I'd take a built-in 18" over a 24" portable any day. Dadoes, would you really recommend a larger portable over the smaller built-in?

Maybe you can find something on Offer-Up or at a Reuse Habitat store.To make your space more usable I'd want all large drawer base cabs. And if you get a good dishwasher like a used Miele or Bosch I'd fit it in by going with a 24" sink-base cab and a single bowl deep kitchen sink.

We are a family of four, and I find that we run the full-size dishwasher almost daily. This has the following implications:

• • a dishwasher is really damn useful; I'd imagine even more so for a larger family.
• • a portable dishwasher is likely going to become a permanent fixture in the kitchen, as it'll be in use all the time. This somewhat defeats the point of it being portable.
• • If a 24" dishwasher is being used daily by us, then I don't even want to guess how frequently an 18" dishwasher would need to be run. Please note that you can't just linearly scale down the capacity. A 18" dishwasher has much less usable space than a fullsize model.

I am not sure what to tell you. From here it looks as if you do need a built-in fullsize dishwasher and everything else will be really frustrating. As others have said, I'd go for a smaller single-bowl sink to accommodate the dishwasher. That's certainly doable, and it might not necessarily require all new cabinets, if you can find a good handyman. But it probably needs a new countertop.

Where is the stove? I would get a really nice drain pan for the counter and hand wash.

There is no easy solution.

A portable dishwasher would be a drag to use and take out and store - and then the sink is being used to drain the water.

An 18" dishwasher is quite small so you undoubtedly have to do multiple loads all the time. I live alone but when I cook a "real" meal I often can't fit everything for prep and cleanup etc. in my full size dishwasher.

If there is any money in the budget, I would contact a cabinet maker to see if you can change out the cabinets so that one is 24" for the DW and the sink cabinet is smaller. As others have posted, a smaller single bowl sink with a dishwasher would provide way more functionality than your current double bowl sink.

ETA - Honestly if your choice is 18" or portable 24" then I would just opt for hand washing while you save whatever is necessary to modify cabinets for the 24" built in dishwasher.

With the 18" you are going to wind up hand washing almost everything anyway.

With the portable, the logistics are so terrible that hand washing would be more convenient and you would probably wind up hand washing rather than hauling it out and setting it up a lot of the time.

I had my Cuisinart stored in an inconvenient place and I often decided NOT to make something using it because I didn't want to deal with hauling it out and putting it back in.

I'd go with a full size 24" portable. You will need to find a permanent home for storing it. An 18" model would be a waste and may even cost you more money.

"ETA - Honestly if your choice is 18" or portable 24" then I would just opt for hand washing while you save whatever is necessary to modify cabinets for the 24" built in dishwasher."

i agree. My mom had a full sized portable and it was a pia. I had an 18" builtin dw in our old lake house and it was awesome. But, I wouldn't tear into your cabinets to put in an 18" for a family of 7. I would hand wash for awhile..

congrats on your new house!