Am I correct that Edison NJ is not too far from the PA border (looks like about 2 1/2 hours to Lancaster, Meyerstown areas?) If so, I would strongly suggest you look into some of the custom cabinet makers in Lancaster PA or the general area. You may be surprised at the fact that really custom cabinets from a custom local cabinet maker are both less expensive and better quality (especially as far as being durable for your kids). I know that a lot of people here have worked w/ Oxford Cabinet Company. Craftlady (not sure if that is the exact right user name?) just had her kitchen done by Blue Mountain Woodworking. I am getting my kitchen done by Dutch Wood in Meyerstown. I would do a search for threads related to those cabinet makers and think about paying them a visit if you are even close to being w/in the driving range of them. My custom cabinet order was way less than it would have been had I gone w/ a "big box" store and I am getting ALL the bells and whistles now w/ my cabinets too.

My customer was looking to have 27 replacement vinyl windows installed in a home that was nearly 100 years old. Home depot persuaded him that their low-cost vinyl windows were "good" quality at an affordable price. I've been in the remodeling business for over 30 years and had never even heard of the manufacturer that HD was pushing. Fortunately, the day the customer was to go in and pay for the windows so that the order would be placed, I just happened to be in Lowe's for some grout sealer & walked past the Door & Window department. They were having a 20% off sale on Pella windows. After calculating the prices for the sizes needed (most were 78" tall)I called my customer & told him about the sale. He was able to get windows that were double-hung (vs. HD's single-hung),argon gas filled, double strength glass and frames made of considerably thicker vinyl than those at Home Depot. It took nearly 4 weeks to install all the windows given I work alone and the installation included all the 2nd & 3rd floor windows. Three weeks into the project I unwrapped the plastic on the first window to be installed on the 3rd floor only to find a tiny crack (1/2") in the bottom corner of the inner sash. I called the salesperson I had worked with at Lowe's who informed me that the claim had to go through Pella, not Lowe's. I thought "Oh boy, here we go" expecting all kinds of problems. I couldn't have been more wrong. I got through to Pella's 800 # on the first try and spoke to a real person not a recording. I explained that I had found a crack that I had missed on first inspection. The Pella rep asked me for the serial number on the inside of the sash and after I gave it to her she said "Thank you and we are sorry about the cracked window. We will build a new one and ship it directly to the house, at no charge." After saying "Good-bye" I just stood there looking at the phone for a few seconds then thought "Wow, there are still companies in America who stand by the products they make and believe in customer service after the sale." The new sash arrived in 8 days (2 days sooner than I was told) and the customer is a Pella fan for life. He recently called to tell me he wants Pella windows installed this spring in the building he owns to operate his business. P.S.About the 78" tall windows: the shear weight of a window this tall requires shimming the sides perfectly level not just top and bottom but also at least at one or two places on the side to do the job right. Do this and the windows operate as smooth as silk. Don't do this and you will regret it.

Not yet, but I did just join today after lurking for a while! I'm hoping zipdee will tell me where in NC she lives? (Sorry if that's a bad thing to ask; I've tried to learn all the rules before posting.) I want to hire her to be my interior designer! Anyone else in the Triangle area in NC? lisa_a, we spent last Christmas in Sherwood OR. (LONG but great story, if there's a place to tell it elsewhere on here.) In a nutshell, our baby had been born in Hillsboro the day before we left (Dec. 21... Happy Birthday, Baby!), so we went to get her and stayed in a house on the highest point in Sherwood. Took us 36 hours to get to the hospital because of the awful weather. Wonderful experience though! I'd love to go back in the summer. Thanks for being so willing to share all your kitchen experiences! We are getting ready to pull the trigger on a reno right after Christmas. I'm nervous!

Oops, sorry I missed that you had said something about the windows in your original post. Yes you really need prep area! You have a large kitchen but the way the sink and stove are in close proximity does you no favors. I like the idea of putting the cabinets floor-to-ceiling on the fridge wall with a double oven on that wall. Some people like to have a microwave in close proximity to their prep areas so they can melt butter etc. if you want it close to you I would be thinking of a microwave drawer if not I would put the microwave on the fridge wall too. Do you use the table in the breakfast nook or the table in the dining room more? Personally, I really like a separate dining room where people can sit and not see what's going on in the kitchen. I think if it was me I would run counter height cabinets along the window wall all the way across the kitchen and breakfast nook and have that entire stretch be workable countertop....and on top of that I would either have an island or additional pullout as shown in the ohtos above. In the dead corner of my kitchen I have a compost bucket called the solon. It is by blanco. I love that I can use it and it really seals in the odors. I still have an under counter trash pull out with two bins one for a dry recyclable and the other for dry non-recyclable. Solon is usually a fairly costly piece of kitchen equipment. I was able to buy mine at a discount from a woman who wanted to put it in a granite countertop her fabricator refused to attempt to cut a hole in the granite. I was using Corian and it was no issue to cut a hole in it. There are only two of us and I usually fill it up in a day. You may want to look at what it is and perhaps purchase it or something like it. Since you were going to be redoing the windows anyway… Is there any possibility that you could enlarge the kitchen sink windows (essentially add two additional windows one on each side of the existing) and then move the sink over towards where the table is currently and give yourself a lot more space between the sink and the stove? (And possibly countertop to the left as well.) Is the laundry in play too? It could make a walk in pantry.