We redid our kitchen (total reno down to the studs, and new footprint including moving the fridge, stove, sink, adding a DW, and removing 1 window and resizing another, completely removing the front hall closet, leveling the floor, new electrical work, the whole 9). The contractor we used we have used in the past and will happily use again for future projects is FCR Remodeling (516) 579-5144 693 Pineneck Rd, Seaford, NY 11783 You should definitely get bids from them. Ask for Bill. They are amazing. Here's a review I wrote on Yahoo: FCR has redone several rooms in our house (and several family members houses), including a full blown kitchen renovation last summer. They always arrive on time, work fast, and clean up when they're done. They answer any and all questions and put you at ease (and I was probably super annoying cause I was ALWAYS around to bother them). Unlike other companies I have dealth with, FCR take pride in their work and want to make their customers happy. They're a very nice group of people and we look forward to having them back to complete several other home renovations. Highly recommended. And we used KEN KELLY KITCHEN DESIGNS in E. Williston Park for the design/layout and cabinets (Brookhaven). I was very pleased with them. Mario was my designer. His design was great, he did it very quickly, and we had some awkward space issues to deal with... he came in and measured stuff himself, he was so efficient!!! Very impressive to watch him work. He was easy to reach anytime I had a question, returned emails and calls promptly. I have to admit we didn't get many quotes on the cabinets... so they may be considered pricey, I don't know??? But the design was included and for the service we received we were very pleased. The Brookhaven cabs are gorgeous and we just loved dealing with KKKD. Highly recommend them. Let me know if you want/need more info!!!!!!!!!

There are so many around here it's hard to pick one! Southeast Kitchens (James Island), Kitchens By Design (Mt. P), and Designer Kitchens and Baths (West Ashley)are three that I thought of off the top of my head, but there are so many more. Like ccoombs1 I know of a cabinet maker, Hostetler Custom Cabinetry, that my next door neighbor used last year (she had nothing but wonderful things to say about them). ccoombs1, I've bookmarked CW site and will check them out when we finally get around to redoing our kitchen. Thanks for that!

The KD we had at EXPO in Columbia, MD, has become an independent KD. However, I do not have her contact information right now. As far as design is concerned, she is very good...just don't let her do the final measurements! I would definitely use her again as long as someone else did the measurements. She does her best to do what the customer wants but is not afraid to tell you why she thinks something may not work. If you want it anyway, she'll do it. When we began planning, I had insisted I had to have an island. She pointed out to me that I didn't really have the room, but I insisted. So, she drew it up for me and pointed out the 22" aisles I had b/w the corner of the islands & the window area. I realized she was right with that design so posted here asking if anyone could me come up w/a design w/an island. Everyone here worked very hard to come up with an island plan (and there were some very creative ideas!) but in the end they made me realize an island just wouldn't work... So, I asked both my KD and the folks here to start from scratch and redesign...both my KD and all of us here came up with very similar designs in the end. The main differences were (1) she had put in cabinet pantry cabinets but we had a corner pantry (which is what I stayed with) and (2) I added a "mini peninsula" that my KD didn't have and wasn't totally happy with...but she told me to mock it up and if I was OK with it she would go ahead with it in the design...I was OK with it (I loved it!) so she put it in. The problems I had with her later had more to do with EXPO policies that she had to follow and, of course, the measuring mistakes. (It took an anonymous GWer's intervention on my behalf at Home Depot Corporate to get our local EXPO to make good on the measuring mistakes without charging me.) [I just asked my DH and he agrees with me on all points!]

DCJersey, if it helps, my kitchen cabinets from DW were $34,000 for the whole kitchen (that included the custom inserts, 13 ft. island, 15 ft. wall of china cabinets, and all the pull-outs, molding and other features. The basic price w/ the builder's discount was around $400 linear foot (plus extras for the hood and certain other add-ons) I think it might be a bit more than that if you aren't w/ a builder or doing an entire house, but I'm not sure. The lower level line is 1/2 inch plywood instead of 3/4 inch plywood. I think I have the econoline in my pantry and maybe my closet but I can't remember any more. You can't really tell too much of a difference and in some cabinet lines, even 1/2 inch plywood is an upgrade.