Wow! Decisions, decisions... I would use the brick as a guide when deciding on a granite. I am a fan of dark countertops, so I would go with a black. Not very exciting, but I think it would compliment the cabinets. How much light to you get in the kitchen? I am sure others will have some amazing suggestions.

Thank you everyone. Sorry to be slow to respond but we were away for the week-end. You've brought up some excellent points that I hadn't thought of - the dishwasher across from the cooktop, especially. Also, the depth of the cooktop counter. I had wanted to make it wider but didn't want to go too far into the corridor for fear that the alignment with the stair up to the kitchen would be off, making it seem like you were walking into a counter. I've toyed with curving that counter so that it lines up with the walls at each end but is wider in the middle. One of my big problems is the post holding up the ceiling. I have had to take all my measurements off of it and it restricts where I start my islands. Now, after remeasuring it this morning, it seems that it is actually 6 inches further into the aisle than on my plan. Aaagh! I may have to take the expensive route of putting in a major beam to span the entire length of kitchen and dining room and getting rid of the post. The consensus seems to be that the clean up zone is a bit skimpy, leaving less room for open counter space. On my last plan I had the dw as part of the 12 foot wall, across from the sink but now that I've moved the sink to the other end, I can't do that. I would love to have more counter but I've run out of space! Luv2Laf - thanks for the pictures, I've been trying to find something similar. I note you don't have handles on your cabinets which would make them easier to tuck into the pockets. How do you open them? Are they on a touch spring? Any problems and do they get grubby with fingerprints? The breakfast area is small but it works for us now so we are used to it. When there is a crowd, the dining table is right there. As for dishes, I think there is enough storage space for everyday dishes in the drawers across from the sink. The not so everyday dishes will go in the dining room buffet and the new 9' unit along the office wall. The granite is a dark green with with blue undertones and chartreuse veins in it. It is gorgeous! I will try to post a picture. Thanks everyone. Back to the drawing board. It is wonderful to get such great feed back. I am so close to this thing that new eyes are needed. Carol Here's my granite:

Listen to Jillius. You absolutely must have more counter between sink and range for prep. Minimum 36". Most prefer closer to 48". I have 54" and wouldn't want to lose as inch. As jannicone stated, that is the "most precious" counter in the kitchen, a natural place for doing all your prep work so you will want to have room to spread out, and not having adequate prep counter there will make cooking in your kitchen very inefficient and frustrating. So, as Jillius said, switch fridge to other end of room, put a microwave, if you are having one, on a shelf next to the fridge, and install drawers for dishes where you currently have the fridge. Then, on the sink side, move the DW all the way to the left (you will probably need 1-2" of filler between DW and wall), move the sink down next to the DW, and enjoy the nice prep space between sink and range every dang time you cook. It looks like this will triple your prep space. Yay! And move your trash into the prep space because that is where most trash is generated. Composting, too, if you do that. These changes will make a huge difference. I would not want to work in your current kitchen plan at all. I would hate it. I would love to work in your kitchen if you make those changes. It will make cooking so much more efficient, efficient and even fun! I probably shouldn't add this but I can't keep my mouth closed sometimes. Your designer is NOT a great designer. Your designer is doing a hack job, focusing on appearances over function when you can have both function and a nice appearance, and is ignoring some of the most basic rules of kitchen design established by the NKBA. Is he/she a member? Just curious.

How wide is your sink base? If it's not at least 33" (and really, at least 36"), I would go with a single bowl. If your base will be at least 36" and this is your only sink in the Kitchen for prepping, then you might like a 60/40 double bowl sink I would definitely stay away from a double bowl sink with equal size bowls (unless the sink base is at least 48" wide and the sink is wide enough to fill it up). If you have a prep sink and it's located correctly, then you might go ahead with a single bowl regardless of the sink base size. My DH cleans up and he prefers a 60/40 (really more like 67/33) double bowl sink. He uses the small bowl for soaking silverware and the like while he uses the large bowl for rinsing, if needed (some things do need rinsing or soaking - but not all.) He doesn't have to worry about where to store a dish bin when not in use (we don't have room to store such a large item) or have to get out a pot to use to soak something (none would really fit silverware). The prep sink that I use is a single bowl, but it's only 15-3/4" square - interior (yes, I wish it were wider). There are pros & cons to both configurations - think about how you work. Will you and your DH be sharing the sink - one prepping/cooking while the other cleans up or maybe two of you prepping. If so, a double bowl sink may be better. If you are the sole cook and bottle washer (or your DH is), then maybe a single bowl will suffice - but be sure you plan how you will handle the need for a smaller bowl when you don't want to fill up the expanse of a single bowl sink - have a dish bin handy, for example. Another option is a double bowl sink with a low divide. It's a double bowl sink, but the divider is shallower than the entire sink so, if needed, a pan's handle or a large refrigerator shelf will fit inside the sink. For reference, here's my cleanup sink and what it holds: The large bowl holds everything except the full-length deli drawer and glass shelf from my refrigerator. All of my pans, pots, cookie sheets, etc., fit in the large bowl. Small bowl: Dimensions: