I say get what you want and what is important to you or you will regret it. Our OTR microwave was placed low and is fine for me now, but we are remodeling now and I am a bit worried that "proper" placement will be too high for me as well as I am also 5'2. But we don't have a choice...I have a galley kitchen with not much counter space so OTR is the only option that makes sense. Even with our low microwave, there was room for a stockpot on the front burners. We live in an average tract house neighborhood and don't cook or entertain a lot, so getting high-end appliances did not make sense for us. I have had a GE Profile electric stove and OTR MW for 14 years without a single repair needed, so we went with GE Profile again...I also liked the looks more than other brands. Cabinets and counters were more important to me than appliances (my analysis paralysis was counters!). If you really have your heart set on GE Cafe or Bertazzoni, etc. then go for it! Otherwise you will look at your plain jane stove every day and wish you had gotten the model you really wanted. BTW--I bought my stove, MW and DW (Bosch) from Number1Direct.com and saved about $1,000....they carry the high-end brands as well. Everything arrived on time and was well-packed and crated.

I recommend instead a Blanco Silgranit sink over the Americast. You can do a search on this forum and find all the enthusiastic lovers of their Silgranit sinks. Especially those with hard water who dislike the water marks on stainless, have converted to Blanco Silgranit sinks. Americast can chip if you bang a heavy pot on it. Silgranit is granite composite, made up of 80% granite, with the durability of granite. It won't chip or scratch. Silgranit comes in several colors from very light to very dark. Since you are thinking of an enameled cast iron sink also, I am assuming you want a sink in the white family. Check out the Silgranit in biscuit, which is a creamy white. I'll link a thread below with pics. If you want a white-white, there was also a thread just posted of a white silgranit sink which I will link. Silgranit sinks come in many sizes. Also think long and hard about whether you want a single-bowl or double-bowl sink. How wide will your sink be? Last comment - be careful about buying a sink from your contractor, only because contractors usually charge a middle-man markup, which they should, since they are doing the work of ordering, etc. But that may make your sink significantly more expensive than if you bought it yourself, especially if you buy online. I'm not saying your contractor is definitely going to do that, but I would ask him how much he will charge you for the sink, and check his price against what it would cost to buy it yourself at a place like Home Depot, or online. Thread with Pics of Silgranit sink in biscuit Thread about White Silgranit Sink All about Silgranit This post was edited by shannonplus2 on Sun, Feb 10, 13 at 13:24

I wasn't considering RH. The wood is natural cherry, so it is as light as cherry gets, but new cherry darkens somewhat with age--not as much as stained. I know I want something darkish in hardware, just not sure which dark finish to go with.

I have no idea. IMO there is nothing all that special about the cabinets since they are not custom but just I guess what is referred to as semi custom. The cabinet maker is being honest he does not have the machine to match the doors which were the part that was not custom so to match you would need to know who made the doors..I have no clue as to the cabinet with the bar sink that so just weird. Without seeing the whole kitchen it is not possible to comment on wether a new set of cabinets is worth it. The insurance company is not on the hook for new cabinets other than the ones damaged in the flood so you are on your own with any other decision you make.