"Warren Buffett comes to mind as an example of this type of person, a billionaire who lives like a blue collar worker." Not so true....I just his apartment in a design book a friend was showing me this past friday, which was fabolously designed and furbished with furniture, artifacts (and yes a high end kitchen) with pieces that you and I have never heard of much less seen. Warren Buffet may look like his suit cost 100 bucks from sears but trust me it didnt. I think people have the terms wealthy and rich confused...yes, wealthy people, people who's money makes them money, spend money....it may not be where you and I spend money but these high end designers are obiviously getting their clients somewhere. True, wealthy people may not boast about what they spend their money on (usually, they arent the ones actually out spending it, their assistants/personal shoppers are) but they do spend on items or things they deem necessary..just cause one looks average does not mean their shoes did cost a thousand bucks, its probably just that you and I just dont know their shoes cost a thousand bucks I think rich people, people who still have to work for their money, are probably more likely to mull over high ticket items versus a wealthy person...there's a difference. Ive worked with both...I've had wealthy people give me the key to their home and say "have at it". Ive also had rich clients who often watch the bottom line like you and I. And I've had middle class people such as myself that go either way...I think its more about what you value and those are the things that you spend money on. I think that if someone can afford a 400k kitchen then its their right to spend that much and not for you and I to judge. This is a kitchen forum and I believe the OP just wanted insight about what a 300k kitchen would look, yet the discussion turned into ridicule about why or why not someone should spend 400k on a kitchen and how wrong that is....and yes, some people who spend 400k on kitchens do actually cook in them!! I agree with plllog....it seems some people on here are anti money or better yet, anti-norm (well said) yet most of us go to work everyday to save our pennies to buy that expensive calatta marble top for our kitchens knowing that it costs a small fortune and WILL etch but we just have to it...its the same thing just on a different scale. I didnt find the designer rude at all....she/he was up front with the service they provide letting you know up front. I think if it were a person who was planning on spending 400k for their kitchen, then he/she would not have been offended by the designer in the first place and some people on here would not have went into that direction instead of answering the OP's question... "Please, if anyone out there has a $300,000 kitchen can you show me what it looks like?"

Joyjoyjoy: about the IKEA cabs, do they have a website that I can see and price out a whole kitchen worth of cabs? Briefly looking I couldn't find anything on their site. After looking at my overall floor plan you will see that the kitchen is centrally located in the house and that one will have to walk thru the LR from the Kitchen to get outside to the rear deck. During the summer we eat alfresco so there's no concern about the location, however, during the winter I'll have to walk thru the LR with food I've grilled outside. Not having done much, if any, research on gas cooktops, is there an indoor grill feature/accessory that I can use to grill inside? We grill anything from burgers and dogs to vegetables and chicken, various cuts of beef and occasionally pork. To give a better idea of a design we like (minus the modern flare with the hardware and grain of the cabinets), check out the kitchen in the link below from the FKB. Here is a link that might be useful: Hobokenkitchens

romy718, I am certainly not committed to Wood Mode cabinets. I am also considering Dura Supreme. Personally I feel both of these lines are in the same range from quality point of view. I am definitely getting all drawers for lower cabinets. Yes, there are other Wood Mode dealers in my area. Some of them are just distributors of cabinets and then you are own your own. Some are quite far away. They will be expensive because of transportation costs. So I am not even contacting them. I prefer to hire a KD who comes from design-build firm. That way I won't have to hire a GC and it will save me headache of managing all those trade people. This is my first house and this will be my first and last kitchen renovation. It is quite a stressful process and I am certainly not enjoying it. I am just waiting for the final outcome so that I can have a New Year party in Dec:-) If this process gets delayed, that party may not happen. That will really suck. I may consider different switch for pendants, but it is an issue which is quite far away. First I need to find a designer :-). nightowl, When I was composing my message, I certainly did not think or realize that some Houzzers will interpret that she is THE designer for me. She is certainly a designer, not the designer. Anyhow, I am also considering hiring a general contractor. But I still need to hire a KD in order to get the final design so that the GC can turn that design into a reality. I can't save bunches on anything if a KD won't let me buy anything on my own. I hope the next KD I am meeting this coming Saturday, lets me do that. Mindy

I believe this is the floor tile. I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because the choices you've already made, I don't like (sorry!). I don't like the look of real marble mixed with quartz - it makes the quartz look silly and fake, when really, on its own, it is quite pretty. I'm also am not a fan of the Stonehenge look - stone on every surface. However, if you're asking whether the floor is too tan to match your other choices, I can absolutely say it shouldn't match your other choices, and it is the wrong color. If you must go with stone on yet another surface in that space, it should be the color of the dark greys in your counter veining. You don't need your lighting to overcome the wrong tile, you just need the right tile. Good luck. I hope it is beautiful for you.