prill... I really am contemplating using IKEA boxes and DH will build the door fronts. The only doors I will have are at the sink base and corner. I'm planning on uppers only the long 10' west wall where the window is. I think I want SS and glass there; kinda like the horizontal IKEA ones (if not those exactly); but I'll play that by ear. The style will be a very wide rail/style shaker like this: That is the Ultracraft door that I first fell in love with in the red birch. I think it's gorgeous but I'm just not seeing the reddish tone in my kitchen with the bakers table and floor. What do you all think? wolfgang, thanks for the compliment. Those trees are Latanya palms. (not sure if I spelled it correctly) When the really mature, they'll form a canopy over the pool. OH... and about wood cabs. I also adore walnut and teak but wonder if it would be too dark or if the teak would be too "streaky" with the floor.

I'm so sorry I didn't see the last couple of questions! I don't receive emails when my threads are added to. The trim color is another Behr color called Spice Delight. We did use a shellac-based primer on the paneled walls before we painted - I think in total we did one coat of primer and two coats of paint. The walls look nice and smooth in person. Sorry for the delay!

The attached layout I did days ago but didn't post it because it didn't seem applicable to discussions. Here's my thinking. I would run the countertop all the way along the top wall, around the corner, and down to the fridge. Cabs underneath. You could easily bring a 15"or so wide x 12" deep cabinet all the way down to countertop height on the far left of the stove. That space is not prime work area. I really like the idea of a glass-fronted area there that is shallow enough to find things easily--which your present 24" deep pantry is definitely not--and which would be a lovely accent that could be adjusted to the colors you prefer and even seasons. Center the range on the top cabinet run as I sketched it here, not between the two walls. The area to the right of the range will be the main cooking area. The cleanup will happen to the right of the sink, opposite the island. The island will be your work area, as you say it now is. I squared the island and slightly enlarged it. I really urge you to put in a prep sink. I know it seems redundant so close to the cleanup sink, but it isn't. Mine, like this one, is very close to the cleanup sink, but I use both, piling dirty dishes into the cleanup sink and keeping the prep sink clear for work. Of all the changes I made in my new kitchen, I think the inclusion of that sink was easily one of the most important. I think your cleanup sink should be large enough to hold your biggest frequently used pans. It does not, IMO, need to be as large as it presently is. Making it smaller will leave you room for more drawers. If this is an idea you can consider, you can solicit input with a query thread here on GW. I am not sure of the size of the window on the sink wall. I would love you to have 15" cabinets on that wall and on the left corner. On the range wall, 12" cabs will be fine, and will leave easier work areas. (Although I find no problem with 15" cabs flanking my range, because most work on that wall is really done ON the range itself.) Finally, I played with the idea of moving the fridge toward the sink, putting a shallow 15" or so wide cabinet facing the kitchen on the right of the fridge. If this is 8" or a bit less, it will be wonderful for storing your baking goods, spices, and cans. Then, behind it, facing the family room would be a 15" deep, 20" or so wide pantry for whatever you chose to store there. Hey, among other goodies, it could hold the ladder you will need to access the top of your ceiling-height cabs! This is just idea playing--not a hard proposal. Actually, all of this is just playing with ideas, of course. As I have said before in other links, this is like playing with paper dolls as I did as a child. Just plain fun. This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 22:28

One more idea. Here is a link to a finished kitchen with a similar layout in case it's hard to picture: http://www.thekitchn.com/maureens-maximized-upgraded-kitchen-small-cool-kitchens-2012-174024 1) This puts the sink is almost exactly where your plumbing already is. 2) There would be a decent amount of natural light in both key parts of the kitchen -- the pass through would let in some where the sink is, and the garden door would light up where the cook top is since that area is pretty close to that door. 3) No stretch of counter is less than 24", your main prep area is over 5 feet wide (and 30" deep), and you have a bonus 9 feet of counter space at the buffet. For me the main failing of a lot of other plans being considered is how the counter space is so chopped up, and this addresses that. 4) I'm envisioning the buffet as an uninterrupted stretch of uppers, lowers, and counter -- like this: The buffet counter is a bit far away from the major kitchen work zones, so I envision its being used more for large cooling racks or setting out a buffet for people eating in the formal dining room to use. You might consider adding a bar sink to the buffet (you have plenty of room) for drinks when entertaining and so the buffet can act as an extra prep area when you have a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Or maybe it could be good a baking station? It's nice to roll out pie crust far away from the heat of the ovens. 5) I widened the doorway to the dining room. It's a vertical piece of the original portion of the house, and it's my understanding from other parts of the thread that that should mean it's not structural? A widened doorway does two things: a) It makes it possible for people to walk by the cooks easily. b) It makes the kitchen more open to the dining room, which means it would be natural to eat informal meals at the dining room table instead of needing a kitchen table. 6) This plan also has a lot of flexibility. a) You can add a bar sink to the buffet to make it a work zone. b) You could add an overhang at the pass through and put bar seating there. c) You can leave the sun room as a sun room and just use the dining table for eating (since now it's a bit more open to the kitchen). d) You can add a free-standing kitchen table in the center of the sunroom -- the kitchen is open enough/near enough to that area that I think a kitchen table there wouldn't seem odd. e) As a compromise between keeping the sun room vs. having a kitchen table, you could put a banquette in the bay window like this: This should leave you some room in between the banquette and the pass through for you to put some of your original sun room furniture (I'm guessing it's just comfy chairs?) and retain some of that sun room function you wanted to keep while still having the banquette as your kitchen table. Here is a link that might be useful: Similar kitchen This post was edited by Jillius on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 5:13