It depends on the model you're choosing...they come in all different sizes. How deep is the model you want, and how deep is the cabinet? I just bought a GE convection MW (countertop model, but it can be used w/ a trim kit), and I couldn't find anything in the documentation about how much clearance space to leave around it for venting (which I found strange! but who knows, I might have missed it). It did say to leave 3" clear in *front* of it, to protect against tipping...so do check the manual before you decide on that cabinet. And, if you don't mind, pretty please report your findings here...I'd love to know, myself! Thanks, Chris

@tc9876 we have 8' ceilings and planning the Ikea upper cabinets would be MUCH easier if we had a few extra inches. We prefer the full 40" uppers, but we also want crown moulding and a light rail. Additonally, we also want the space above the counter to be slightly higher than the standard 18" (certainly no smaller than that standard). We're probably going to have to settle for 30" uppers that won't go all the way tot he ceiling if we want all of these things.

Alrighty, here's design #3. You're not wrong about the budget, Carolina Kitchen ;) The running total is at $4,160 right now, but including a pantry cabinet would push it higher. We're cutting quite a bit of costs by doing a builder grade maple butcher block countertop and cheap $2-3 / sq ft ceramic tile for the walls and floor. It's still tight though. For that reason alone I'll probably have to ditch the pantry. I agree that it looks like valuable storage in your kitchen though, Janie! Wine cabinet is gone, I agree. The trash pull out in that pic is spot on - that's the exact model I was looking at (Rev-a-Shelf, correct?) and I was thinking we could add it later if we don't have the cash now. We compost and recycle most of our waste, and barely fill our trash once a week currently. I do think the drawers would have to just be junk drawers and office supplies. I replaced the two drawers with one large one, maybe that will be more useful? It could hold trash bags, big packs of batteries, etc. That's too funny that the farmhouse sink might be pretentious. I will graciously accept that opinion and probably do it anyway. I just like how they work! I love sinks that are full counter depth and don't leave a strip of counter in the back or front to get soaked with water. It also makes the most sense for us with butcher block countertops to have the sink that is least likely to get the counter wet. In this new design, it's moved 8.25" away from the corner which is as far as we can get with the current plumbing. Not sure what to do with those 8.25" though. The bottom of the range hood is 32" above the cooktop. Is that too high? My husband is 6' 2" and always complains about ours now which is 29" above.

The front edge to the middle of the first hole in the cabinet is 3/4 of an inch.