mtpam2, Now that it's been brought to my attention, I agree that it's logical to assume food smells would linger in the pantry a bit. Perhaps the real question is, "Do you mind food smells lingering in the pantry?" For me, the answer is no. I don't mind. My pantry/kitchen will be open to one another -- no door, but a big, open space -- so I think food smells from the kitchen will migrate into the pantry. I can imagine that someone with a smaller, closed-off pantry would feel differently. ArchitectMama, As I consider it, I think I'd be fine with a dorm-sized microwave. I have a larger one now, and I really don't use it for much. As long as I could fit in a dinner plate (for leftovers), I think I'd be fine with a smaller unit. I'm glad to have thought through this idea. I was just assuming I'd keep the size I have now. Mary9915, I understand where you're coming from. Although our kitchen won't be large and spacious, we do have enough room to include the things that matter to us -- but I don't want to take up space with things I rarely use. I also like the idea of clean countertops.

Hubby just reminded me of two other doors with a little melting in the corners, from the toaster. It looks like the corners sort of shrunk up off the wood and there is a little drip effect. Mainly noticeable when you are up on them or see them open from the side. And on a couple of them the edge of the thermofoil sort of catches on your fingertips if you don't let go completely when it is closing. These are not horrible things, but we follow the rule of fix it before it looks crappy or breaks, and so that if we ever did move, we aren't just fixing it to list it. We get to enjoy it too. @aries61, I just looked at your post again. Is the door in the picture just a little sample? Are you having the cabinetjoint paint them? I was considering Barkerdoors and got their samples of white. In my case both the pure white and the dover white look like a match, so that is good. I think the Dover white will be better I went back to check out the prices of Conestoga at the link you sent, because I think applied molding will be the biggest change for our doors, but the price on that is pretty steep. I'll have to pick a normal raised panel. I did pick the m-bead like you did, I think it is one of the steeper ones. I want texture that I don't have now. Also, the door samples I saw in HD and Lowes have wider stiles than my doors, That will also look different. Do you, or anybody, know if the designer white that you chose is similar to Dover white. (Barker doors uses a form of the sherwin williams paint, but it's not true "paint"-its meant to match the SW Dover white though). I like the idea of being able to buy matching paint if I need it. Its hard to spend so much on doors, yet I know that is where the cost is for all cabinets. When buying cabinets the box will stay the same (for the same options in a particular line) but it is the doors which can raise the price. I have to remember that if I got the same doors on new cabinets the cost would be high too. From Conestoga I like Barcelona and Churchill. I also like the ones with the little moldings/beads/swirls like the Marquis ( don't know what its called), but I think the paint might hide the little details.

Those aisles are very narrow, but with such a challenging space maybe the rules have to be overlooked. The kitchen aisles in my older home are similar, although the appliances are arranged so that it works better. I was working on a variation of the above plan, without altering the pantry (1)--bengiesbride's plan has emboldened me ;), so I'll post it. The work area can be flipped, so that the DW opens into the long aisle (1a), but in that plan the dishes could not be loaded directly to the upper cabinet. If the trash and DW are flipped (1b), the DW can be unloaded to the upper cabinet to the right, and there is a little more prep space, but the DW is in the prep space. The sink is more centered on the window in that plan. Plan 2 uses bengiesbride's suggestion of removing the walk-in pantry, but instead of the one-wall kitchen, I drew a peninsula with a backsplash to contain splashes, and the built in seating the OP mentioned. The pantry is recessed into the long wall, protruding 6" into the kitchen--if it can't be reframed with a header, you can work around individual studs. I have a similar pantry in my kitchen, only 6" deep. It's more work initially, but it holds a lot of canned goods and boxes. Click to enlarge New to Kitchens? Read me first. NKBA guidelines Cindyandmocha's pantry--scroll down in this thread for more info. ETA, another 'out of the box' idea. The shallow cabinet could have by-pass doors to hide the folded table, and it would add extra storage for canned goods or hanging utensils a la Julia Child.

I feel your pain:) I have a pie safe for extra storage, but it certainly does not hold as much as a pantry. I do not have a big enough kitchen for something that sticks out as much as a countertop - and really my counter space is fine. I recently pinned this pic as an inspiration of something I might do - on a smaller scale. Like you I have a wood kitchen. If I can manage something on this order, I am undecided as to painted or wood and over all style, though I like vintage / cottage so I might go with a vintage cupboard style: While that is not very deep, I would see if there was a way to incorporate a microwave shelf with a pull out tray underneath. Then you could put in a dedicated hood: Like me, you would need to figure out how to make it work with older cabinets.