ulinesalesguy, 1.) not to nit pick but: If you add the icemaker option to your lower drawer you will lose that space for storing ,say icecream, but this it's a zero sum game when you add an icemaker to any freezer you have to give up storage space. This is not an advantage or disadvantage, or limited to your product only. Secondly, 2 cu. ft. isn't much and it's lees when you have an icemaker in there. Good for storing frozen drink mixes, a few mugs and some martini glasses, but hardly enough freezer space for a family's deep freeze needs. And, it's two tiered, again great for organizing bar stuff , not so good for everyday stuff. If it's 2 cf without the maker - I apologize, but the storage space is still limited for a family freezer. If your top drawer was a freezer too, you'd be in a better position. 2.) Re: the installation ease - the newer models are easier than the previous generation but on everything else you are either way biased or just plain wrong! 1. in order to level you units one must pull the unit out of the opening multiple times in order to get it level because you Do Not Provide rear leg adjustment from the front of the unit ! 2. Your toe kick vents do not allow cabinetry toekick to be placed in front of them for a fully integrated install. Even if we went to the trouble of milling vent holes in our kick lik shown in your after the fact toekick section, it would still be well to far forward to be of use. Toekick recess is typically 3-4" and with your set up 1 1/2" is about all you'll get at the end of the day. Furthermore, milling the slots in veneered toekick on either plywood or particleboard substrates leaves unsightly raw wood showing in the cutouts. This eliminates 99.5% of any euro cabinet makers from the game , most of who's customers are looking for a fully integrated look. 3. Your water hookup is at the rear - again the installer must have all the connections completed before the unit is placed back in the opening, and has to hope he doesn't kink the line while doing so. Our guys find that front hookups are much easier and less hassle. I agree this is personal pref., but I and my guys have put in everyone's units and we like what's easiest and are not wed to any particular brand out of necessity. 3. The overlay panels are still not as easy as a SZ or other brands that use a bracket system. First I have to disassemble the handle and gasket to get to the mounting fasteners. On the SZ, you just remove some tape and open a bag of screws that are provided. Secondly, we have to have a 1/4" backer panel made to a specific size that tehn must be attached to the 3/4" drawerfront and then slid in the track and then the plastic plug screwed on and then massaging the gasket back into place , which if done in a hurry or sloppy is going to cause an air leak and a service call. After that the panel dance starts: lining up the panels with their adjacent cousins is near impossible. If the installer wants to adjust it by moving the position of the 1/4" panel he gets to remove the gasket and the screws and repeat. He could also pull out the drawer and start fiddling with the drawer runners themselves, but that's not particularly easy and screws with the runner's geometry which isn't ideal either. On top of that, your standard gap between drawers is 1/2" ! No cabinet makers have a 1/2" between panels - it'd look ridiculous. 3mm (1/8") is what we typically use. The SZ by comparison can be level entirely from the front while the unit is in it's opening. The water hookup is in the front of the unit too, so the hose binding is not a problem and he can see what he is doing at all times and easily verify leaks. The panels uses two brackets the installer fastens to the drawer panel based on an included template, and the brackets mate to slots and screws that allow vertical and horizontal movement to align them with adjacent panels. No messing with the drawer runners is necessary. No additional backers are needed to attach the drawer panel to the unit. Installers don't need to think about or go looking for screws to attach the panel - they're all included. Lastly, and most importantly your units have NO ATTACHMENT provision! They are free standing which is fine - except if you are trying to fully integrate. Units that move lead to mis -alignment of panels which lead to unhappy homeowners and service calls for us. Doug - I'm not looking to slam U-Line or say it that the SZ 700 series is a better product, or pick a scrap here. I simply don't think you guys have a product to meet lalitha's needs IN THIS INSTANCE. I also don't think your units are easier to install than competitors, and I'm not alone in this regard. In this regard I think I/ we are in a good position to comment on this subject as we have and continue to use all brands so we have a good sampling out in the real world. It simply depends on the particular customer's need and the product itself with regard to ease of installation. I think U-line makes some very good products and I have one in one of my homes. I think their 2275 double drw wine captian is THE CAT"S MEOW. Also, the SZ drawers have limitations too! Only come in 27" which is a HUGE problem in many wet bars especially from a design perspective as nothing else is that size and it screws with symmetry. Their same mounting system that makes drawer panels easy at 27" becomes a hindrance when applied on the 36" model. The panel's size and weight become unwieldy for one man and cumbersome for two. BSH's and Miele's hanging bracket arrangement is much more installer friendly - though neither has all drawer models. todds - the FP drawer is a rare and quirky bird. Not a mainstream product and I have never been a fan of multipurpose machines - they never do anything well. Plus, what are you going to do with all the ice cream whn you switch it to a beverage drawer for the party??? These things sound good on paper but rarely work in practice. I have no long term experience with one so cannot comment with much depth or authority on it. I am glad it is in the marketplace though.

