Sink and prep area under the window. You spend a lot more time cleaning and prepping than cooking. Also if the stove is between the two windows and your hood isn't strong enough then any grease would just make the windows dirty.

@mama_goose: I am also having a hard time choosing between the two :)The U shape with the sink on the opposite side appeals to my sense of symmetry and also has a ton of very usable counter/prep space. We have a 6 year old and our current layout also has the sink on the opposite counter from the range. So we have been adopting the "oven door is open, caution everybody" approach.

The one with the prep sink on the same side seems more functional but like both my wife and @practgal point out, may suffer from grease accumulation on the windows. Also my wife is concerned about being able to reach the corner behind the sink for cleaning.

@buehl or other layout gurus: Any thoughts?

If you chose the design with two sinks, it sounds like you would consider the corner sink your main prep sink? I would personally not, after having a Stages45 to prep in. Although it would be handy to have a 2nd, at what cost to counter space and your work style. I think that is what you and your wife need to work through, who would do what in which location. How much space do you use when you make bread and do you like/need to bake near a water source? You should have your plans out while cooking and talk about how you would do things in each of the scenarios thinking through traffic patterns. Over the years have you wished you had two sinks? I would also hate to lose the second Susan in light of all your gadgets and pots n pans. This plan works well for two cooks actively prepping at the same time, but I would not place the second sink in the corner. If you do not plan to do most of your prepping with the Stages45, then I would get another of the large sinks recommended.

I also prefer the last plan with the large sink under the window. I think it separates the prep (for multiple cooks) nicely while not congesting the cooking area. I prefer having prep away from the cooking zone. I am mostly concerned with the range being so close to the doorway. If you're looking for personal opinions, I could have put a second sink in my kitchen, but chose a long expanse of counter instead. I love having that counter space for baking. It really comes down to your priorities.

On another note, I noticed you have a lot of small drawers. I hope you consider lots of 30" and 36" drawers. They are versatile storage for pots, pans, casseroles, bowls, Tupperware, dishes-basically the best use of space.

vishketan, I missed your question about 2-D layouts. I usually copy the posted plan into Paint, then it's easy to capture and move sections, or copy and paste. If I want to draw a plan on a measured grid, I download a grid from the 'net (I have one saved in my Desktop), then copy and paste it into a new window. I also copy and paste sections to make it bigger, if necessary.

As for cleaning behind the small prep sink, I don't think it will be much more difficult that cleaning a regular 90° corner. You can fill in the corner with a diagonal panel, under the upper cabinets, if it's a concern. I was able to find only a few pictures to illustrate my point, so it's evidently not a problem, even with the wider sinks:

I think it will depend on how you cook? Do you go to the sink or the refrigerator more when you use the range. I go to the fridge more since I take things out as I cook so I would prefer the large sink under the large window. Have you tried the range and the sink on the long wall?

@rantontoo: Yes I have a version which puts the range and sink on the long wall. Will post later today. I have tried sketching up all possible combinations ;)

Did you say you were open to moving windows? I know your DD is six and listens to kitchen warnings, but I'm thinking about gangly, can't control their bodies and don't seem to listen because they are in their own world, teenagers, and their friends...Obviously having a range next to a doorway isn't the end of the world, but protecting it would be better!

@cluelessincolorado: The upside of having the range on the wall with the windows is that it is protected the downside is that the windows are likely to become greasy, especially since we tend to cook reasonable amounts of Asian food.

Tough decisions.

IF you can move windows:

I tried the layout that you suggested and the main problem I ran into is that the sink is too close to the edge of the L counter. I posted on another thread and multiple people suggested that you need at least 18" of clearance between the bend of the counter and the sink.

Ah, I was looking at scrappy25's set up.

Hmm ... Now I see what you are saying. Let me play around with this idea in Sketchup.

One problem is that my wife is not quite sold on putting the range near the windows. Just like practigal she is worried about grease buildup on the windows.

My reference to a corner only has to do with the fact I don't like the physical space constraints and limitations on the use of the sink. You may not mind it. I prep completely in the stages and only need counter space for the fridge and pantry items I'm preparing. I like having the fridge near my prep space. Scrappy's design is absolute genius for her space and gave her that beautiful stretch of counter under her window, but you have such different specs. You have many choices that your cooking style needs to dictate. Have you prioritized your needs? That will help narrow down your direction.

That is good advice bbtrix!

