Samjal, I hope you build as a big a house as you and your family want and can comfortably afford! How great that you are so close to your large extended family. Given your lack of building experience, I agree you should not manage this process yourself. You will not be able to spot subtle things being done wrong. Building a home is a tough and complicated job. You need to find a builder/general contractor you like and has a good reputation and let them do their job. It may seem like it costs more to do it this way. But I believe you actually will spend way more than you expect if you try to manage it yourself, due to mistakes and things that need to be redone and delays. Not to mention the amount of time you need to be available to manage the job and frustrations. I am still confused about the financing. If you own the land outright, great, you do not have to pay for it. But if you pay for the home build instead of financing, you need to come up with the entire cost of the build. And do not forget to leave $ for landscaping, furniture, increase in property tax once the house is built, living costs while it is being built especially if it takes longer than expected, moving costs. As far as the design, work on it until it is just right for you. Owning the land is a great headstart. Congratulations on the opportunity to build your dream home! I do look forward to hearing more along the way if you are willing to post updates. Lafdr

I'm not one of the gurus, but I think it's fine. You would probably prep on the island space opposite of the stove. You'd be close enough to the sink, and other people could access the sink and DW if you were prepping without getting in your way. They can also get to the fridge without crossing your path. One thing I would do. Make both sides of the stove drawers. Get rid of the spice pullouts altogether and combine it to have 2 30" drawer stacks - one on either side. That will give you plenty of space for pots and pans. And you can use the top drawer of one side for your spices - better for them as they aren't supposed to be next to the range b/c heat is not good for them. Then you have the pretty picture of symmetry and the convenience/function of drawers.

bodica, Very good advice. It is hard to remember to pause and enjoy the experience. I assume we will never do this again. This is supposed to the the "forever" house. :) Days when we make a lot of progress, we are on cloud nine. Days when we don't it hits us hard, but, we will get there and I know it will all be worth it. Analogous to having a baby... sdionnemoore, I love talking to people who are at the same point as us. I really love the SW Blonde strip and all the colors on it. Please post pictures as your paint goes up! I'd love to see them. Humble gold will be the main color in our house, but there are a lot of different colors as well. Here is a link to our blog if you are at all interested in seeing some of them. Good luck with your painting also! Jaymie

My vote is not to tile above the window. I know that tiling all the way up to the ceiling and around the window is on trend right now, and industrial-inspired look that also harkens back to the fully-tiled kitchens of the 1920s (at least hear in the mid-Atlantic where I live) But I don't think tiling all the way up is the right choice for your kitchen. I also think it is nice to have some wall for paint, something that can be changed more easily over the years than tile.