@ sena01 - Thanks for the personal experience with this kind of thing. It always helps hearing from people who have been there. And for your vote! @island - Aunt lives between Naples and Ft. Myers. I haven't been down there yet, but it sounds beautiful. The pics are great. They have a floorplan I would love, with the whole house centered around the back in a big U. That would so not work in Alaska, given you need every inch of sun here you can get. But, I just love that kind of floorplan. Now that I understand what you are liking, I can mock some things up. I do want to make the point, though, that those 18" cabinets are slightly over 1/2 the size of the 30" uppers. Isn't that what you said you preferred? @mpagmom - Well, I gotta say, that's a pretty cool sink. I don't know how hard it would be to find a sink like that or how much it would cost. Also, not sure if it really works with what I am doing here? I can sure look into it, though. I assume you are talking about the greenish kitchen when you say dark gray? That is a nice kitchen. You know, Marcolo used those exact words on me - "think slate". I'm just not really finding one I like - except the one on the back of that peninsula in the pic I posted again above. And, my neighbor friend directly across the street has a slate BS and I don't really want to do the same thing... Good question, Deedles. I know we don't have any current problems with that, but the cabinets are raised up. I want whatever is in the punch bowl, though. Monday morning or not. My partner mocked up what it might feel like at the sink last night by clamping up a board. I'm not having any problems with it, being short. He wasn't loving it. We are going to leave it up for a while and see how it feels over time.

In case Jenn gets notifications on this thread, I have a similar problem. I wanted to use sconces but think there is not enough room so I think we might need to use a bathroom bar. How is the lighting you are receiving from the lighting? Are the shadows impossible? Troubling? Minimal? Thanks...should you see this.

And yes cpartist, if the sink were moved over to center at the pass-through, anyone at the sink would be bumping into the left cabinet, and it would be impossible for DH and I to both be at that sink (though that is very rare). I try to think practically since I'm the one constantly bumping my shins, my hips, etc. BTW: With the prep sink, you won't need to both be at the same sink. When I first joined GW I wondered about many of the questions people asked, and thought ‘why can’t they decide for themselves?’ I get it now… doubt creeps in, decisions become overwhelming, and there are so many ‘opinions’, but mostly sometimes it’s difficult to see things right in front of us – we often need help – or at least I do! When buehl created the end result layout, I was ecstatic! I could see how functional, how easy it would be to cook in it. LOL. It's similar to when I do a drawing. We get so caught up in seeing something one way, it becomes hard to discern alternative ways to do something. I am always so grateful for the help I get from my artist friends as a second eye to make sure I'm not missing something. Back in the 20's the artists used to get together in the Paris cafes to chat, drink and to get help from one another. That is similar to what we do nowadays on these forums. After creating the renders, placing the bread, potato, and onion bins on the 2 opposing sides, my primary thought was… Wow, look at that 32” wide drawer base on the prep side. This weekend I again paid attention to the way I prepped… I think putting the bins on the opposite side would work best for me, as I will reach for prep tools far more than potatoes and onions. Walking around the island won’t kill me, as now I have a huge peninsula to walk around just to get into the kitchen. Everyone works differently and it's good you figured out what will work best for you. I too would rather have all my tools right at hand and walk a bit to get an onion, garlic, potato, etc. That's easier than having to walk further to open a drawer for something I need NOW.

Thank you, all. I thought a lot about all the feedback and about what SJ said about when/where/how to utilize wood planking if I like that look. I considered buying the whole house’s tile now, in case it’s discontinued, but that’s not what I want to do now. Storing a ton of boxes and feeling like I have a gun to my head to install them before I’m ready for the rest of the transition isn’t part of the plan. I went to a tile store (not big box or outlet) and bought a beautiful porcelain 12x24 similar to what Beverly showed in the second picture. It’s strategic because it’s in the master color scheme we are transitioning to and this bath is buffered from the rest of the house by a bedroom with carpet. So, in the event it’s discontinued, it will still flow and feel cohesive later provided I stay in the same color plan. This was a very helpful thread that indeed changed my mind from when I posted. Thanks again.