I have a Sharp MW drawer across the aisle from my warming drawer placed under my Wolf ovens. I use the WD 4-6 times a week and don't have an issue using it so low. Yes, it'd be better if it was higher, but it was a last minute add. This was the only place for it as I could just swap it for the drawer in my already-built cabs. If Wolf's MW controls are placed as Sharp's are (and I think they are), I wouldn't like using them placed in that location. I don't think the stooping up and down the few times a week you use it would be as much of an issue as being able to easily view the buttons. I don't mind my up/down for the WD because I'm not visually locating and aiming my finger at a little button or two with each use. The writing is very small! Good luck! Doesn't the planning stage seem to take more time than you think it should? You're getting the best kitchen for YOU this way though. Oh, btw, did you see the thread a couple of weeks ago over in KF addressed to you asking about the status of your kitchen?

benjesbride, one reason for rotating the shower and running it the width of the exterior wall would be to get rid of the existing half wall, which now creates a large dark area by the vanity. If I rotate the shower, I was thinking about putting both the shower head and the controls on the left hand wall. Stepping into the shower to turn on the water is not a big issue and I don't like the idea of having the shower head and the controls on separate walls. cpartist, thanks for the tip on the sliding glass doors. They certainly have changed over the last 25 years! I understand your point about a shower bench. Maybe a footrest or a couple of curved corner shelves would add a little bit of decor to that end of the shower, even though I doubt the spray from the shower head would reach that far. One question: How wide was the curb on your 3' x 6' shower?

The basement ceiling height of the house we lived in when our kids were teenagers wasn't much higher than yours. My husband sprayed the underside of the main level floor matte black, covering all pipes and ducts. If you DIY, be sure to use a good respirator mask. Our son was the same height as your husband (now slightly taller) and my husband was just a tad shorter. Neither one was bothered by feeling as if they were about to bump their heads. We had no issues with dust. As for noise in the basement, I think it was only noticeable when someone overhead wore high heels. I didn't find that the sound of video games or movies in the basement carried upstairs any more than in a later house with a drywall ceiling. My family liked the look and I was happy to put the money that would have been spent on a finished ceiling toward other things in the house.

The important distance to consider is the distance between the center of the vanity to the center of one sink. That distance never changes regardless of the size of the mirror. The wider the mirror, the less distance you have between the sconce and the mirror. If my calculation is right based on the measurements you gave, that distance is 21" (please confirm it as I don't explicitly see it on the measurements you gave us). The distance between the edge of the sconce and the edge of the 24" mirror is 6.25". This number came from that calculation: 21" -2.75" (half the width of the sconce) - 12 (half the width of a 24" wide mirror) = 6.25". Now if you use a 36" mirror, the distance between the edge of the sconce to the edge of the mirror would be .25" ( 21" - 2.75 - 18"). You don't want a quarter in. wall between the sconce and the mirror. If you were to find a 28" wide mirror, that distance would be 4.25" ( 21" - 2.75 - 14"). I think the width of the sconce is more in proportion with a 24" mirror. I also think a 24" mirror looks nicer with a 27.5 wide cabinet below it.