If you lose one of the L corners, the sink and stove on the long wall would have more straight counter room. I would not worry about its lose.... I hate my corner cabinet; it is the thing I am looking the most forward to eliminating in my remodel.

@rantontoo: I was not totally sold on corner cabinets also. The one that we currently have is not functional. However, after inputs here and from my friends, it looks like super/lazy susans are very effective in putting away big pots pans and appliances.

My contractor came out and looked at the attic and concluded that we cannot place the stove on the wall with the windows because there is not enough clearance for running a vent to existing opening in the roof. A new opening cannot be created because we have solar panels and in general creating openings on standing seam metal roofs is hard. This does somewhat restrict our choices in terms of layout.

I'm a little late to this and you've already received lots of good advice. But you had asked for pictures of baking centers, so I'll post some of mine. In your original layout you have a corner with the kitchen aid mixer and a lazy susan plus a set of drawers. That is exactly what I have for my "baking center". Mine is in the corner of the peninsula, so I have more counter space than you can have, but it still could work.

I was able fit almost all of my small baking tools in an 18" set of drawers, and I also store various flours, sugars and salt there. All my bowls (I have a lot), measuring cups, and cake/pie/tart pans are in the lazy susan. I have my larger baking pans above the oven using some Wilton tray organizers I found on Amazon. (Love them.) You don't have a wall oven, but if you are not too short, you could put a cabinet over your refrigerator and store them there. I am only 5'3" and I could reach the pans with some stretching if I did this. Not ideal for me, but it would work for someone taller.

I LOVE baking with this new set up and organization. It is so easy to grab what I need when it is all in the corner.

I'm back! (Sorry, but I've been dealing with medical issues, so I have only been able to do quick drive-bys for the past couple of weeks - and only on & off).

To answer your questions:

(1) What software are you using to generate the floor plans. I use Sketchup for 3-d plans and Omnigraffle for 2-d plans and they are somewhat clunky and hard to make changes.

• I use MS PowerPoint. I have a template that I created with graph paper I downloaded from the web (scale is 1 box = 6" x 6").
• Using boxes, circles, etc., I then created various sizes of appliances, fixtures, etc., all to a scale of 0.8 = 24"
• If you'd like, I can send it to you. Email me at EverCurious2009 at gmail dot com

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(2) The door to the laundry is likely to be moved to align with the entry door to the kitchen as part of the remodel. Given this, would you make any changes to the layout suggestions above? In particular, would you recommend a U shaped counter for layout #3 as opposed to an I shaped counter?

Since you cannot move the range to the window wall, I think I would probably not do a "U" shape so you have room for the refrigerator, steam oven, and Cleanup Zone on the window wall. If you make it a "U", you lose the ability to have tall items on that wall. See Layout #4 below.

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(3) Is there any downside to having the range so close to the windows? Not sure if it matters, but the windows are wood windows.

Overcome by events (OBE) - you cannot move the range to the window wall. But to answer your question, if you have a good range hood - meaning it's at least 6" wider than your range, at least 24" deep, and at least 100cfms (b/c you say you do a lot of Asian cooking), then you would be fine. I don't think you would get much grease on windows flanking the range with good venting.

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(4) In layout #3, would you still recommend a 45" sink in the cleanup zone, given that the main prep area is on the opposite counter?

OBE - you cannot move the range to the window wall. To answer your question, I would probably not - but you seemed to really, really want the sink! Again, see Layout #4 below.

Layout #4:

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Zone Map:

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General Notes...

Based on the latest information that you cannot move the range to the window wall, here's another layout. It includes moving the Laundry Room/Powder Room door down to match the Entry door.

This layout moves the refrigerator to the window wall - with it in front of the DR/FR doorway for easier access from those rooms when setting the table, getting condiments or drinks/snacks from the DR & FR - all without getting in the way of others prepping, cooking, or even cleaning up. Note that this move also opens up the range wall - and the aisle b/w the Pantry and range wall is a couple of inches wider. The DR/FR doorway won't feel as cramped.

The windows are consolidated into one 51" wide window - that should open up the sink wall and bring in a lot of light!

All counters are 3" deeper than standard - so they are 28.5" deep. Base cabinets and upper cabinets are also 3" deeper than standard - 27" and 15" respectively. This gives you more workspace as well as more storage. You might be able to get away with another 3" of depth on the sink wall, but I would not increase the range wall any more b/c of the proximity to the Entry door.

