2. I have the largest Kindred square-shaped sinks that I could find to fit the space. My prep sink is about 8" depth, 14" wide and 17" deep (21" wide by 30" deep cabinet)and I love it because the bottom is pretty flat and the drain is in the very back instead of the middle. I probably paid a lot for that feature, but it's worth it, and we cook A LOT, as in, almost every meal, including hot breakfasts with fruit or veggies. When I'm making salad or chopping lots of veggies, it's terrific. Be sure to get a garbage disposal (if you can't compost). The cabinet is 40" wide by 30" deep for my clean up sink. My 7" depth clean up sink has a big bowl (17.5" wide by 20" deep) and a small bowl (11.5" wide by 17" deep - faucet goes in the 3" overlap). The big bowl doesn't quite fit my biggest saute pan (has a really long handle) or biggest cutting board, is by far the closest any sinks have ever come and it hasn't been a problem. My largest roasting pan does fit completely inside it. I do feel guilty about wasting water because it's so huge, so I rarely fill it more than 1/3 way full. If I don't have any pots or pans to clean, I'll just use the small sink. The big bowl has the drain in the back, but the small bowl has it in the middle (with the disposal) and I don't particularly like it there, except it's not too bad with the flat bottom. I wish the sink were 1 or 2" deeper because of the splashing, not to fill it any more. Both sinks have noise-deadening and heat-keeping properties (can't remember what that's called right now). If you don't understand what I mean by "flat bottom" then go put a tall skinny glass (like a champagne flute) in a sink and see how far it tilts over. I just finished cleaning all our wine glasses and could stand them all up in the sink. Hope this helps you make your decision. I know when I started I had no idea there were so many things to think about. I could never handle just one bowl sink.

gardenpea I'll say it for you forcefully. Don't get a high arc faucet. (".... so I don't know that I need something for huge pots, just the one we use for spaghetti which is not horribly deep...") Don't get a faucet as large as a bicycle. You have a small galley kitchen, so it is overwhelming. Get a smaller faucet. I can tell you flat-out that you will not regret it. ("... my question is, will I regret not getting the high-arc pull-down kind?) If you get a low-rise pullout you will be fine. Consider a Ladylux (Grohe), a Livello (KWC), or one of the many shapes made by Blanco or Franke. ANY faucet that is a single main sprayer wand in a center tube. A pullout and not a side sprayer. They come in small shapes too. Why this? Because a stronger central "sprayer chased the stray bits down the drain without my having to cup my hand under the faucet, catch some water, and throw it at them. This is why you go from "it's a faucet, big deal" to "OMG, I had no idea!" I'm quoting suzannesl. Confirmed by breezygirl abfabamy and others. And as gr8day mentioned, side sprayers are all weak. Now, about the one big pot. Either you put the big pot into the sink or not. Here is the skinny on what to do IF you wish to leave the big pot on the edge of the countertop while filling it. You can tilt the tall pot to get its rim under the faucet nozzle. If you tilt the tall pot, you don't need to put it into the sink. With a very low faucet, you have to hold the pot tilted for the whole time you are filling it. With a high arc faucet you can let the big pot stand up again on its own, and only re-tilt it once again when you remove it from under the high arc. With ANY pullout=pulldown spray you can pull the spray wand out to give the big pot the room it needs to slide out from under the faucet arc. Hth

I posted the other day about our Ikea dilemma with Ikea's lack of 36 inch uppers. We have 8 ft ceilings as well. After looking at pictures of Ikea kitchens online, I've decided that 40" uppers with only the thin deco strip as a crown will look fine. I liked the way it looked way better than the pics I saw of 30 inch uppers with a soffit. Do a search for yourself and then decide if its such a big deal. Or I like what Jillius suggested about getting the uppers custom made but using Ikea bottoms. I would also like to see your layout. Our kitchen is about 13 x 14 and my IKEA cabinets priced out at 5K, including glass fronts, a corner susan, and 2 tall cabinets, and mostly drawer bases. I think the folks here can be very helpful and having your layout may bring suggestions that could save you from making some costly mistakes. There are a few who come as dictatorial, but the advice is almost always sound. I agree BTW, that your farmhouse sink and appliance choices are leading you out of budegt territory, but only you can decide if that's the right choice for you.

You definitely don't have to do chrome for everything! You can certainly mix metals. We even have an article that gives you some advice on how to do it. Some ideas: Similarly-hued metals look good, so you could try nickel finished lights. You could also try a darker-hued finish, like bronze or even black! Or, you could even bring in something with a brass finish to create a contrast. As you see, there are a few different ways to mix metals! If you'd like to take a look at some light fixtures in these other finish ideas, let me know!