Thanks folks! All good input. I just emailed my brother, who's an architect, and his suggestion is: Keep the built-ins ONLY on the long wall. Don't wrap them around on the short wall flanking the wood stove. He would like to see bare wall there (with a firewood bin on the right and the chair/ottoman on the left of the woodstove.) What do you think about that? Regarding door hardware: I was thinking no hardware, actually... just those push-to-open thingies :) Color: my brother suggested stained or painted almost-black (playing off the slate woodstove wall). Palimpsest suggests wall color. I would have done white just cuz its my fall-back. I will have to think on that! Depth: The built-ins as drawn are about 11" deep. We don't have any A/V equipment deeper than that, so no need to bump any part out. I'm also not a huge fan of bumped-out cabinetry in a more modern setting. I know I said I wanted to keep it cottage-y, but it still has to work with my modern furniture :) I could probably be convinced if there was a really compelling argument, but my druthers is for simpler, usually :) Height: I considered varying the height (taller on short wall, etc) but I felt like going taller made the already small room feel a lot smaller. DIY- yes, we're building these ourselves :) .... although I think we may buy the doors from Scherr's. We have a really long project list to get through this year!

Thanks very much everyone for the feedback! Sorry for picture difficulties, I couldn't get the pictures to load otherwise for some reason! I had 3 contractors and a kitchen/cabinet designer over yesterday. Fortunately, it seems like my budget range overlaps with ballpark figures the contractors were willing to throw out, so that's a relief! The KD agreed with the general layout and said I should have minimum of 36" from the pantry to the peninsula, but I will see about trying to make the clearance there as much as possible, like up to the ~42". I can put down some tape and stack some boxes and see what clearance would work best for me. Its already a small kitchen, so anything I can do to make it feel a little more spacious would be valuable. Also in agreement on the lazy susan - it adds nothing and drawers would be nice, and I could put in a cookie sheet insert or something, just generally get more out of the cabinet. I will definitely do that! The KD also mentioned that instead of a kidney-shape pullout in the blind corner, I should just give up on that space and go with normal drawers as it would be a good way to get more fixed-size drawers in the kitchen (right now, the only fixed-size drawers I'd have would be those next to the oven, probably 15" wide, and ones at the top of the peninsula). So eating that dead space would add 3 or 4 drawers. The KD also recommended a single bowl sink. I don't know, it seems so convenient to have 2 bowls, though maybe 36" cabinet isn't big enough to have a 2 bowl sink with at least one bowl big enough for pots and pans? The KD also said that reducing the sink size doesn't really give me much benefit, only a wider cabinet at the other end of the counter that will be up against a wall anyway. I will have to research if a huge one bowl sink or maybe a 70/30 two bowl sink might work. Out of curiousity, would more than 24" between sink and oven be for more prep space? I can't fit anything bigger than about 24" in my oven, so I figured if I was doing a pizza or turkey, I could pull it out and put it right on the counter. Unfortunately I am pretty restricted on the sink because I can't move the drain enough to put it on the other wall with my state's plumbing codes. I can easily run water line down for fridge, but the drain is the greater issue. I actually mapped out a plan with my sister very much like yours mama goose, but the building engineer said people tried in the past and it wouldn't pass inspection. I don't like the corner sink, just a personal thing, and I like having my drying rack in the corner there. Any recommendations on where the trash can pullout should go? I'd like it to go in one of the bases.. If I were to drop down to 60" of cabinets on the peninsula, could I switch to a 30" cabinet, 12" cabinet and 18" cabinet for trash? Or maybe they'll have a 15" trash can pullout, though I doubt it. I still get a drawer above the trash cans, but would the top drawer get smelly and gross with trash underneath? KD also recommended microwave in a center cutout of the pantry, which I'm inclined to do as it would take away a small eyesore and I personally very rarely use a microwave (though I know future owner may want a place for one). As an aside, two of the three contractors told me they'd only work with me if I used their cabinet lines, as its where they make most of their money. One of them only used Bellmont cabinets, which I read about and was not impressed. The other had a little more selection: Marsh, Wolf, and J&K Cabinetry (Chinese made). The Marsh seem ok.. but reviews are mixed and contractor estimated $6-7k for my small kitchen. The last contractor said they are fine with whatever cabinets I choose, and, despite having carpenters that can install them, would understand if I wanted to have cabients installed by someone else. If Woodharbor comes back in my price range, I'll almost certainly go with their cabinets and the contractor that offered flexibility.

