Where are the shut off valves going to be located? If they are in the "gap", then the back of the cabinet would have to be removable in order to access them. If the supply lines come into the cabinet at the top and that's where the valves are, then you don't need access to the 'gap'. It's just like the water lines running in the floor and walls. No access needed. Am I saving that much space by putting them behind the cabinet? Probably not. The drain line is going to be directly below the sink and blocking storage, so having a couple of supply lines tucked in behind that probably isn't a big deal. But I guess there's no harm in using the 'gap' instead.

@acm - thanks! The grout will be off white. Sort of just like in the pic I posted. The backsplash is off white with a thin gray line around the border of each individual tile, and with offwhite grout gives a subtle look. Not too contrasty.

Dear Susan, Without having your existing kitchen layout to figure out what performance benefits you’d might like to keep. And what performance problems it has that you may want to resolve, fix, or eliminate. I have no way to know exactly where you’re starting from. Without an interview to determine HOW you want and expect to LIVE in your new kitchen I don’t know exactly where you want to end up. So it’s difficult to give you direction. I can give you an idea of what your life will be like Living in this kitchen day to day and when you entertain. Let’s start with Option 1 (see attached sketch). If we draw a line from your ref/f to your pantry we separate work space from gathering space. OPTION 1 Your ref/f is in gathering space. So when you entertain, guests will be standing in front of it making it difficult to get into. If it is a side by side the big door is always on the right and there is no counter to the left side of your ref. So you will have to open the door grab what you can. Take a step back, close the door and get to the counter to the right of your ref. This appliance location is Not very efficient for food and beverage service. And the island in this orientation is much too far away to be of any help. This ref/f location is good because it’s close to outdoor space, close to your family room. It is about 8’ from your island and about 18’ away from the table drawn on your kitchen plan. It’s also bad because it’s about 10 feet away from your sink and about 17’ away from your range. I hope you can rollerblade. :-) Main sink You have plenty of counter space to the right and left of your main sink. You should add a trash and recycling bins pull out adjacent to your sink. Trash, sink, dishwasher, and then put your kitchen items away. It appears that you have lots of base and wall cabinetry space. But without your kitchen item inventory checklist don’t know for certain. Your cleanup wall is about 8’ away from your island, and about 17’ away from your dining table. Range/Oven wall looks good. You have lots of counter space to the right and left of your range. Base cabinet space below the counter for wide drawers for pot, pan, lid, and bake ware storage. You have counter space to the left of your oven/micro wave cabinet for trays and cookie sheets coming in and out of the oven. And to stage what you will cook or heat up in the microwave. Your island at 6’ away from your range wall counters will be about 4 to 6 steps away. If you’re intending to use your island for your main prep area that is quite a lot of steps, to take on a regular bases, when you’re cooking or baking. Your pantry is Huge so whatever won’t fit into your cabinetry will fit in your pantry. Although with all the cabinetry storage you have I don’t believe you’ll need it. Could it be smaller? That’s up to you. Overall in my opinion this layout is going to take time from your life not add to it. If you truly want and expect a new, better, easier life then the one you’re living now in your current kitchen this is not the layout to consider. It could LOOK Spectacular because it’s Huge and Open! But as efficiency goes it works very poorly. I get exhausted just imagining working in it each and every day. OPTION 2 Your ref/f is still in gathering space. But for day to day living family can get into it without getting in the cooks way. When you entertain, guests will be still standing in front of it making it difficult to get into. If it is a side by side the big door is always on the right and there is no counter to the left side of your ref. So you will have to open the door grab what you can. Take a step back, close the door and get to the counter to the right of your ref. This appliance location is More efficient for food and beverage service, because the island in this orientation is much closer to the ref/f. This ref/f location is good because it’s close to outdoor space, close to your family room. It is still about 8’ from your island and about 18’ away from the table drawn on your kitchen plan. It’s also bad because it’s about 10 feet away from your sink and about 17’ away from your range. Putting it about 7 to 9 steps away from your range and ovens. Main sink Very similar to Option 1 except that your cleanup wall is only about 5’ away from your island.And in this orientation much easier to clear. Range/Oven wall. Same as Option 1 Your island at 4’ away from your range wall counters will be about 2 to 3 steps away. If you’re intending to use your island for your main prep area this is manageable although 42” would be more efficient. Your pantry is the same as in Option 1 Overall in my opinion this layout Option 2 is better. But it’s still going to take time from your life not add to it, but a little less time. Your work triangle has to be smaller. I’m not trying to discourage you. This is the Fun of working all of your kitchen’s performance problems out on paper. You may be fine with all the walking that you’ll have to do to live in this kitchen layout. But if you’re not, making your mistakes on paper so you don’t have to live with them is best. Otherwise you’ll have to make do with what you get, be reminded every day of the mistakes you made. Mistakes that you may not have known you were making until AFTER your kitchen is done. Leaving you wishing you had done your home and life improvement project differently. I hope I have shown you, so you can imagine, what it will be like to live and work in these 2 kitchen layout options. So you can identify what performance benefits you like, that you want to keep. And what performance problems you need to have resolved, fixed, or eliminated. I hope this has been helpful. Joe Brandao Kitchen Design Company

Cat_ky, I have been considering it! I'm stil working on posting pics of the horror below the sink, but Houzz doesn't seem to want to let me--I'm working on it! It's really bad under there. My primary concern with a reno is that I'll be opening a Pandora's Box. It's really awful, and I know that for everything I can see, there is something worse lurking in a place I can't, haha! I was saving up a down payment to put on my own house, but then the pandemic happened, and my sister lost her job, so I've been using my savings to pay her rent/bills/groceries. It's a little demoralizing, truth be told :/ I do have some savings left, but I'm afraid to let it go (she's working again, thank god). My landlord isn't a bad person, but she doesn't want to put any money into this place. She's allowed me to paint and put new carpet in the bedrooms (the rest is hardwood), but I don't think she'd pay a dime towards a kitchen reno, and they are not cheap (even the cheap ones, haha). My other worry is the cabinets--they're in a sorry state--I don't know if they could handle the trauma of a tile counter removal and then support something new. Sigh. What a mess, ay?