Nice separation of zones...The Prep and Cooking Zones are together and separated from the Cleanup Zone and Dish Storage.

Prep Zone & Cooking Zone...

The bottom wall contains the Prep Zone (with a prep sink in a 21" sink base) and the Cooking Zone. Ideally, these zones should be next to each other or across an aisle no more than 4' to 4.5' wide.

I would really prefer these zones better protected from traffic - especially from the Entry, but if you cannot move the range to the window wall, there isn't much choice - at least for the Cooking Zone. At least the range has been moved away from the Entry door so people have more time/space to swing into the middle of the room and around the range.

Question... Instead of moving the Laundry Room/Powder Room doorway, could you move the Entry door? If so, I would move it up a bit so there's more protection of the Prep & Cooking Zones.

There are 43" of prep workspace b/w the prep sink and range - plenty of space!

There are 14 to 15 inches of space b/w the wall and the prep sink (1.5" filler to clear the door trim + 12" cabinet + approx 1" b/w the outer edge of the sink base and the inner edge of the sink = 14.5") That should be enough elbow room and temporary landing space.

The range is flanked by 24" base cabinets (all drawers) - there should be plenty of storage for small appliances and pots & pans. There is also a 21" upper cabinet on the end for additional storage.

The long upper cabinet is 6' wide and should provide plenty of space for prep dishes, tools, etc. You probably won't need the full 48" of cabinetry for pots/pans and small appliances, so any extra storage can hold utensils and other prep dishes/tools. You might even consider storing some small appliances in the 21' upper next to the range to free up even more drawer space.

Finally, there is an 18" two-bin Trash/Recycle pullout next to the prep sink. Far more trash & recyclables are generated while prepping & cooking than cleaning up, so it makes the most sense to have it here. (Prepping & cooking also encompass 80% or more of the time spent working in the Kitchen, so you are using the trash pullout far longer than while cleaning up.)

Cleanup Zone...

The Cleanup Zone contains plenty of workspace for a secondary Prep Zone as well as space for dirty dishes.

It also contains plenty of cabinets for dishes, glasses, silverware, other dishes.

Like the refrigerator, the dish storage is located away from the Prep and Cooking Zones so someone unloading the DW or setting the table will not get in the way of others prepping or cooking.

The sink is a nice sized single-bowl.

You might consider putting a small trash can under the cleanup sink.

The Steam Oven is contained on this wall as well - it's still raised 6" with a MW on top or hanging from an upper cabinet. Both the steam oven and MW are protected from traffic. Landing space is the counterspace to the right.

For tray storage, there is a cabinet above the steam oven cabinet. NOTE that it is mounted about 6" higher than the other cabinets to account for the extra 6" of height for the steam oven. Since this is for trays, the extra height should not be an issue. You only need to grasp the bottom of the trays/racks to remove/put away, so you don't need to access the top. Trays include cooling racks, cookie sheets, roasting racks, etc.

See mine below - my tray storage is over a double oven - lower than a cabinet above the refrigerator, but higher than standard upper cabinets. Note there is a shelf for platters, etc., below the trays. This allows you to easily access the platters as well as to the trays. Again, since you are only grasping the bottom corners of the racks, trays, etc., only the bottom of the trays need to be reachable.

You might consider making the cabinet 18" deep instead of 15".

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You can see how high up the cabinet is in this picture:

Thanks a ton for all your help and valuable inputs. I deeply appreciate it.

@Lisa: Thanks for the great info. Your baking setup looks very neat. I think I can learn a lot from the pictures and description.

@buehl: I am sorry to hear about your medical issues. I hope things get better soon.

Thanks for Layout #4 and the detailed notes. Me and my wife were converging to something similar. However, we were thinking of placing the range closer to the entrance and the prep sink closer to the laundry entrance. Primarily because we were thinking that the prep sink should be closer to the fridge (based on marcolo's ice, water, stone and fire advice). However, you do bring up a good point about protecting the range.

As for moving the entry door, unfortunately that is not possible because its perpendicular to the main entrance of the house.

Thanks for the pointers to the storage options for the baking stuff. Lots for us to learn from the gurus here!

We have not started paying close attention to the layout of the cabinets because our first priority was to get the overall layout right and then start worrying about storage options. We are following the advice in the storage FAQ and making a list of all the items we want to store in the new kitchen. Hopefully we will be able to nail the layout soon and then come back to ask more specific storage questions.