WOW! Thank you all soooo much! You all have made me so much more zen about everything. And you're all 100% right--it's not as dire as I thought when I first got the photos. There IS room and I know I can make it work, with lots of help, of course! Desertsteph, yes, I understand about not being able to get down and get to stuff in the back of base cabinets! So much space is wasted because I never want to use anything beyond about the first foot or so. Apartment base cabs are the worst! You have to use them because usually you don't get enough uppers, depending on the apartment, of course. I like the two big windows too! One thing I will say about this little place is that it has a LOT of windows. The previous owners have replaced the LR window, the LR bay window, and both kitchen windows with the good double pane ones. I will need to do the bedroom and bathroom windows. Historian, thanks for the recommendations; I'll be sure to check them out! Omelet, thanks for the kind words. I'll get out there ASAP to take measurements, photos, video, the whole works. Scone911, so true! NYC is maybe the worst, but if you don't have a lot of money, renting in any large urban area can be challenging. There are still some good deals in the Seattle area if you know where to look or have connections. I'm lucky to have those big windows! I remember the first little apartment my husband and I had in 1980...full of huge jumping spiders, no natural light...but I guess when you're 20 and in love you make anything work. ;-) bpathome, smiling, practigal, I think an induction cook top is a good idea. Also, I saw an oven hood/microwave that also can be used as a convection oven. That might be worth considering. Dhygarden, indeed! People in much of the rest of the world work with much smaller kitchens than we do here in the U.S. Haha, that often seems to come up on "House Hunters International"--Americans can't fathom the tiny kitchen. And you're also right about not having an electric appliance for everything. I can't wait to tell my best friends in Zambia the phrase "appliance garage." (They both work for American diplomats, so they'll just shake their heads and laugh.) I recently bought this really cute Jamie Oliver knife set; it's just three knives, but really you can do everything with them. I've always sort of dreamt of the European way of walking to the market every day or every other day to buy everything fresh. Though there are reasons I like the location of my new house, one disadvantage is that the closest grocery store (or anything, really) is about 10 miles away. Believe me, I never pictured myself living in the tulies...I always thought I'd end up in some downtown flat in a big city, but life is funny. I really do want to get a freezer if I can figure out where to put it...we can get snowed, or iced, in out there and it would be good to be stocked up on a couple weeks' worth of meals. I'm still holding out hope of getting a year long visiting professor gig in either in France or the UK, because I'd love to live in Europe for a year. Writersblock, first of all, let me just say I loooooove that cat!! What breed? Is he (she?) named Batman? If not, why not? ;-) Thanks for the advice on staying away from the 20" ovens! I haven't purchased my own appliances in a couple of decades, and I'm really not familiar with what's what out there. I like your under cabinet lighting too, very nice! My daughter and I are long overdue for a trip to Seattle, so we'll have to head over the mountains this spring--I'm a wuss when it comes to driving over the pass in the winter, haha! I kind of thought the same thing about the IKEA cart; I'm glad you've seen it and could tell me about it. I can't shop at the Evil Empire (Walmart) for political reasons, but I do know there are options--I can check out Fred Meyer, Lowes, Home Depot, BB&B, etc. Also, thanks to you and everyone for tipping me off to the "Little Paris" show! YouTube is completely awesome. Crl, ah to be tall! :-) I'm barely 5'1", and can't stand up straight because of my arthritis, so although I really love the hanging pot racks, they probably aren't the best for me. I think a microwave with oven or convection oven would be OK, at least for now because it's pretty much just one quick move to put something in and then take it out. Crl, also thanks for the suggestion of the toe kick drawers, and thanks to Chicagoans for