Rococogurl is pretty exacting about this sort of thing (four cookbooks to her credit, etc.), so I'd search for her posts here, in Kitchens, and at her Atticmag site. I use an American commercial gas range, which is a no-no for most people here, although okay for my insurer and area, so one cannot go by my experience. However, good old, turn of the last century, gas, non-computerized, simple technology works really well, doesn't break down, maintains constant temperature, etc. Very reliable. It's probably the reason restaurants rely on it, day in and day out. As for electric, I have a five-year-old 36" Dacor convection wall oven that has sufficed for my needs as I do get consistent and good results from it; however, many people here completely reject Dacors; the model is no longer made; I'm reluctant to recommend anything based on five-year-old experience because appliance models and reputations change so rapidly these days; there are many things that could be better about it; and quality control seems to be a big issue with Dacor. (I have had five Dacor appliances over a nineteen year period and only had one problem, which was resolved promptly, but I learned on Gardenweb that is not the Dacor usual.) Overall, I like their cooktops more than their ovens, although their warming drawers are fine.

Buffalotina here... When I remodelled my kitchen I already had a white fridge (Amana, nothing fancy) and a white Miele DW which I absolutely love and both were fine and not ready for replacement. The fridge is tucked away out of sight in the breakfast nook and looks OK there because there are no cabinets and the other stuff in there is utility white wire shelving, racks etc. As you see I did the Blue range. I agonized over whether the white DW would be OK but I decided to go ahead with it rather than trying to panel it or anything. My rationale was that as you look at that wall the backsplash is white and the white DW is also in the vertical plane and so I think it looks fine. I also have the small freestanding white cabinet that stands in the vertical plane. Also my cabinets are a very yellowy cream (Brookhaven French Vanilla) and so there was no problem with white on white where the whites might not look good together. That all said if and when I replace the DW and fridge I am tempted to go stainless... but it will probably all depend on what fridges are available at that point. Right now I am lusting over a Liebherr....and that is only in stainless... and when push comes to shove I may not be able to bring myself to spend that much on a fridge. I think I would be inclined to go with what looks more period for the 1915 house...and perhaps showcase the white vintage range and keep it the only white appliance? Good luck!!!

Benjesbride, what you say regarding dining/island makes sense, but unfortunately I have ~11'x16' space to fit in the kitchen. If I decide to rotate the kitchen the way you say it, then my kitchen island will be quite small. I too started out thinking of a longer island and thus came up with option 2, and am not able to find pictures to tell me if that would look ok or not. Secondly, currently the plan is that the Great Room will be mainly conversation area. TV will be in a separate room, so no need to consider TV-watchability. Mama Rachel, your idea of spice kitchen is great! That's the kitchen I started out "wanting". I had to abandon it halfway, however, because of space constraints. My whole house is ~2200 sqft, therefore allocating disproportionately large amount of space to the kitchen would have meant I gave up on some other priorities. Mama Rachel : regarding powder: we decided to ditch the powder because of the availability of full bath on that floor, which otherwise will be guest bath. We also wanted as much storage as possible, therefore decided on having a storage rather than powder. Anyway, here's the original plan. Note that we added ~5ft towards the courtyard and some square footage along top wall (which is facing backyard). I am working on sizing of the entry right now, because I think it's a bit too big for the house, but that space will NOT become available to the kitchen again due to the building rules.

I can't recommend hoods I've never used, but will comment on general requirements and how particular hoods seem to conform or not. The blurb under each price for the two Best units describes the differences -- baffles vs. mesh filters, for example, plus the (somewhat unneeded in my view) automatic blower control for the more expensive. I would go for baffles, but the flow rate into the hood aperture should be capable of around 90 ft/min, which corresponds to 90 CFM/sq. foot of aperture. The Best baffle hood's aperture area seems to be under 6 sq. ft., so a flow rate of 540 CFM is desirable. Unfortunately, this hood has a 600 CFM blower. Because blowers are rated in open air, and the baffles and other parts of the ventilation system (including MUA) cause pressure losses, it likely won't actually pull more than 400-ish CFM through this hood. So you might be a little under served. An 800 CFM blower would be better. (I wouldn't be surprised if within the myriad Best offerings there was a more powerful hood of this size, with or without the auto feature.) Mesh filters (if kept religiously clean) likely collect grease better than baffles at lower air flows (from the air that gets by them) but these lower flow rates may not be sufficient to keep the rising cooking plumes from partially reflecting from the metal surfaces and escaping out of the hood. This depends on what you cook, as it is a function of rising effluent velocity, which is related to pan surface temperature plus, where applicable, gas flame heat content. For more background, review the many hood threads on this forum. kas