My favorite idea: it's ok to be tko (totally kitchen obsessed).

drawers, drawers, and more drawers

push to open trash (ditto the IKEA version)

counter height window

Drawers: lot of drawers

Counter height, bumped out window

Large, single basin sink (egranite)

Ikea Utrusta push opener on the trash bin

Microwave drawer

Combi-steam oven

So hard to pick a favorite!

Drawers, for sure, and specifically the use of a drawer for vertical storage of cake pans and pie plates.

Edited to add: Drawer divider brackets from Lee Valley. I have made my own custom drawer inserts for 2 drawers in my house, and one for my Mom.

My favorite idea--except I learned of it too late for my kitchen, so it will be in my next kitchen--is deeper counters. Standard depth countertop is 24" plus 1-1/4" counter overhang. I learned about 27" deep counters on this forum. Note that for this your lower cabinets/drawers would be the standard 24", and you just pull them away from the wall 3" (lower cabinets/drawers that would be deeper than 24" would be custom and very expensive). You would also pair the counters with 15" deep uppers (instead of standard 12" deep). Hellooo platters and multiple rows of glasses! I advised my friend to get deeper counters for her new kitchen. She loves them, it's her favorite thing. And I do have TKO envy over that.

Combi- steam oven

hands-free trash (Blum servo-drive)

drawers + vertical dividers

Never MT

Wood Hollow drawer inserts

toe kick drawers

I second friedajune and love deeper counters. I first remember noticing them in histokitch's lovely kitchen with a shelf behind the range and put a much smaller version in the kitchen I was renovating at the time. Loved!! Almost as much as the pull out trash, but that wasn't news to me, just new to me ;)

1. drawers!

2. Kohler Stages 45

3. air switch

4. spice drawer insert

ETA: 5. induction stove

Surely we aren't over the TapMaster already?????

A sink with accessories. I had no clue that there were special sinks that had integrated accessories like the Kohler Stages and Prolific sinks. I probably would have not discovered this on my own, because we would have just looked quickly online for a stainless steel single bowl sink and picked one. I had not realized there were so many choices for this one decision. (I was naive!)

I was shocked that I was willing to pay over $800 for a sink (the Prolific) but it is worth every penny. Actually the Karbon faucet idea probably came from here as well. I'm pretty happy with that choice as well, although in terms of value, the sink wins.

So many, so hard to choose...

Favorites that I was able to actually use:

drawers instead of lower cabinets has to be #1

Honorable mentions: deep over the refrigerator cabinet, offset drain in the single basin sink, pullout for spices/trays/whatever instead of plain filler in the 9" space, LED lights, pullout trash/recycling/compost under the sink, pullout shelves in the pantry

Favorites that I didn't use but wish I had or could have:

#1 toekick drawers along with the step stools that fit in one -- or the kind that is a bottom drawer and toekick drawer combined

Honorable mentions: cabinet built in between wall studs, pet dish space under cabinet, cabinets that open on the side to end a cabinet run, narrow tall pullout pantries (Like next to a fridge), islands that have a pullout table hiding underneath, easyreach upper corner cabinets

Drawers, drawers and kick drawers, measured and built to my storage requirements.

Combi steam and induction cooktop.

Large single sink with offset drain.

Soapstone!

1) The encouragement to not be afraid to do something different!

2) Using tension rods to secure things from sliding - Love this inexpensive idea

3) Drawer for baking tins and cookie sheets

4) Undercabinet lighting (Haefle LED strip)

5) Plugmold

6) How to research appliances

7) Sharing of information about natural stone - Remember Beekeeperswife threatening to wrap her beautiful island in plastic or have a plexiglass cover made to protect it during parties?

8) Microdrawer

9) Drawers, drawers, and more drawers!

10) Last, but certainly not least, the honesty of everyone. Kitchen forum followers are the perfect test group regardless of budget size.

Drawers, Shiloh inset cabs

drawers, drawers... I have a new 'handy person', so am hoping I'll soon (within maybe 6 months) have at least 3 new drawers replacing a lower shelf/door cabinet.

those with the Ikea Utrusta push opener on the trash bin (and it's in operation) please post how it's doing... works easily? not? PITA? worth every penny?

about how many 'pennies' do they cost? i'm hoping I can afford it, if it works good.

Blum Servo-Drive...wonderful!

Combi steam oven

Drawers, of course...

Silgranite sinks

Wood Hollow inserts

Spice tins

I have so many it's hard to pick a favorite, but my bottom drawers incorporating the toe kick seem to garner the most compliments. Runner-ups include all drawers, no uppers, two sinks, recessed wall behind fridge to make it 'counter depth', and of course, tons of design advice and support!

those with the Ikea Utrusta push opener on the trash bin (and it's in operation) please post how it's doing... works easily? not? PITA? worth every penny?

Works very well.

$139.

Worth every penny.

I forgot to mention in previous post above - a sink offset drain (thanks for the reminder Raee and Sherri1058). Once you have an offset drain (mine is offset to the upper right), you can never go back to a center drain.

Induction range, glass panel backsplashes, neither was on my radar, now I'm getting both, also creategoodsink, which I had never heard of but will be great with the drain on the left and in the back, along with accessories such as strainer and cutting board.

Donna_loomis, that is adorable!

Donna, Love you coffee station.

Oh! And the little cupboard is the perfect spot for my Instant Pot!

1. Drawers!

2. Drawer for my trash, under the sink

3. My induction range...love it!!

My favorite GW idea wasn't a product (my kitchen is long done, alas, no changes can be made), it was a tip:

Bringing your dishes and pans to the store to see if they fit into the DW.

The store reps were flabbergasted when I did this back in 2010; they had never seen anyone do this. But it was a lifesaver! I have some very odd-sized pieces I use a lot, as well as oversized pots. There were some DWs I was thinking of, but they couldn't handle our stuff.

