I have trouble with too much steam or the water not draining away. I suddenly started going through way more water than normal and after I was done there was a big puddle on the bottom of the oven. I had my repair person out and she called Wolf twice (the same afternoon) and talked to their techs. One of them suggested I descale twice (the light saying I needed to descale was not on). I did this, but I still have the problem. I called my repair person and even sent pictures of the remaining water and she said she would contact Wolf. This was last summer and, even though I called the repair shop repeatedly, she never returned or contacted me about the problem. I probably should call Wolf directly as they have great customer service. I am a snowbird and am away from home for the winter, but expect I will have to deal with this again when I return. I just hope my warranty doesn't run out before this can be fixed.

I struggle with the "shoes off" in the house policy. In theory, that would be my preference. And certainly in bad weather, my kids all take their shoes off. However, I have four kids, and two of them are outside playing all the time. They come in and out for a variety of reasons, so requiring them to take shoes off each and every time just isn't manageable (especially since one of them has fine motor skills problems, so just tying his shoes is difficult for him). I usually take mine off when I come inside, unless I'm wearing sneakers and coming from the store where I have to make multiple trips to the car. That said, I also have three entry points. The kids go in and out through the garage, which is underneath the main floor. If they are coming in and staying in, they usually leave their shoes in the garage just outside the door (a huge pile which I'm trying to organize - used to be a big basket but too many shoes, so now I have an organizer to put together, but not sure they will actually put their shoes in each compartment!). I always use the front door and kick my shoes off at the front door - there is a basket there by the door, so if I'm going out again later, I leave my shoes there, but if not I bring them upstairs to my closet. I wear slippers in the house. We also have a mudroom but it is accessible from the back door. There was a time when my kids always used it after school/coming home from somewhere, but now my key no longer works in the lock so they always use the garage instead. The mudroom, however, seems to store whatever shoes they haven't left in the garage (as well as shoes that are not in use regularly, like cleats, church shoes, etc). They each have their own cubby, and a basket for shoes in their cubby. I find it perfectly normal here where I live to see a basket of shoes near the front door. The only houses where I don't see them are my friends' homes who have homes that are more formal (don't look very lived in), or if they have a mudroom or other main entry for family. I just read the two posts above mine and see that they both have four kids like me. I had to laugh at choclot b/c her battle sounds like mine! Mine each have their own cubbies and STILL I find their things all over the mudroom - coats laying on the bench instead of hanging on the hook, shoes on the floor *right next to* their shoe basket, socks they've taken off and left in their cubbies and then wonder why they have no socks after I do laundry! I do call them from wherever they are to fix their mistakes, but much of the time I'm off doing something else and don't notice right away. My kids are 8, 10, 12 and turning 14. My oldest has actually become very organized (she keeps all her shoes in an organizer up in her bedroom after years of using the mudroom), hangs her coat in her room, etc. My 12 y/o is a slob, but he is incredibly organized with his schoolwork, binder, etc and judging from what I hear from his friends' mothers whose boys are constantly losing things, forgetting to turn in schoolwork, etc, I figure I'll take that over him not putting his shoes away properly!

DW & Trash Pullout in main kitchen...You did say the DW would be to the left of the sink & the trash pullout to the right...correct? (Just checking since the latest pic has it reversed.) Sink in bottom left corner of island...I think it would work better if it were in the bottom right corner so it's accessible from the range & prep area b/w wall & range. It would also free up the bottom left corner for landing space for the refrigerator. It would also reduce splashing of the person sitting on that last seat! Since the trash will be under the sink it will also put the trash where it's needed...near the prep zones (island and b/w range & wall) and the cooking zone. (BTW...I like the zone separation and locations...cleaning away from the eating areas and prep & cooking zones near the pantry & refrigerator.) Pantry...Do you really want a window in your pantry? If you get any sun on that side it would be heat up the pantry. Also, anyone could see into your pantry from outside...messy, but more importantly if you keep anything someone might want to steal (expensive small appliances, etc....you did eliminate your appliance garage) you're advertising it... If you put a window covering over it to keep out the sun or nosy people, then I'm not sure what the point of the window would be. If you eliminate the window you could hang a broom, dustpan, mop, swifter, etc. on that wall. Closet...Consider putting in some shelves with or without baskets/bins or drawers + shelves in one corner for hats, gloves, etc. Upper cabs...If you don't need the storage, I like the idea of all those windows instead...except as a BS behind the range! With a good view they would be wonderful! (Not sure if you meant windows behind the range, it doesn't look like it but since it was mentioned I thought I'd weigh in on it.) You might consider putting glass-doored uppers in the BP but no uppers in the main kitchen (you may already be planning that...I tried to review all the posts but ended up skimming!) I think the glass doors would look nice in the BP. BTW...I'm glad to see you got your walk-in pantry!

Okay, now I can see your photos of existing kitchen. Not sure what the glitch was. You are turning a former butler's pantry into your beverage area. You are turning an unrelated room into a new butler's pantry and are changing its doorway so that it enters a formerly dead-ended kitchen area. Your sinks in the new plan are in the same position as formerly. You are not moving the refrigerator or the sink or the range. You are opening up a former breakfast room so that it is a "nook" without some of the old walls, which shortens up the wall the refrig has been stationed on. You are either adding or retaining a door between the breakfast room and rooms beyond it. The windows and exterior doors are in existing positions in new kitchen. Is this all correct? What is driving the kitchen redo? The wine area? The seating and eating area? the lighting? How well does the kitchen function currently? Is the island wrong or does it serve you well and allow proper movement? Is the banquette a solution to a problem or is it something you really wanted? You say the kitchen is currently dark. Is this renovation (that messes up the work area) a good solution for a lighting problem? I see a lot of skylights in the plan. Could you put skylights into the old kitchen? Could you add a full-length window between the french door and that second painting, perhaps with a continuation into a ceiling skylight? Or just get a bigger French door that grabs that foot or so on the side? Without hearing your opinion of your old kitchen and without knowing what you plan to store in that pantry, I'm going to shoot my mouth off anyway. Could you merge the old breakfast room and the corridor of the old butler pantry and put a passthrough-window in the existing refrig. wall in some way that brings more light forward and improves the handling of dishes? and put really classy built-in cupboards of china, etc. around the perimeter of the enlarged eating space along with that prep sink to serve the dining room also? And put the storage of foodstuffs back into the old kitchen area and just live without a megapantry? I suspect you want more light in the sink area. Why not just pull the whole sink section into the kitchen to be closer to the range and the french door? Make a fabulous working kitchen within the larger space and have an island-like separator between that kitchen and the adjacent conjoined butler pantry and breakfast room. You can put those wine fridges in the bottom of it facing the eating area or the kitchen, whichever you choose. And put brooms, chemicals, mops, etc. in a narrower closet or pullout at the old kitchen deadend. If you want to retain the corridor aspect of the old butler pantry, make some kind of a half-wall for part of the interior wall (is there a door there in the original house?). When you have parties, etc. you can use the entire breakfast room as a launching area for the dining room and cut across the space as you need to. You can also do some entertaining in this room because the guests and cook(s) can see and speak to one another through the pass-through or opening over the wine refriges. Dishwashers can be positioned between the two windows in such a way that they are closer together and can serve both rooms and take advantage of the small sink. The light and views of the bay window and the french door can be seen as soon as you enter that great swinging door from the dining room. You'll lose some of the cozy rabbit warren aspect of the historic house, but you can retain the feeling of two spaces with corridors, just rework them. As for architectural details, I suspect you can find ways to work up something spectacular. You seem to have an interest in gallery walls. Could the old butler pantry and kitchen sink area serve somehow?