I've roughly compared prices to Brookhaven, Ikea, Scherr's, and a local SF area cabinet guy (I suspect the bay area is as overpriced as NoVA). Very rough comparisons of course because by the time we get a quote we have a new plan but our space is small enough it can't change TOO much! The custom guy was about the same price as Brookhaven BUT did a lot more custom stuff for the price, like weird sizes, custom depths, and creative strange things. His price also included installation, which the BH didn't. I don't think my BH quote included any custom sizes--I think it's possible with that line but the KD at that particular shop kind of ignored our wishes... Ikea was less than a fifth the price, but of course wasn't all custom fitted to our space and doesn't include installation. Scherr's was about 2x Ikea for a paint-ready cabinet. So, fully custom, but unassembled and unfinished. I'm not sure how Brookhaven compares to Kraftmaid on the price (or quality) scale, but I did like that my custom guy would do full custom (very helpful in a small space) as well as installation for around the same price. He sounded a little skittish about frameless though so we may go with Scherr's. They're helpful and have some great customer reviews. If you're willing to do a little DIY OR pay your GC to do some extra work, it might be worth asking them for a quote. Some people here have picked out their cabinets at a bigbox store and then ordered them online for less. So, even if you decide to go KM, you can still shop around.

I haven't read every response, but I too like the lamps - I just think other items in the room are too small... I definitely think a larger lamp on the sofa console will really help balance the lamps, but I would look for thicker as well as taller on that lamp (thicker than what you posted above)... I do think you need some more height in other areas as well - maybe next to the chaise by the window and maybe even something taller and more dramatic over the fireplace as it does seem like the ceiling height and height of the windows are taking over some of the furniture... but I know this is a work in progress (which I have going on in my house!) so it may be easier said than done. Good luck!

I think it can look very nice. I don't think the asymmetry will be an issue - the island already adds asymmetry since you have an island overhang on one side. I don't have a U kitchen (more of a wide galley kitchen) but we have 31" recess on one side and 24" on the other. We have a peninsula on one one side, so it's not that comparable -- but we don't notice the difference at all. Here's a picture (from Houzz) of a frame built around a full-depth refrigerator. [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by San Jose Design-Build Firms May Construction, Inc. A couple suggestions: 1) It helps to be a bit more specific on dimensions. The picture above is like our kitchen in that the countertop depth matches the depth of the side panel. With the overhang, your lower cabinets will probably go out 1.5" less than that countertop depth. The point being -- base the dimensions on the countertop depth in this case, not on the cabinets. 2) I have a Samsung and they require 2" clearance behind the refrigerator for proper ventilation. There are a lot of reports of their refrigerators not cooling correctly when you use less clearance. Other vendors have a smaller requirement but you have to go off the vendor recommendation and not an industry standard. The 2" clearance requirement was the reason I went down to the Samsung RF263BEAESR/AA, which is slightly smaller depth. This post was edited by calumin on Sat, Oct 5, 13 at 18:09

I think you can go either way and it will look fine. Will you need filler b/w the wall and the stacked Bev Centers? If you're concerned about the "unbalanced" look of the finished panel on only one side of the refrigerator alcove, I think the filler will take care of that look. However, if you are trying to maximize counter space, remember that each wall will take 4" to 5" away from the counter (and cabinet storage); whereas finished panels only take about 3/4". So, if you need the extra counter or cabinet space, I'd go with the finished panels. If you have plenty of counter and cabinet space, then go with what you like best. I do like Sarschlos' idea, but it only gives you a very shallow Message Center. If you want a Message Center, there are several options: * Sarschlos' idea (alcove on kitchen side) OR * an alcove on both sides (one facing the kitchen, one facing the Nook) OR * instead of the walls and alcove(s), put a finished panel on the kitchen side and then put in a shallow cabinet turned side ways on the Nook side. It could be a 12" deep upper and lower w/a counter b/w (my preference) OR a 12" deep pantry-style cabinet with doors on the upper & lower to store charging phones, etc. I have to agree with others. Unless there's a compelling reason for the staked Beverage Centers (maybe you already have them?), I would look into either the wider all fridge & all freezer or purchase an additional 24" refrigerator to fit in the space you have for the Bev Centers...but it should probably be the same "style" as the larger one, if possible.