We just put an under the counter microwave in our new kitchen island and LOVE IT. Tell your husband to get over the bending down issue, unless he is 7' tall that is not an issue. Do not like the microwave by the sink, makes the area seem crowded and would be too far from the prep area by the stove. IF you did an under the counter microwave I would put it at the end of the island near the ovens. I will say that the way your kitchen is set up in the floor plan you posted is nice and very workable. You have a good prep zone and clean up zone and I think the island is close enough to the refigerator to act as a landing zone if you don't want to use the area next to the sink. I am also one of the people that did not want anything in my island (like the cooktop or sink). You have good prep space on each side of the stove and good access to the sink from the dining area. If you keep the sink and dishwasher as in the first layout you can use the closest end of the island or the cabinets/drawers to the right of the stove for dish storage for quick unloading from the dishwasher. I actually like having my silverware and dishes nearer to the food prep area to grab a spoon for tasting or get dishs or bowls to serve from the stove. I would also make the cabinet between the sink and the refigerator your trash pull out. Having a trash pull out near the sink is wonderful for after meal cleanup. The one big thing I would change (having just done my own kitchen) is to make ALL the lower cabinets drawers. I did this and you can store so much more and get to it way easier. The lower cabinets in my old kitchen were standard doors with pullouts inside. Did not like this as much as the drawers, you had to open both doors then side out the pullout. AND If you did not get the pull out pushed all the way back in when you finished, it would mess up the inside of the doors.

Hi Abby, If you are looking for appliances in the ‘more affordable’ range you may want to check out ‘Yale Appliances’ blog, website, and reviews. They provide lots of info and comparisons. I am not recommending that you buy from them just look at their research on brands. They keep all kinds of statistics on the service records from their maintenance department, etc. And FWIW their statistics pretty much match up with what my long time appliance service owner told me. I also subscribed to Consumer Reports while I was buying for our remodel and that was helpful too but I would not blindly rely on any one source when making my buying picks. I bought a Bosch oven and dishwasher and to get the ‘bundle’ pricing. I had to buy one other appliance so I bought an over the cooktop microwave (which I did not need and used for a rental) and the total price was still less than if I had just bought the two items.

Hi @Buehl. Thanks for the warm welcome! I don't have the drawing with the dimensions on the first image I posted. Only on the second image in my second post. Less than ideal, but it does show dimensions and the new floorplan. If you zoom way in, you can see the dimensions of the new windows as well. For your reference, the top of the drawings is north. Windows: Regarding windows, I tried to fit as many as I could in, with the exception of the north wall of the kitchen. The view itself is less than desirable (side of an old home) so I figured it was better to have more floating shelves than a couple small windows one either side of the range. To get light into the kitchen, we have a 72"x84" window on the west side by the stairs, as well as vaulted the ceiling to bring south light in from a 144" x 24" south facing transom window. You can see it in the second image I posted on my first post. I'm sure some light will come in from the sunken living room as well since it has windows on all 3 sides. Layout considerations: Children... well, that's a tough one! Possibly 1 in the future. We do have 2 bedrooms in the developed basement as well though that won't be helpful until they're much older. My fiance has a business and works from home, so a small office near the front door was required. We also really wanted 2 full baths on the main floor. It was a bit of a struggle coming up with a good layout that included that in a relatively small footprint (~1550sq/ft). We were also very limited with where to place the stairs into the basement since it was already developed. Appliances: We looked at Miele but couldn't justify the price difference. Bosch was coming in around 10k, Kitchen-aid 14k, Jenn-Air about 20k, and Miele at 30k+. We're already 50k+ over our original budget, so price is definitely a key consideration. Here's an image of our existing floor plan for your easy reference. We can only put the stairs into the basement below the kitchen since that's the only unfinished part.

There simply isn't any manufacturer that excels in every appliance category. There are some manufacturers that have better quality or customer service reputation. But these aren't the only factors in selecting an appliance. Sizes, features and colors all play into the selection process. I can tell you that cooks in the know never buy manufacturer or builder “sets” unless price is the biggest factor you have. What are you shopping for?