for a shallow cabinet facing the pantry and also book shelving running along the sitting room side. What I really like about this plan is that the stairs (which rebunky correctly pointed out are dangerous on the diagonal angle) are straight, the range/cooktop area could create a focal point, the fireplace can be viewed from the table and also I can expand the table with the leaves for those times we have houseguests, which is a nice bonus. My only concern about this plan is will I use the island for counter space? Or will it just sit empty unless we have it set up for guests, appies etc (which is not a regular occurrence). As soon as I drew this out, I realized this plan would work better with a range and get rid of the wall ovens for extra counter space. We'll see how much of a fit DH throws over that. -jlc712 - thank you for the drawing and your feedback! A KD actually drew up a plan just like that, but we eliminated it because it had quite a bit less storage than we have now, which we weren't comfortable with. -sena01, thank you for the 3D rendering! I totally see what you mean now. I hadn't thought to extend that peninsula further than the fridge on the other side. Very interesting thought. This is a good compromise if I lose the cabinet run by the pantry in order to have stairs in both directions. This is very helpful, thank you. -Jillius - you have such a talent for seeing a space in a totally new light. Thank you so much for the radical and amazing plan. I will admit that it got my heart beating faster! The more I think about it, the more I would rather go with that plan than the Plan D I have been discussing in this post. I agree that it uses the room in a more logical way. I could even add a gas fireplace (no idea on cost!) over in the sitting area, where the garden window is now, and add windows on either side. I'm going to show this to DH and we will discuss how we feel about going for a huge change. If money was no object, I really think I'd be on board right now. -llucy - You're right that I haven't addressed the uppers at all. It's because I'm so overwhelmed at the footprint, I figured I'd get that nailed down before I confuse myself more! One thing is for sure, I would love (even a small!) prep area that doesn't have uppers in my face. I have been giving a lot of thought to what you wrote about cooktop vs range and how that affects counter space. Thank you for that. -rebunky - you are completely right about the diagonal stairs being dangerous. Whenever we have someone come over who isn't used to the house, we have to warn them about the stairs :( Thanks for your encouragement and for understanding that we only want to make a change if it's going to be much better so as to be worth it! -lavender_lass, thank you so much for coming back for another look at my layout dilemma. I'm so appreciative of your help and I feel better just knowing you've had a look! About the stairs: rebunky was wondering if it might be kinda tight with the arm chair in the way of the stairs. I wanted you guys to see what it would look like. I moved my dog's anti-slip carpet to the line of where the bottom of the new stairs would be. Even in this new plan with the island, I'm hoping it will look okay because that's basically what I have now. What do you guys think? Does this look like an acceptable entry to the room?

"Doors and drawers not shutting properly is a classic symptom of a "racked" cabinet." It is also a classic symptom of the freight company being a little rough, shifting the back or the drawer glide. Racked drawers, not cabinets, happens every time I stand a cabinet on its side to carry it down the hall and into the bathroom by myself. A headache is a classic symptom of a brain tumor, but seldom does a headache mean you need to get an MRI before taking an aspirin. "not just one drawer. Its all drawers." A cabinet that is "racked" is still square at the bottom drawer due to the bottom panel of the cabinet keeping it square unless the cabinet is broken. Your guess would be more likely if it was way more predominant on just the top drawers, a little on all the middle drawer, and not really noticeable on all the bottom drawers. "There's absolutely no need to install screws through a side panel when everything is as it should be." I am not partial to leaving the possibility open for the granite installer to be able to accidently rack the cabinet, and neither are any of the many cabinet installers I know. It certainly does not hurt, or rack the cabinet when done properly, but you would rather jump to the conclusion of the rookie move you appearantly made. What speaks volumes, roof35, is your jumping to the only conclusion your lack of experience could think of... and, do not forget that the company that sells these cabinets, and deals with them every day agrees with me as to what is most likely.