You're welcome, unreal! I did a tweak to Plan F to see if I could add a little additional storage without impeding aisles. I was able to find about 6" more, which isn't much but every bit helps. I removed the wall between kitchen and DR, which adds 4 1/2" (assuming standard depth interior walls). I was also able to steal 2" from the DR, while still leaving adequate diagonal aisles between table and fridge and table and DW counter. I opted to increase the width of cabs next to each corner but you can add the 6 1/2" elsewhere. I widened the LR wall, lining it up with the left side of the front door. The wall extension completely blocks the view of the kitchen from the front door. The first thing anyone would see is the dish hutch I added to the right of the DW. The dish hutch is a floor to ceiling shallow unit. I would leave most of it as doored storage with one drawer for silverware. It won't be deep and you won't be able to use a standard silverware organizer but you can create a custom one using Lee Valley drawer dividers. The dish hutch can match your cabinets or it can be a stand alone piece. If you need it wider than I spec'd, you'll need to adjust the width of the drawer to the left of the sink to accommodate a wider dish hutch. Here are a few inspiration pics to show how that might look (all of these are wider than I spec'd). I also added shallow pantry storage recessed into the wall next to the fridge. It's great storage for canned goods and other shallow pantry goods, which would free up the pantry cabinet in your kitchen for larger, bulky items. Here's what that would look like: I think I shared a photo of a small MW built into a pantry above but I'll share it again: Or you can put a small countertop MW inside the pantry cab: Just make sure you allow for the manufacturer's required air clearance around the MW to keep it functioning properly. Here's how I figured out which lay-out was the right one for my family and me. I pretended to make a meal in the new lay-out. I went through the motions in my head of the path I'd take to make a meal, where I'd prep, the path I'd take to put the meal on the table and then to clear it up, where I'd prep to bake, etc. I'd imagine this when it was just me in the kitchen and how it would work for multiple cooks. Doing this as well as the kitchen tally and organization chart will really help you determine which plan works best for you and what tweaks you need to make to make it work even better. Another thing I found helpful was to do mock-ups with cardboard. Back before I decided to move the cook top off my island, I even created a very crafty cardboard island hood to see how it would feel to have a big ol' thing hanging over my head. One of DS1's friends tried to talk me into leaving it up permanently like an art installation, lol. I also used cardboard to extend my perimeter counter all the way to the door to the deck to make sure I would be okay losing the 7" between counter and door. I'm a klutz so I worried I'd bang my hip but after trying it out for a couple weeks, I realized it wasn't a problem at all. To make the most of your meeting or meetings with a KD, do your homework in advance and create an idea folder to show him or her. The more details you provide, the better. As Debbi Washburn wrote, a kitchen designer can provide 3D drawings to help you visualize how the new lay-out will look (IME, not everyone can translate overhead views to elevation views). He or she will also take accurate measurements and check for quirks of your older home and adjust a plan as needed. They will also advise you on material selection, finish details, etc. rebunky, your wonderful compliment made my day! Thank you!

In answer to the questions above (I cannot figure out how to comment to each individually - weird): 1. I've been waiting four months for my Bosch 500 series dryer. However, it appears I finally will have it installed this next Monday - the 20th! I learned a lot about ordering appliances from a big box store vs. small appliance store, and I recommend strongly using your local appliance store over big box any day of the week. 2. Thanks to all re the stainless counter. I'm very happy with it. As for cost comparison, given that it's 130" with a built in large sink, backsplash, and drainboard, I'd have to look up those individual costs, but it was less than $4,000, including freight (which was from Charlotte SC to Atlanta). Given that it comes with the plywood attached, the labor cost of putting it in was minimal. It took my contractor's crew all of 10 minutes to get it from the loading dock, up the elevator, to installed.