The microwave shelf is 24"W x 16"H x 18"D. These are stock cabinets and that was the only size available. We had to chop off the L front corner as the diagonal corner cabinet's door hit it. That meant getting a new smaller MW than our old one which we expected to keep. The new one is a Panasonic, about $120. We consider MWs to be disposable appliances, so want to be able to replace easily if/when it dies. The kitchen scale has lived with us for over 20 yrs. We purchased it when living in England, with both metric and imperial weight sets. Someone asked earlier about the cupboards' insides. They are faux woodgrain melamine. The boxes are 5/8" particle board.

I have seen this cabinet maker's pictures he showed me, so I do have a good idea of what his final look would be with the glass shelves. Would they be sturdy enough for every day use? I think so, but hoping to hear people's views on that. I will try to find Grace and Paigeysmom's pages. The more the better. I do also see functionality in the cabinet location, as we will be putting our dishes in one side and taking them out on the table side for setting. Probably all of you have much longer narratives to your remodeling decisions as well, but biochem you have hit on a key one that has held up our remodel by a couple of months, and that was seeking other storage options. We were right on your page, and had lots of people visit and study it in person. You are exactly right, there is not room to add a hutch unless you dig into a wall and borrow from another room. We really only have one potential candidate, but the problem is that we are in a tri-level and the family room is enough lower, that any cabinets cannot go very high or they would be in my upstairs shower. Then, if they are low, the clearance to the table (or any table) is not very much. I have masking taped it out, and the max cabinet door width would maybe be a foot. Otherwise, you have to move the table and make people get up to open your cabinet. After all the drawings and meetings and measuring, I finally concluded that wishing something to work was not going to happen. I needed to be practical. (Of course, the true solution would be to bump out into the back yard. We wouldn't have that kind of money until the kids are raised and gone, though.) Sorry if that was too long, hopefully it will help others with smaller kitchens with their thought process. On other fronts, we are back to our original U to accommodate the the 9 inches behind the stove, which people here wisely pointed out that I needed. Do I try filling in that few inches with extra cabinet (it's not enough room for a real breakfast bar). Or just have the granite overhang? That is one question. And the other question to finish is the glass cabinet, glass or wood shelves. 3" rails or narrower, and if narrower, then be consistent through the whole kitchen? My goal is to be nearly complete by the end of the summer, that is still within our reach if I get my order in really soon. Thanks for all of your help and thoughts already. I truly appreciate all of them....

Hi All... Arlos Mom...I loved, loved, loved your renovation. I've done the cherry cabinets/dark granite look (former condo) which was stunning. However, since this is the 'grow old' house, which still has its original woodwork (albeit painted) I really wanted to plan a renovation that looked like it was part of the original design. But it seemed like every photo I looked at had the same canned lights/stainless appliances look. Now, I love professional appliances (used to work in the industry), and my parents have cans in their kitchen (which are great for lighting, but horribly hot)..so your remodel was right place, right time. I've already saved most of your photos in my 'planning' file! In regards to your specific questions, yes, my hot water heater is vented through the chimney (its an old tankless system attached to my circa 1960 oil fired boiler). But I'm hoping to take advantage of all the conversion rebates & tax incentives right now to replace all the systems. But its a good point to make sure I'm scoping out a direct vent hot water system. I do struggle with whether to remove the DR built in, as it is in good shape and only has 2 coats of paint on it. But the kitchen is SO small, and by removing it, I gain 2 feet of space and can move the kitchen/DR doorway to minimize cross traffic. And I figured I could buy a salvage corner unit and install it in the DR. Any lurkers out there? Do you regret removing your built in? I'm posting the proposed layout for all to see. Currently, the chimney wall is offset by only 24"..so yes, I could do a counter-depth fridge, but it would put a serious dent in my budget. And, swapping the placement of the fridge & stove could be problematic, as the stove venting would have to run smack dab under all the bathroom plumbing. Not ideal. Did you consider an L shape? Lurkers out there...have you struggled with L versus U shaped kitchens? Good or bad? I loved your bank of 3 windows. Were those posted in your specs? How big were the overall dimensions of the bank? And were they custom-made? In my brief online search, I couldn't find any stock under 3 feet tall. And would you mind sharing how much they cost? I have approx 6 feet that can be consumed by windows, and with a whole forest behind me, I'd love to maximize natural light where I can. Also, was your woodwork unpainted? Since I'm going to remove the paint from the rest of the house's woodwork, I'm debating whether to do the same in the kitchen. I'm concerned about the darkness in a small space, but I love arts & crafts type kitchens. And I did some quick research this morning on kickspace heaters. The ones I found aren't recommended for gravity hot water systems...may have to stay with the oddly placed radiator. Suggestions anyone??? Thanks in advance, and looking forward to everyone's comments.

Mama Goose answered the support question. Regarding the 9" of storage in the island -- that's enough space to store cutting boards upright...unless you have a lot of cutting boards! It eliminates the need to take more useful storage away to accommodate cutting boards or keeping them on the counter b/c you don't want to use storage that can be useful elsewhere. A 9" pullout is also useful for smaller items. If it were me, I'd store cutting boards in the 15"x9" cabinet and then either the "Hybrid" filler pullout (first link below) or one of the options in the second link (probably not one of the first two, one of the others). Which one would depend on what type of storage I needed...this is where planning your storage is important. (See the Best Practice/Guideline links at the end, including Storage Planning. They will also help you understand the comments you've been getting.) Check these out: https://rev-a-shelf.com/all-products?cat=25&primary_keyword=220813 https://rev-a-shelf.com/all-products?cat=25&primary_keyword=220791 (scroll down) ================ Kitchen Design Best Practices/Guidelines: Work Zones, What Are They?: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500762/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they Aisles Widths, Seating Overhangs, etc.: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500771/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc Storage Planning: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500787/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage Asking for Layout Help: Layout Help FAQ: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5500789/faq-how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-what-information-should-i-include Ice.Water.Stone.Fire, a humorous discussion of Kitchen design: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first