the KD said he will install a "cabinet board" slightly over the face of the cabinet that will extend to almost the ceiling. I suppose the bottom edge of the board will have a sculpted edge. then he will use 4" crown molding at top. He also wanted to install small trim mid way up to "break up the blandness of the panel to ceiling" as he put it. ... Has anyone seen this ? If so, can you post a close up picture ? It sounds somewhat similar to what we did with the 9" space above our cabs ... fascia with rope trim partway up, then the molding to ceiling. These pics might help you with the idea, although your taste may run more simply vs the rope molding (personally I love it and it was one of my must haves :))

You've got a lot of really great feedback but after reading through the posts I'm inspired to post as well :-) So, yes, in agreement with those who say close to the stove, I strongly recommend the drawers or cabinet close to the stove. Considering that most spices are added during "cooking" phase and not "prep" or "finishing" phase, it's better to have them close to the stove.

"I'm a sucker for those wide brim straw hats with a lavender/floral ribbon." Somehow I'm not surprised. :D I think I just need to get over the kitchen being in the family room. It's the whole point of this addition--being able to put the kitchen in a CASUAL area (instead of overlooking my living and dining rooms as it does now) where it can just BE without messing up the "good" parts of the house. I think we do want something that goes with the bones of the house, so maybe wood. The image I posted above is what the house originally had, so obviously I'm not going to go that far! (But seriously, I'd consider it if anyone made those lipped plywood cabs these days...). I've seen some painted fifties cabinets that were pretty great. but I think we're going to do wood. I'm thinking a natural or mildly stained slab, cherry or walnut maybe. Sort of modern, maybe mid-century modernish but not quite. More mid-century mild? We're too sloppy to pull off a totally sleek modern kitchen. We've always had stainless steel counters and that would probably be weird behind the sofa so I don't know--maybe we need a "curb" on the back side of the peninsula so it doesn't matter. In this house I have learned that tile isn't that bad a surface (although this tile is ugly) and I don't even mind the cast iron sink (I used to break coffee carafes too often). Of course all of the tile I like is sort of feminine. So yes, we're clueless. The kitchen table is a '60s surfboard shape in orangey pecan with these chairs (the handmade needlepoint has been rehomed and they've been recovered and can be again): The other furniture (that we currently have) that will probably go in there is a stereo console that serves as a TV stand. The spouse could fight that but the spouse would lose--it's hard to find a record player in a drawer! It is nicer in person--has spectacular walnut veneers on the sides and top. We'll have to get a new couch and I plan to get my papasan chair out of the attic (ssshhh don't tell!). Also maybe a 4' wide hutch of the 1960s French provencal orange maple variety. So, while I am totally off topic here on Rosie's small cozy kitchen, I am putting enough junk in this room to turn it into a small cozy kitchen! aHA! So, medium wood tone cabinets tucked into a gloomy windowless corner of a great room. (There will be skylights if I can't somehow get clerestory windows in there.) We may do an exposed beam type of ceiling but I'm guessing we won't have enough light to wood panel it. Yeah that's right. I want wood paneling and I'm not ashamed to admit it! If we do go with a taller ceiling then we can have taller windows and maybe a little more light feeling back in the hole. Appliances, well, I am cheap so I'll be reusing my black dishwasher, but I am ready to retire my black fridge which wasn't supposed to survive the last remodel. I don't really care much what it is; it just has to go and it has to fit. We may end up with a builtin--it's just too soon to say since I don't have my kitchen walls nailed down yet. All I know is that it's goin' in the hole! I have no style.

@KBSpider - Our island isn't that much different from a peninsula with seating. It is a row of regular cabinets with a knee wall behind it and then 12" deep cabinets on the back (well, one is actually 15" deep). The knee wall made things easier for supporting the granite overhang with "hidden" brackets. There is not a big isle between the counter seating and our nook table, but we never intended to have both seating areas used at once. This shows how the aisle between the island and the kitchen table. Wide enough that someone can get by when a person is seated at either the table or the island. Here's a drawing of the island. This post was edited by gpraceman on Fri, Aug 23, 13 at 17:45