Saved us from a very expensive mistake!

- the Kraus stainless single bowl sink that gets rave reviews on GW

- not having electrical outlets in my back splash/hidden plug molds

"Bringing your dishes and pans to the store to see if they fit into the DW."

LOL! We did the same with our refrigerator. We took an empty Costco pizza box and a gallon milk jug to the store with us to see if they fit. We got some odd looks but everybody else in the refrigerator section was quite interested in the results.

@jakkom and Suzanne.

I never thought of that. I hope the drawer dishwasher will fit my stuff. I bought the fridge based on price and availability but I did measure the depths and have been happy with it.

When I was looking at cabinets, I brought mugs and dishes to test the various cabinet companies. It helped so much. I threw out several immediately simply by trying to fit my mugs in the first drawer.

Suzanne_si - perhaps it's a regional thing - when I went to Abt Appliances (in the Chicago area), I brought my tote bag of containers and dishes. But so did other people. It was a crowded Saturday, and people were sticking their stuff into the various fridges and dishwashers with no one thinking it unusual. I've seen people with a fry pan and pot putting them on various cooktops/ranges too. Excellent GW tip to do so, cause it really helps with the decision-making.

I bought a small corner MW, and brought a plate to the store to make sure it would fit. It was close, so I'm glad I checked!

Ice/Water/Stone/Fire

Plugmold

How to determine if it's granite, quartzite or marble

Drawers instead of cabinets

Induction cooktop

Towel Pig

Yes, the ice-water-stone-fire! Use several different kitchens when pet sitting for friends and experience the difference. One DF's kitchen is ice-fire-water-stone and awful to use; she wants to get new windows, I think she should redo her kitchen. :-)

For me :

drawers

education about stone- I went ahead and used marble on my island at my vacation house.

how to safeguard against problems with stone selection and fabrication

wonderful storage options complete with pictures and how to's

learn so much when people post problems and others offer support and solutions

GW faves in my four month old kitchen:

1) My soapstone counters (Belvedere)-a hard, durable variety, with gorgeous green inclusions. So sensuous to touch! Four months later, and I still find myself petting them.

2) M.Teixeira, the soapstone distributor and fabricator. Friendly, accommodating, professional, and expert fabricators. They made the whole process seamless, despite having to hold my slab for many, many months.

3) All drawers, especially the pots and pans drawers under the cooktop-so convenient!

4) The large drawers under the main sink-contractor fought me in this, "You'll never know if you have a leak!" But, I love them! They hold so much...all my cleaning stuff, dish washer pods, plastic wrap, tin foil, wax paper, dish towels, rolls of tall kitchen bags, paper towels, blue scrubbie sponges, etc. Not having to deal with the big cavern under the sink, and aftermarket pullouts, is dream.

5) Miele Combi Steam Oven. Oh, how we love this machine! It cooks everything to a juicy perfection! Pork chops, chicken, fish...you name it! Veggies come out with just the right amount of crunch. Great for reheating, too. We use our microwave far less than we used to.

6) Surpah Over the Sink Mat. Handwashables drain into the sink. When not in use, it's rolled up and stored in the top drawer, under the main sink.

7) Bosch 800 Series dishwasher. Brilliant interior configuration-accommodates a variety of bowl shapes and sizes, love the upper silverware tray, it cleans beautifully, and is so quiet! Thank goodness for the red light that beams on the floor. Otherwise, I wouldn't know that it's on!

8) Double pail garbage pullout. So, so, so more convenient than the pail under the sink I used to have, and cleaner, too. A bonus...for some reason, there's no garbage-y smell, like it had under the sink. Also, with a recycling pail behind the trash pail, I'm no longer hoofing it to the garage, every time I need to discard empty glass, plastic or asceptic items.

9) Tray divider in cab above the double ovens. It's where I keep all the different pans and racks that came with the combi steam oven and the convection oven (both Miele), in addition to an assortment of trays.

10) A second sink. Though it's smaller than the main sink, I'm not going to call it a prep sink, since prepping takes place in both locations. In my wide galley kitchen, it's mighty convenient to have a sink on both sides of the kitchen, especially when two cooks are working at the same time.

Thnaks to all who contributed these ideas, and so many others. I am eternally grateful for helping me create a beautiful, functional kitchen.

Let's see.

Drawers? No, I had that before everyone caught on. It was unheard of in 2006.
So was soapstone in the kitchen, at least in my area then. I was a trailblazer when I refused to speak with anyone, who condescendingly informed me, "Oh dear. That's SILE stone." That's sure changed for the better!
Another trash-pull-out next to the stove, too? Nope. That was me, too.
Drawer under my farm sink? No. Me, too.
Dividers for trays over the stove? Me.

AH HA!
Counter depth window. I saw that and had an ... (wait for it) AH HA! Moment.
And the Lee Valley drawer dividers. Love them.

Mostly?
Support, humor, eye candy, product info, and just nice people.

This thread is giving me even more ideas! My kitchen is currently being built but so many design elements came from GW.

-Drawers for days

-Induction Cooktop

-Had several custom inserts made with my cabinets--baking tray storage above double oven, smaller vertical storage under oven, cutlery drawer x2, spice pullout draw x2, knife drawer, pullouts on either side of cooktop (one for utensils, one for oils), paper towel built under cabinet in drawer with storage behind, basket drawers in pantry for produce

-Plug in drawer in island for charging

-Helpful info on stone selection (went with Taj Mahal quartzite)

-The welcome to kitchens post helped me so much with layout advice and having a plan for all your items. I wrote down every item I have and want to have in the kitchen and created a plan around how to store and make it useable.

-Blum Servo Drive