I don't know if there is much in the way of little things. Recycling your existing cabinets is always the hardest thing to do. It takes a lot of planning and the help of a fine carpenter because some of your existing cabinets would need to get reconstructed and some others made. The problem with setting out to recycle the cabinets WHEN THE FLOOR PLAN doesn't work is shown with the corner cooktop/oven combo. I don't think I'd want the cooktop in a corner like that either. But if you take that out (microwave, cooktop and oven move), you don't have a cabinet in the corner. Worse, you don't have extra cabinet doors lying around, nor any assurance that you'd be able to buy a 45" corner unit. From a function standpoint, the best thing to do is get rid of that particular island first. You could have a biug rectangular island there instead - enough room to gain a fair number of base cabinets and put an induction top there. Ordinarily, I'd vote for the cooktop on the ref wall - but in your case, the ref would completely block your view and there's really no where else for the ref to go. Unless you considered something like ref drawers? There are newer makes and models that can be had for less than $1k. You could put a unit in the island and then park a spare ref somewhere else? Another thought close to those is to turn your existing kitchen into a big "U" and make both long legs extra deep. This would add a lot of base cabinet space but possibly also feel hemmed in. There are definite issues with doing this sort of thing, and I wouldn't know how many of them you might run into. Cooktops take more electricity than a line run for outlets can handle. So, expect some big bills no matter what. You'd need a vent of some sort - either one of those popup ones or an overhead one. Vents for island cooktops ain't cheap to begin with, and you don't have duct work from anywhere close by to the island. You might have ductwork leading from your existing hood and you might not. I don't know enough about log houses to speculate on that. People don't necessarily put finish flooring under an island or under cabinets - redoing flooring gets pricey. Cabinets, appliances and rough-ins can get damaged in being removed and reinstalled. So, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but maybe think through what you need and what you want, do some reading on what makes a good kitchen (A motion minded kitchen by Sam Clark comes to mind). Think about the best result you could have and then see how you could take steps that lead from what you have to where you'd like to be. It may be that you do end up replacing the kitchen cabinets - OR - perhaps you live in an area where a lot of similar cabinets were popular and you could "find" some through craigslist or a seller of used cabinets. I always play a game of what's the least I could do (in your case - rip out the island, get a 4x7 used restaurant work table to be the island (no electricity required - but you could have electrician run an outlet on a pipe). See if moving prep changes the way the kitchen feels to work in. And what's the most I can do (rip it all out and replace with my ideal floor plan after saving every penny I could for about 5 years). hth

I looked at Elephant Breath (SW I think), Revere Pewter by BM, and couple others. They looked just great when put on the horizontal surface; the moment I turned the painted samples vertically as kitchen cabinets would ultimately be, they lost their warmth and seemed much cooler and dull, in any light-inside the house and in the full sun outside. I ended up looking at 14(!) samples taking them around the house and checking them in different lights and times of a day. In the end, I went with a custom color that I happened to stumble upon in our carpenter's shop. It was a formula that was mixed by some designer for a very high end kitchen in Malibu..It turned out to be wonderful. The cabinets are installed and make me happy each time I look at them. But it's not gray. I don't even know what I should call this color. I just know I like it lol. Get samples; you never know how a color would behave until you try it. It will be tiresome; but ultimately you will be pleased with your choice.

Thank you, lam and peppy doodle! I have to admit I was a little bit in shock when they first took down the tape because it looked so different, but now I'm loving the change! I'm glad I'm not regretting it. I keep sneaking back into the kitchen to look at it. Seems so much brighter and lighter than before, but still warm enough with the creamy white. I can't wait to see it with the doors back on and new hardware installed. Snookums - thanks for the tip. I'm trying to keep everyone out of the kitchen and the painters are very careful, but good to know. I'd hate to have a can of paint spill all over my slate floor!

Why not put the oven wiring on the baking run? If you move the DW and sink to the right, you can have clean-up on that end, then prep in a nice triangle between pantry, fridge, and range/cooktop. Dishes can be kept in a dish hutch, which will balance the fridge, and on the other side of the fridge you could have a coffee station in a full height cabinet. Or put the MW in the cabinet beside the fridge, with the coffee maker below. I drew a shallow open shelf above the the baking counter, with an 18" sink for rinsing hands, and secondary prep. A bar sink will be too small/shallow to be much good there. Even though the baking counter is now smaller, you have plenty of space for mixing, and you can turn and use the short side of the island for lining up baking sheets or rolling dough. My favorite pace to roll dough and make noodles is the short side of my 3' x 5' island. I drew a hood 6" wider than the cooktop--important if there are no upper cabinets to help contain the plume of steam and grease. New to Kitchens? Read me first.