Thanks again everyone. firsthouse_mp and rhome, your kitchens have long been in my inspiration notebook and I think your thick countertops are awesome! firsthouse, may I ask how tall you are? I'm 5'7. My mom is 5'11", and designed her kitchen to have a finished counter height of 37 1/2" because standard feels too short for her. For me, 37 1/2" feels on the edge of uncomfortably high. rhome, may I ask what the floor to countertop height of your cabinets ended up being? Is it comfortable for you? Unfortunately, working with the cabinet guy isn't an option yet, since I don't have one thus far. My place is just being framed now, so cabinets won't be happening for a while. I wouldn't even have to be thinking about this yet, if it weren't for the window issue. I'm going with an induction cooktop and wall ovens, so unless there's something I'm forgetting, I mainly have to worry about the dishwasher height here. Sorry for the dense question, but is a "Euro model" one that's actually imported from overseas, or just a European brand, like Miele? (I'm guessing brands like Miele market larger units to the US market but I don't know)

I am putting an island in my kitchen. I will have 2 levels. At it's widest the island will be 42" deep. The length is 87". The raised section will have a slight curve to allow for seating (though I am going back and forth about not doing a curve and doing straight across for more space - though I like the idea of the softness of the curve....). I will have a prep sink on one end and my mixer lift on the other. Next to the 15" cabinet for the mixer lift I will have 30" base drawers. Since I will be using this area for baking, I am having built into the toe-kick of the 30" cabinet a step I can pull out and stand on while I am rolling dough. My DH insisted on the raised section to allow him to do prep work (he's taller than I am and the raised area is at the perfect height for him to work). I also like the idea of the kids and the water being on different levels. Unfortunately I think this is one aspect of my kitchen I won't know if I like until it is installed, and then as they say, the horse will have left the barn and I will have to learn to live with what I decide..... I don't have to make a decision this minute but very soon.

Here's ours, which still is not used as a desk, although we're getting closer now that the construction tools aren't here as much. I never thought it should be desk height, but DH did and he won. We have the swiveling t.v. over it so if HE wanted to, he could look at it from chair I think. We still have to decide on an appropriate chair. Currently we have a wastebasket and dog bowls under it. Cute, yes? Items jump from that lower surface to the upper one constantly. I had hoped that it would be a barrier, but it's not. In my thinking, we might as well have had entire surface flat. Cork board between cabinet and desk is now used less decoratively. It's a working message center. That's where calendar hangs, thank-you notes and such are posted and oddball coupons get put. Although there's a "pencil drawer" we keep a pencil mug on the desk. Cabinet above desk is 16 inches deep--allows notebooks for financial statements, phone books, etc. Top shelf is unrelated storage of party gear. A permanently mounted power strip at front of bottom shelf of this cab allows DH to put chargers in here and let cord dangle down so that the device is seen and not forgotten once it is charged. He can turn off power to all chargers with one switch. Lobby is to left of desk. I'm trying to put "things going elsewhere" into the shelves in the closet in lobby instead of on desk--lib. books, stuff for Mom's sr. residence, things going to friends, etc. Otherwise, they accumulate on desk. But that's fine with me--better there than in the rest of the kitchen where they used to cluster, esp on top of refrig. because that was by front door. Because the peninsula is right there next to the desk, I would rather spread out on that to do any work with pencil and paper, but then, I'm a person who needs special glasses to focus on arm's length stuff, so I suppose that little desk just looks like too much work--easier to stand and write at peninsula with my multifocus lenses and squint. I clear pencils and paper and calendar and address book off the peninsula at least twice a day and plunk them back on HIS desk. Computer will never be used at desk, I'm sure. (It moves between peninsula and dining table all the time.) Telephone holder lives on desk, at least for now. I'm hoping to get it wired into a place on wall closer to dining room, but until then, it's here. This cordless phone is another thing that hides throughout the kitchen and has to be put away on desk when I spy it. One benefit of this space: For parties, we can clean off the desk and bulletin board, put up a sign or something decorative like this framed piece, then put beverages here. Keeps traffic out of kitchen. Remember--this is Formica, so it's not going to mind.

Fori, we're on a slab. My contractor said we could look into it, but there might be concern about not having enough rise for the drain pipes... ? I don't know anything about plumbing. He seemed hesitant, but then again, he's not a plumber. I've tried googling, and it sounds much more complicated to move a sink (even the 3' we're looking at here) than you make it sound... But again, I know nothing about plumbing. Sjhockeyfan and Annkh, I can't tell you how many times I've tries to figure out a way to straighten that arm out. It just doesn't really work. Either it gets too short to accommodate a sink and DW with appropriate landing space for dishes, or it ends up poking into the dinette area too much. Mayflowers, we already have a walk-in pantry. I currently have the slanted uppers in corners, but I actually like them. They hold an awful lot of stuff. But I have been considering doing away with them because I think it will look cleaner. I go back and forth. I really don't think cutting a new window or moving the sink to the other side of the kitchen are in the budget. Also, I like it on the wall it's on - it works well for me. One way or another, I think I'm leaning towards taking out the breakfast bar.