i talked with the builder. we've got 16,000 off. he doesn't see how we can get another 14 off. we have to have a 2 car garage - required by the neighborhood. i personally prefer carports because they are easier to keep clean and you don't have to fool with a door, but the rules are the rules :( jennybc, that's a good idea about the surround sound. it is something that i'd really like to have in the future for music outside while entertaining. i asked about the ceilings and he said that they would end up having to build a separate knee wall or something (not sure i'm quoting him correctly) and that lumber comes in 12 feet anyway, so that it wouldn't be much of a savings. he didn't want to go down to 8 upstairs. we do have bunk beds, so I didn't fight him on that. all in all i think he wasn't comfortable with 10 downstairs because the standard in the neighborhood is 11. should i push him on this? what kind of savings are we talking about if i did 10 everywhere downstairs except the den. 3,000? 5,000? i think he's stuck on 11ft because he likes nice things - earlier in the process, he was trying to encourage me to use a big professional range when i'm just fine with a 32' KitchenAid architect series. a couple of months ago he was voted builder of the year from the local parade of homes, so he wants to keep his work impressive, i guess. i need to look at the plans to see about moving the garage. it might not be possible on our narrow lot. it's like a rubik's cube trying to fit everything. i know what i wanted to ask, and i forgot - air conditioning. in the house we live in now (built in 2006), we have only one AC little air vent thing in each room except for the den,kitchen, and master bedroom. those rooms each have 2 vents. i noticed on our plans for the new house that there are 2 vents in every room. even the super tiny kid's rooms. should we switch to one vent in those 3 rooms as well as the small formal dining room and small guest/study room? would that save money by eliminating the big octopus arms in the attic? these are the cabinets i have in my house now, and this is what i want in the new house, except with straight edge trim on top.

I have one drawer that I would love to have 3 inches more at back--it holds casseroles and lids. Drawers with dishes, pots, linens yes also. Other drawers, not so much. Now that I think harder, it's the top ones that have little stuff than can more likely get lost; in the bottoms where the large pans and things go, the extra space is more welcome. Make a plan to put some rarely used stuff in backs of the top drawers? OR...do as I did and make top drawers a little shorter at back and sink some stainless cylinders at back of countertop to hold utensils; same with knife slits at back of counter to allow easy access to knives without opening drawer at all. But I suppose that thwarts having the deeper countertops for other uses. Never mind.

Trica, I'd do the 6/12/12 for sure, if not even another 6/6/6/12 ... Definitely not a 15/15' especially since you have a pantry for tall appliance.pot storage. A little story for you. Back in the year 2000 my father re-did his kitchen. He must have been a visionary, lol, because he put in all drawers even though he'd never heard of it being done before, he just figured it was more functional and as he was getting older stooping into cabinets wasn't as easy for him as it once as. Anyway, he did the standard pot drawer stacks (6/12/12) throughout and he LOVED his new kitchen. About a year later, his buddy on the next street over redid his kitchen and used the same company my dad did. Except his buddy had all 6/6/6/12 stacks in his. Both my dad and his buddy were widowers who did cook for themselves and enjoyed having the odd dinner party, but neither one of them had near enough big things to out into all those deep drawers. Once you have 4 stacks, that's 8 deep drawers, and my dad was in envy of his friend's kitchen every time he rummaged in his deep drawers to gout a bowl that was at the bottom of a big stack, or a pan that was in the middle. Long story short, he had the cabinet company back and rhey retrofitted the middle 12-inch drawers in every stack to be two 6-inches. He was happier than a kid in a candy store then, and his favorite drawer was where he kept his pans. He loved the easy of access to just grab his go-to pan instead of having to fish it out from the stack. He always pulled it out with a little bit of a flourish if anyone was there to see him do it, lol. Anyway, I learned from that also also when the 6/6/6/12 route more often than not. And the pan drawer even gives that same little kick. I wish he was still alive to see me pull it out with same same flourish he did, and to tell him much much in inspired me. :) Here is my pan drawer: Still think of dad every time I grab a pan or bowl. My go-to pan lays by itself so it's eeasy to access and I don't have to feel guilty about wasting space because the drawer above it is made full use of, even better use than I'd have had from a singe large drawer. Love having my go-to bowls at hand without unstacking them too. Less often used larger bowls and baking dishes are stored in the deeper 12" bottom drawer of another stack. Love this setup. I may only work with frameless where there's slight more depth for the pan and bowl drawer. Bottom line, go as narrow as you think will best accommodate all your storage needs without excessive unstacking and restocking. That definitely not 15/15 in your case, and you may even think about an ezra 6/6/6/12 if you already have a 6/12/12. Breezy really had the best suggestions which is to plan out all your storage first and thnk about what you want to keep where and then try it with some measurements. Good luck!

Hi Kelly Feil, glad they were helpful! The color on the second image is Friendly Yellow. As for your hinge question, you have to break it into two parts. The visual aspect, and the functionality aspect. Visual is easy, either they fit the design of the kitchen, and you like them, or you prefer not to see hinges. (There is no wrong answer!) As to function, the main difference is, generally speaking, a visible hinge will have a wider degree of swing. A hidden hinge (commonly called a European hinge) will open less. Depending upon the manufacturer, a range of 105-120 degrees (versus 180 degree possibility of a visible hinge) There are hidden hinges with even wider swings then 120 degrees, but they are bulkier, take up more space, and generally used in corner cabinet applications. And if your cabinet doors ever need adjusting, both types of hinges allow up-down, in-out as needed. (Well, we are speaking for our visible hinge, we can't speak for other manufacturers!) Lastly, it doesn't sound like a frame and panel door would be a good fit for you. (You mentioned not liking intersecting lines) Perhaps a slab door is something you might want to consider. Good luck on your project!