That is a beautiful islands Lauren, thanks for sharing. I hope my peninsula will be somewhat similar, although we will use white oak rather than barn board. Annkathryn, I do love reclaimed lumber, barn board, etc., and considered using it for all cabinets. The peninsula will be wood, at least the sides facing the living area. My architect is recommending white cabs, so that is where my mind is at the moment. I may still opt for wood on the uppers though. Ikea bases with custom fronts are a likely possibility for us. LWO, I really like the exposed hinges, I might ask about that. I like the idea of two woods as well, but it might not fly in this application as a warm white is the most likely colour choice for the cabs, at least for the moment.

We got a pretty good price on solid maple fronts from a local cabinet door wholesaler, and of course we didn't have to pay for shipping. It ended up being CAN$12/sf. It would have been less if we hadn't had as many small pieces. I had to do a lot of measuring and we will have to do the drilling etc. I chose to do the finishing myself but we could pick from a variety of standard finishes, or go custom with them. They also offered a variety of wood species and door styles. I think they supply to kitchen installers and cabinet companies, but they also sell to the public. No fancy marketing or showroom though. Edited to add: my point is that it's worth googling cabinet door fabricators in your area. This post was edited by feisty68 on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 21:33

After talking to several realtors around my area, decided to cancel my orders and go with basically home improvement store items. I will be order $200 translucent door slabs and much cheaper Baldwin $40-$150 lock sets. Why? Buyers at my home's price range really could care less about quality doors and hardware. I guess $2 million homes are not looked upon like I thought they would be now a days. Why spend when you don't need to? Anyways, I was under a different mindset then what is reality in terms of doors and lock sets. People really do not care and not a important selling point at all. New is new and that about it!

Yes...and no. Building a residence with a basement or a crawl space was a common building technique in much of North America for a very long time. Many of the wonderful houses posted in RES's thread are built this way. And, of course, in many cold climate regions basements continue to be a popular way to build. I'm guessing that the post WWII housing boom helped to usher in the use of slab on grade construction for houses in temperate climates. It is faster and cheaper construction. That said...crawl space construction has gone out of favor for many reasons, including energy efficiency, mold, rhodents and "tight houses" which are much more efficient when built slab on grade. Custom designed houses using a properly designed and prepared slab on grade construction can be as high quality, energy efficient and long lasting as any other approach. But...if you want a house built like they were a century ago...and have the resources for it...then by all means proceed. Just be aware of the various issues that go along with it and be prepared for the necessary mitigation measures.