@buehl: Here is the layout we came up with before your post. I have not had a chance to sketchup the version that you suggested. The primary difference is that we have an L shaped counter on the window wall and we swapped the range and the sink placement based on Marcolo's advice of ice, water, stone, and fire.

From what I see, you have very little prep workspace. The drainboard is on the opposite side of the sink from the range, so it doesn't count as prep space...the Prep Zone is b/w the range and sink, not the end of the run and the sink.

Prepping on the other side of the Kitchen (window wall) doesn't make any sense - the aisle b/w the range and window wall is too wide, the range is on the bottom wall, and there's a sink near the range - so that's where you will end up prepping. The window wall is just too inconvenient for prepping on a regular basis.

In the Cleanup Zone, it looks like you put in a prep sink - that sink is too small for cleanup - it's big enough for prepping, but not for cleaning up anything more than silverware and glasses - anything bigger won't fit in the sink. It should be, at the very least, a 24" sink base - with 30" much better.

To me, it looks like the key components of the three primary work zones are all jumbled up. However, if you like it, then go ahead with it - it's your Kitchen, not mine! At least you have water near the range, even if you don't have much workspace.

It looks like you've given up on the Steam Oven - have you?

Good luck!

@buehl: This is not the final design. This is just one of the ideas we were considering before you posted layout #4. Just wanted to give you an idea of our thoughts. I will also render your layout #4 and post.

Couple of points:

- We have given up on the steam oven. I talked to Trevor Lawson from Eurostoves and a few other friends and it looks like they will not work for us.

- We don't own a microwave and we are not planning to install one in our new kitchen. We very rarely reheat food, and when we do we just use the range.

- The drainboard is near the range, but I think it does not show up that way in the renderings.

- Your
comments about the cleanup sink being small are right. I will need to
modify that. Also, we were not thinking of prepping on the window side
counter. I was thinking of using it as a secondary prep/baking zone.

A few questions for you:

- One thing that I am constantly confused about is the utility of the stages 45 sink (I think I asked this question in the other thread also). My understanding is that the entire 45" of the sink can be considered as prep area. Isn't that true?

- Since the steam oven is no longer part of the layout, would you suggest modifying your layout to include a L shaped counter?

Thanks for all the great feedback. I am learning a lot!

If the wall with the window is an outside wall, why does the venting have to go through the roof?

Vishketan, you are correct about the Stages sink, you do prep 100% within the sink, washing, draining, and chopping. I would use the counter to the right of the sink for your veggies and pantry items waiting to be prepped and the counter on the left for trays of veggies ready to go.

My assumption with your cooking style is that you and your wife spend a lot of time prepping veggies. This setup accomplishes that and gives you a lot of counter space for baking prep on the window wall. Where do you typically use your gadgets? Near your range, fridge, or ? Does that matter to you?

@rantontoo: It is an outside wall but it faces the kerb. I was told that having the range vent out there would not be aesthetically pleasing. I will check again with the contractor to double confirm.

@bbtrix: What you posted is more or less exactly how we were thinking when we were playing around with this layout. Basically veggies go from the fridge to the counter on the left of the sink, They get washed, chopped, prepped in the sink. We then move the prepped veggies to the counter on the right of the sink next to the range. The landing pad on the right of the range or the short leg of the L shaped counter can be used to place cooked dishes before moving them to the dining room.

We have 4 big gadgets. The kitchenaid stand mixer and a grain mill are primarily used when baking bread. The Idly grinder is used to make dough that is fermented before being used, and a champion juicer which we use maybe once a week for juicing. Except for the juicer, which needs prepped fruits, the gadgets don't need to be near the fridge. The current plan is to either leave them in the of the L counter or use the lazy susan.

Do you feel you have enough landing space for hot items? For your cooking style, which is more from scratch than most, efficiency of aisle crossing and movement of food pre and post cooking seems pretty critical. I think the stages would work in either location and I think I would make the decision based on where I needed the clear counter work space and how much crossing is involved.

The hot items can land either on the right hand side of the range (there is 21" of counter space there) or on the short arm of the L counter.

We are paying close attention to the work pattern in our current kitchen to figure out if we want to prioritize aisle crossing or having the the prep sink next to the range. So far I think we feel having the prep sink next to the range makes the most sense but we are going to observe our cooking patterns more closely before we make a final decision.

