I didnÂt mention that they found a hole in the ceiling in which criters came and stayed for a while. During demo a dead squirrel dropped on a contractor  AAAAHHH is what I heard. The really scarry thing is that this is just the beginning. We are pulling down two supporting walls later in the project, so my second thoughts should be pretty high by the time we get there.

All great questions! High on my "want" list is the 3 sided breakfast room, I really want the kitchen to be bright! We have a beautiful, private wooded site, and will enjoy bringing the outside in. We having family over often and usually sit in the dining room as our breakfast room is not that large, but for day to day use, we use only the breakfast room. Honestly, the dining room is probably wasted space, a "pretty rm" that's used maybe 15 times a yr, but I just can't seem to give it up! Neither of us really cook! I like a pretty kitchen more than functional! With family functions, people eat in the great room, dining kitchen and we would definitely use the porch. We have a large extended family who gathers at our house a few times a yr. I'm good at eliminating "junk" I don't need, not a pack rat, so I think I could make due with fewer cupboards as the plan shows. My good china is in the dining room hutch. Thanks for asking all the questions.. makes me think! Oh, and I will eliminate the swinging door by the pantry. Another concern.. will I hate a more closed plan? I have a pretty open plan now. CURRENT KITCHEN From Drop Box

I just had a look at AJ Madison to get some hard numbers about the difference between a 36" built-in and a 42" built-in. It's really not much of a difference at all. Most 36" built-ins have at least 20 cu. feet, and Marvel apparently makes a few 36" built-ins with 23-23.6 cu. feet capacity. Most of the 42" built-ins have 24-26 cu. feet. I think the difference here between what is easy (36") and what you want (42") is not big at all -- the same or less than the capacity of a mini fridge. I'd get the 36", and decide later if I missed the extra few cu. feet enough to get a mini fridge to tuck in another corner of the house. If you have room in the dining room, you could build a mini drink fridge into a buffet. And if it's any comfort, this guide says a family of four needs a combined 18-20 cu. ft. of fridge and freezer storage: http://insideadvantage.com/content.jsp?sectionId=44 This guide also pegged a family of four needing around 20 cu. ft: http://www.cnet.com/topics/refrigerators/buying-guide/ (It said you'd not want much less than 20, might want a little more.) And this says 18-22 cu. ft for a family of four: http://www.overstock.com/guides/refrigerator-fact-sheet So you should be absolutely fine with a 36" built-in fridge.

You need the appliances, but perhaps not on site. My cabinetmaker insisted that the fridge drawers, dishwasher and hood be delivered early so he could take real world measurements on the exact models (inc. where the plugs were). He also went to the appliance store to measure the coolers and ovens on the showroom floor. The cabinets were then installed and the appliances were instealled, then the cabinetmaker came back to finish the panelling of the appliances. The reason for having them on site, however, is if there's any question about the fit. If you didn't have the appliances when the cabinets were made, they may need to be dry fitted before anything gets installed to make sure everything is just right.