"Curt" wrote in message ...
Planning our kitchen, will be a _U_ shape, part of the _U_ will be an
island, the rest will be along walls.

What features are most desirable for cabinets? For that I mean, lazy
Susan's, pull out trays, etc. If you've put together a wish list, or maybe
you've completed your wish list, would you share the pro's & con's?

Thanks

From just spending $36k on remodeling two kitchens in the last four years,
let me add a couple of pennies ...........

Get the roll out trays for under counter cabinets. You won't be bending
over and crawling in there to get a pot or something that is in the rear.
They can also be used for pantry foods and make access light years easier.

Lazy Susans are good for getting the most out of corner space storage and
making it easier.

Consider a pot filler at the stove. Very handy.

Consider a very shallow and deep drawer under the stove which is usually
wasted space. You can lay a lot of those little bottles of spices in there,
and they are handy when needed.

Consider a dedicated place for a knife rack. I have two Wolfgang Puck's. I
got one for Christmas, and liked it, and one wasn't enough. Or some sort of
rack system that keeps the knives accessible.

Go granite for the tops. You cannot hurt them. Have them double the edge,
which makes it look double thick, but is not. I like the nibbled rough
edge.

On any island or bar, be sure to put enough electrical outlets underneath.
You will need them for mixers, blenders, etc. Maybe a small prep sink,
which is very handy. (I don't have one, but wished I did. We had to cut
the floor for the electric as it was, and it would have been a much bigger
project to include water and drain. Easy when building new, though.)

Consider under cabinet low voltage lighting run to a dimmer. The ones I got
were commercial, have a daisy chain of lights that are easily replacable,
and give a nice hue to the room and are a good night light. Likewise,
consider lights at the top of the cabinets that shine towards the ceiling
for a nice glow. Or even in the glass fronted cabinets. Beautiful at night
with the swirly glass.

Pick a few upper cabinets, and have the door routed out and put a glass
panel. We have the clear glass with the big swirls in them and they look
outstanding. The other had just clear glass. This breaks up the design so
much instead of everything flowing together into monotone.

Consider the use of a range hood and pot rack. If you are going to use
these items, you will want to build ahead to fit them in, instead of having
to make a place later, and perhaps remove or move cabinets. They are hard
to find in the larger or odd sizes. Sears has some that are nice and not
too spendy.

Go quality on the faucets. We went top of the line Moen. Have your granite
drilled for a RO system even if you don't want one at this time.

Make a diagram and go over and over and over it to establish traffic
patterns, and the triangle you should have between stove, fridge, and food
prep area. THINK about where you are putting stuff, and what it would be
like to actually work in a kitchen like this. Later is a bad time to change
the location of stuff. When you get your final diagram, THEN make your
light diagram for the ceiling, and where to place the lights, making them
task specific. NEVER EVER EVER EVER put a microwave over a stove. You
pull something out, and find out it's really hot or really really full and
now you have it at shoulder level........it's starting to spill or burn your
hands ............ what do you do? Dangerous for all people, particularly
short ones and kids, and they get all gunged up. (The microwaves, not the
shortys or young.)


Make specialty cabinets. Example: We have one regular one that has little
spacers in it. We use it for cookie sheets, racks, pizza stone, everything
that is thin and is stored on edge. We made drawers under the cook top for
pots, pans and lids rather than putting them under the counter. Infinitely
easier to reach and keep organized.

On the cabinet under the sink, put as little as possible in there, as
repeated digging can jostle the lines in there and cause leakage without you
knowing about it. Make separate cabinet for all those cleaning things you
need in a kitchen. DAMHIKT. With the garbage disposer, the RO system, and
a tray of most essentials in there, that's enough.

Consider a large single compartment farm type sink. I love mine, and would
do another as first choice of sinks.

Utilize door backs, getting those little racks that will hold a lot of the
little cans, bottles, and boxes of stuff. Handy to reach when you open the
door, and you can either use Big Lots stuff or spendy stainless steel.

Probably more, but that's enough for now.

I would like to do another kitchen in my lifetime incorporating what I've
learned from the three I've done. One original build, two remodels.

Steve