Have you thought about moving the kitchen entirely to the family/dining room? The shape and location might better lend itself to a kitchen than it's present location. A ten foot wide room is a nice width for a dining room.

@benjesbride: It is an interesting idea. However, the big wall of the living and dining room are two huge patio doors. So moving the location of the kitchen does not work :(

However I am told that the fireplace can be removed and the wall between the kitchen and dining/living rooms knocked down. If that makes the kitchen design more efficient I am all ears :)

So if you're open to taking down that wall, what about the range? Are you open to a range hood venting through the exterior wall? Can you post pics of your space and the outside kitchen wall?

@bbtrix: I have asked my contractor to come out and have a look at venting options.

In the meanwhile I have sketched up a 3-d version of the adjacent rooms.

Here is the version with the fireplace and wall between the living spaces and kitchen removed.

Can you sketch the powder room? Wondering where the door and fixtures are and if we can tweak that area to improve your kitchen

The Laundry room, powder room and tiny closet pantry are to the left of main entrance door. You can see the cluster of three rooms in the 3-d sketches above.

We refreshed the laundry and powder room recently. If possible, we would like not to touch them. But if that is the only way forward to get a great functional layout, then we are willing to reconsider.

The main problem I see, even with the wall and fireplace removed is that we are left with very little usable wall space. Does anybody else have the same kind of problem, and would mind sharing pictures or floor plans?

@buehl: Here is a sketchup of layout #4 that you proposed. I made a few minor tweaks including changing the I shaped counter into an L shaped counter and some minor changes to the positioning of the sink and the range. The one thing that still bothers me a bit with this layout is that the prep sink is far away from the refrigerator. Is that a cause for concern?

The same layout as above but with the sink and the range swapped. This has the advantage that the sink is closer to the refrigerator. The disadvantage is that the range is closer to the door.

I'm going to ask a dumb question here, but is there any way to make the exterior part of the vent "pretty"? It seems like if you are willing to go to the expense of moving rooms, taking down walls, and running feet of venting apparatus, it might be good to see if you can make the vent appearance more palatable from the exterior so you can get that prep sink and range on the same side. I'm writing this pre-caffeine fix, so it might even sound dumb to me in 10 minutes ;)

Just my personal opinion, of course, but if I have to choose, I'd prefer the range to be in a safe spot and the fridge close to the sink and range, rather than having the fridge close to the DR.

I think, even with deeper counters, there'd be enough aisle b/w the two counters so any traffic from the DR to the fridge would not disturb anyone prepping or cooking.

So, something like this.

You can consider a wider tall cab b/w the fridge and the wall. I'm thinking you can keep some pantry items along with pullouts or drawers for your small appliances at the bottom and something like this for some of your pots and pans.

Another idea would be to have a cab on wheels with or w/o a drop down counter on the exterior wall so you won't have any corners.

@cluelessincolorado: I have asked my contractor to come out and have another look to see if we can find creative venting options.

In the picture below, the wall in brown is the external wall in question. The main problem is that the roof comes down at a steep angle so my contractor reckons there is not enough clearance to run a 10" exhaust pipe. On the other hand, if we vent through the wall I think we cannot have a remote blower which in turn will mean that the range hood will be noisy. I will update once the contractor has had a chance to look at the options again.

@sena01: The cabinet with the hanging pots and pans is a brilliant idea!

We considered a layout very similar to what you proposed. I have lost count, but I think at this point I am at my 15th or 20th layout :) Let me revisit it again and see if we can make it work. The main difference is that you are suggesting a wide tall cabinet next to the fridge while we were considering a narrow 9" pantry pullout.

Yes it is happening! After many months of planning and lots and lots of great advice from this forum, we are finally inching closer to our kitchen remodel. I placed orders for the appliances today and the demo will begin in a couple of weeks.

We finally went with a slightly tweaked version of Layout 4 posted by @buehl and @sena01. Please see attached renderings. As always I am very grateful to the knowledgeable people on this forum who are so willing to help others. If you have any other comments on the layout please let me know.We did an audit of the all the items in the kitchen, measured their dimensions, and grouped them by function to decide on the drawer configurations.

Thanks to posts and photos by @scrappy25 in another thread, we are able to accommodate a stages sink in the design with minimal loss of undercabinet storage space.

I have a few lingering questions:

1. Have any of you used undercabinet lighting, specifically LED strips. Love it? Hate it? Any brand recommendations? Did you install your cabinets 19" from the countertop or at 18"?

