hillferty77, pillog, michelleDT - your input has been so helpful FYI: I am a bachelorette who wouldn't mind meeting a wonderful bachelor but until then it's just me in a 2-story townhouse condo with a true external vent in the kitchen. I love the look of that Terazzo Under Cabinet hood. Question: I was planning on 15" deep uppers. Since that hood is meant for 12" uppers would it work for me? If not what else would you suggest? Since there wasn't any microwave here, I recently purchased a small Magic Chef counter top micro just to see if I'd even use it. I've learned that a microwave is great for a baked potato, cooking eggs or hot cereal in the morning, reheating leftover and steam-in-bag veggies. I haven't really needed to use it for much else. My large Breville toaster oven is a real workhorse and I think it's worth every penny. For coffee and tea my Tassimo is wonderful. I like it even better than the Keurig it replaced even though Tassimo offers a smaller selection of coffees and teas. I still need a good cooking and good looking 30" stove top and gas range. And yes, I have to confess - I'll probably look at the stove more often that I use it. I know it doesn't sound like I'm much of a cook but I really am a good cook - it's just that cooking for one doesn't require huge portions at a time BUT when I do make pots of soup, roast huge trays of vegetables or have company I need a dependable stove. For all the other times that I'm just walking past it, I want to go "AH!" If I put my new little micro in a cabinet then my budget will be for a 30" gas stove, the hood, and a dishwasher. Oh, and a faucet, sink and garbage disposal (but those choices are for another time). Before I had a budget I dreamed about the 30" wine color Bertazzoni. Last year's sale including the hood was a real temptation. Then I found out what it cost and worked hard to convince myself that the inside of the stove would not be big enough at holidays and I needed the storage drawer. I saw the GE Cafe and was drawn in by the huge knobs but I've read such mixed reviews on its performance and even the quality of the stainless and how it's prone to scratching more than normal. Of course, both appliance stores said to ignore everything I've read online! So once again I seek your input.

I'm a little confused about the set-up you are describing-- not sure exactly where the window to the laundry room is-- directly above the sink, or above the cabs? Or was this window eliminated? Anyway, I think you are right that adding a full-height cabinet above the sink would crowd the area. Some options that come to mind are: - a shorter-height cabinet such as would be used over a refrigerator - a shorter-height cabinet with a garage-type lift-up door. If you could use an Ikea cabinet here, you could put in a flourescent light at the bottom that would also serve as the cabinet floor-- kind of cool, and would give you extra lighting over the sink. - a plate rack - open shelving - a utensil rail - a fold-down dish drainer - nothing at all!

Oh, now that I think of it, here's a real question. My cabinetmaker suggested doing either an integrated cutting board or a butcher block countertop somewhere for prep, since concrete is unforgiving for prep. Immediately I thought butcher block island, but somehow I see that being an issue since the range is in the island. Also, I don't know if the

Interesting enough, NSM, I'm not too worried about the maintenance of wood counters. I love the versatility of wood and think it looks wonderful marred or not. In fact, that's one of the things I love about it. It gets better looking with wear, IMO! However, if it gets a burn mark or scratch, it's also very easy to repair, unlike the stone counters. I also like the fact that, of course farmhouses all had wood counters, so it would also be in keeping with the nature of the house. Faves are Walnut and Wenge...naturally the expensive woods (at least Walnut is from the US. Wenge is African)! Could also stain maple, though. Aktillery, you know me and rich deep browns (considering your Brainstorm Bronze, in fact!). Really unsure, but my kitchen is all uplighting, which is really beautiful with deeper tones.