the illustrated version! Very, very clever! Amazing how much space we have in houses that we don't think to use, like whomever came up with the brilliant notion of recessing things back between the studs. Chicagoans, I'm assuming you're from or live in Chicago, I have enjoyed visiting Chicago twice in the past few years for an academic conference. It's a beautiful city. Although I must say I've never truly known what cold was until I walked around in Chicago! :-) lferg92, I was looking at a super susan the other day; I think it was on the KitchenAid site. They look really wonderful. I'm glad you're enjoying yours, and thanks for the recommendations! Funkycamper and everyone else who mentioned the dishwasher issue, thanks for your honest assessment! You're probably right. Our first dishwasher when I was a kid was a portable--we lived in a tiny little house and it was a tiny kitchen. When we finally moved to Seattle from California we thought our built in dishwasher was the coolest thing ever, lol! I will seriously reconsider a smaller built in. And cpartist, point well taken about the stackables. The w/d that are there now are about 7 years old, I think, still in perfect working condition. But they are monsters; I've never seen such big machines, and both top loaders, ugh. LOL when I was staying there with my friends I practically fell head first into the dryer one afternoon trying to get stuff out. I have to use my little grabber/reacher tool, but that's OK. But as soon as I can afford new ones, they'll definitely be front loaders! Cawaps, "truly awful clutter management," haha! If you knew the half of it, but I'm going to remember that phrase! I'm very anti-clutter and kind of a minimalist. I really like the clean counter look, nothing sitting out. And you're right. When everything is moved out of the house, a feat I still don't know how will be pulled off, except they're getting another storage unit (in addition to the two they have now), and when the extreme cleaners have worked their magic, and when the ghastly china cabinet is knocked out, I know the space will look much bigger. Thanks for the encouragement! There was recently a huge debate, but I can't remember if it was this forum or something else, about pull-out bread boards. I'm pro-bread board, for the record. :-) buehl, thanks for the link. I'll be sure to study the instructions! Desertsteph, that makes a lot of sense, sitting at the table to do prep work. I have a wooden stool that I have used in my last couple of kitchens and that has worked pretty well. Sounds like you got a great deal on the bisque appliances! Ilovered and practigal, you've pretty much talked me into an 18" dishwasher! :-) Thank you all again so much! I'll get a floor plan up as soon as I can! I hope I can overhaul the whole house, roof to subfloor. The yard is also a mess; it's not actually a yard, it's more dirt with weeds. Since I'd like to be a good neighbor, something's going to have to be done next summer on that too. Luckily, the bones of the house are good. No leaks, siding and skirting in excellent condition, etc. The eat-in kitchen and living room will be my biggest and most expensive projects, and I want to do them first because that's where life is lived. I'm very much looking forward to getting your community wisdom! :-)

I have already gifted every one I care to give them to. Next step would be to walk down the street knocking on doors (which I have done before). But I have not had a good reception with such sharing before so I am not inclined to do it again. Spritz are so much work that I don’t want to throw them away on the unappreciative. I have written on the recipe card to make 2 fewer batches next year. Tins I have plenty of. I buy them as I see them in resale shops during the year, as no one ever returns them. At least for now I will pack up what I have. One advantage to that is if I have to go out to the garage to eat cookies, it might slow me down. ;) I’m thinking about bagging a stack of 5 cookies then putting them in the tins, so I can go get "one serving" at a time. .

That picture helps a lot. I am pretty sure that a good contractor can buy you two extra inches without having to completely remove those walls. It'll require a bit of sheetrock and trim work, but it shouldn't be too horrible. Having a full 60" gives you a lot more options to put something functional into that space.