2. This is a fairly elementary question. My contractor says that typically cabinets are installed on the subfloor and the tiles come up to the cabinets. Some of my friends installed their tiles and their cabinets sit over the tiles. Any pros and cons of one method over the other?

3. For the tall pull out pantry next to the refrigerator, we can either go with one tall pull out or break it into two shorter pullouts. Any experiences one way or the other?

4. Still on the topic of pullouts, we have a choice of either using hardware from rev-a-shelf or kessebohmer. It looks like kessebohmer is slightly more expensive, but I am not sure if it is better in construction and durability. Can someone who has experience with either please chime in with their opinion.

5. Since the refrigerator is 84" tall, the cabinet over the refrigerator is very shallow (around 7.25"). Any good ideas on how to make this tiny cabinet functional/useful?

6. The countertop is 30.5" deep (cabinets are 29" deep). My refrigerator will be installed right next to the end of a countertop run.As a result the refrigerator and pantry will not be in the same line as the other cabinets. They will be pushed forward 1.5", and sit proud of the counteto Will this will be visually jarring? Not sure if I am explaining myself well. Please see attached picture.

I have deeper counters and reduced the height of the cabs with regular depth uppers. Zero countertop appliance clearance problems and cab access is comfortable. I prefer 16", so 19" would certainly be out. I have 450 foot candles of work surface light from MR16 floods in the ceiling for task lighting. LED bulbs are just now becoming adequate to replace halogen for that purpose. Undercab LEDs would be a good additional source.

Just make sure they allow for and install tile under all of the appliances and that the appliances are installed after the tile job, including the DW. It is amazing to see how many times the DW is installed (without taking the flooring into account) and then the floor put in after it if you need a new dishwasher they have to bust apart the floor to get the old one out/new one in.

Were you trying to keep all of the counters as tall as possible? That would be an argument for putting them on top of the tile.

LED lighting. Just be sure the final decision on whether to install strips or UC fixtures with LED's is made during the rough-in phase. You need to have a plan as to the location of the transformer before you get too far in the process. I used old wiring and there was a misunderstanding between me and my electrician. It left me with no choice and I had to use individual fixtures with integral transformers rather than the strips with a large master transformer tucked away somewhere. It's a lot easier if you deal with this right away with the electrician. Be sure if you select the strips, that you place the transformer in a location that can be accessed. They do have a way of dying and needing to be replace.

Do the flooring first, cabinets and appliances second. I hate it the other way around. You end up trapping your appliances in their spaces. It makes subsequent repair and replacement a nightmare. It's an issue worth going to the mat with your GC. Plus, it just looks nicer. He may be trying to reduce the amount of material needed. It just not that much more and the extra labor is not much more, either..

Break the pull-out pantry into two units. They get heavy. You don't want to have to open the whole thing every time unless you need a workout.

I have Rev-a-Shelf and can recommend it. I don't think you need to pay extra for something that you won't see. It's a utility item. The Rev-a-Shelf is very nice. Save some money right here. You'll need it elsewhere.

Not much you can do with that extra space above the fridge. It's too high to be used often. But, I'm short. I stored Tupperware cake pan carriers. I only need those once every five years.

The way you have the pull-out and the refrigerator looks good. If the pull-out were recessed to the same depth as the cabinets on the other side of the refrigerator, it would not look as nice. This way, it telescopes from the corner. I like that effect.

I can't wait to see the final results. Please be sure to do a reveal.

@dan1888: I measured the heights of my kitchen appliances. The kitchenaid mixer would definitely require 17-18" of clearance. Others like the juicer, bread maker, and rice cooker I might be able to get away with less.

The reason I was asking about raising the cabinets to 19" is because I saw some installs where they use a 3/4" edge flat molding like this. In this case, the effective clearance from the counter top would be reduced by 3/4".

@practigal and homechef59: If I understand correctly what the contractor said (and I will double check), he was going to tile under the range, dishwasher, and refrigerator. Only the cabinets would be installed on the subfloor. We are not very tall so, in fact, we are trying to keep the height of the counter top down :)

@homechef59: Thanks for the tip about the pull out pantry weight. I had not considered that. > I can't wait to see the final results.

Me too :)

On the topic of under cabinet lighting, are there any reliable brands for LED strips. Can someone please recommend a tutorial for dummies that I can read to understand the various components that go into a good undercabinet lighting system?