Of course you have room for stacked cabinets. 9' ceilings are fine with 30" + 15" cabinets plus 9" crown. Or 33" + 15" with 6" of crown.

If you had the budget discussion with the cabinet maker and stressed that you need to come in at a certain number, then he may have heard that loud and clear. The design he gave you may be what your budget buys. The GW wish list kitchen is a great, but EXPENSIVE, kitchen. There's probably at least a 2xto 2.5 factor between the kitchen that he drew there, and what your wish list contains. Are you OK with that? (Adding those stacked cabinets makes it 3x+++)

Oh, I didn't explain myself well. :) Right now we have 39" cabinets and originally we had 10" ceilings and we were going to have stacked cabinets, with the higher ceilings. However, with the 9" ceilings the additional cabinet didn't fit, and I like the look of the tall cabinet doors, and wouldn't want to stacked with 9' ceilings. I also like how the budget looks without them!

As for the drawers, I have a quote that says all lower cabinets ( other than sinks and corners) will be drawers... And I got this!

This post was edited by Laura12 on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 9:06

Oh, and we already bought all the appliances, half are sitting in my current garage!

Get a new designer. If they blew off what you wanted during planning and didn't give you options or explinations what will dealing with them be like on the rest of the project?

Oh, how I wish that was an option! We are getting our cabinets from a local custom shop that has great prices, but they don't have a true kitchen designer. I have looked, but can't find an independent option in my area... Anyone know someone that will design my kitchen remotely? :)

Perhaps I provided too much information. Here are some questions we really need help with.

- What direction should the prep sink be in?
- Where should the trash go?
- Where should the microwave drawer go?
- Anything other suggestions?

I'll try to help. I'm not a design expert, but I do have a layout similar to yours.

Prep sink: I think it should be across from your rangetop to separate your prep and clean up zones.

Trash: If your trash goes in the island right where the 19' marker is on your layout, it would be accessible from both prep zones and clean-up zones. I think this would be the best space, unless you are putting in 2 trash pullouts.

M/W: I'm not sure about this with your plan. Generally you want the microwave near your fridge, but not in your prep zone. You also don't want to attract people through your prep zone to get to your m/w. Maybe near your ovens?

With seating in your island opposite the pantry, you have to make aisle allowances (I could be wrong, but I think it's 60" for seating + walking path). If you have a normal 42" aisle on the other side, your island won't be centered in your kitchen. I'm not sure how you feel about this, but you will be losing some symmetry in your island placement.

Before they wasted all their/your time and money designing and drafting up something that didn't meet your specs, they should have had the discussion that your list exceeded your budget or certain things could not be achieved -- providing options and areas for your own decision making for either cutting back or spending more. Skipping steps/preliminary work and not communicating with the client spells trouble.

My list does not exceed my budget, actually my budget is fairly flexible (within reason) so that isn't the issue at all.

This really should have been two threads... One about how I dislike the communication I am getting with my cabinet place, and one ask for help!

I have a quote that clearly says that my design will have all lower drawers, other than sinks, corners and a single trash pullout. I just talked to the person doing the design, and she confirmed that everything I wanted was covered in our quote.

I do need to move forward with buying cabinets from this particular store, the contract has been signed, and the price is right, I just really need some design help as I'm being limitied by their lack of expertise. They make great cabinets, they don't provide great communication.

If anyone knows of an independent kitchen designer that would work on a project like this remotely and they are available ASAP I would be quite interested!

This post was edited by Laura12 on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 16:54

laurajane02. I was thinking the same as you regarding the prep sink, but she swaped it so someone at the prep sink would but up against someone at the stove. After thinking a prep sink was such a great idea for the past year of planning, I'm nearly ready to through it out the window!

For the trash we need a single pullout that has two bins. Maybe your location is a good solution.

Originally the designer put the fridge where the ovens were, and the ovens where the fridge is now. I moved it as the result of GW advice but now I am rethinking. If the fridge was over by the ovens, it would be a logical place for the microwave, and a great spot for a little beverage center. Kids could also come into the kitchen grab something out of the fridge and/or pantry put something in the microwave and then get out of the kitchen without entering the cooking zones...

The aisles are 44" counter to counter, and I'm going to adjust that so it is 44" from the appliances to the counter. I think that should be enough... Anyone else have any experience with that?

The numbers appear to just be labeling each cabinet for future reference. My cabinetmaker did the same thing.

Fwiw, I did not have a KD. I consulted this forum to figure out my layout and then had a custom cabinet maker build my cabinetry to my specifications. Have a look at katieob's kitchen (linked below). Her layout is similar to yours. You can see where she put her m/w drawer, fridge, etc.

The location that I mentioned for your trash was what I was advised to do on this forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Katieob's finished kitchen

Laura! That is a great link, Thanks!!!

It makes me think I should really swap my fridge and ovens...

Several people here have mentioned that if your KD doesn't lay it on the line and let you know why you can't have what you discussed within your budget (or what it would cost to have what you discussed) -- in addition to your budget -- it's not so great. I agree. Mine took my total budget and came up with a sadly uninspirational plan that looked just like my old kitchen -- no creativity, no originality. It was thermofoil shaker style cabinets, 23 total. It included nothing but the cabinets, quartz countertop, and their installation.

Any "style" or details in this kitchen now, are the result of my request. All I "requested" were two glass cupboards and some extra shelves but the company charged me 30K. No new appliances, no new flooring or structural changes. It was astounding and I should not have signed until I considered it carefully. Problem is, they charged a $1000 for the plan to be made. They charged another $5000 to "release" the plan so that you could use it with your own cabinets and contractor, so I was kind of stuck.

What is the markup? What is the actual cost of each feature in a kitchen like this when you use a middleman? Who knows? Again, I was stuck. Their contractor turned down my job because it was "too small", so I had to hire my own contractor to demo the old kitchen, my own electrician, and plumber.

These KDs were angry when I got my own contractor to move a switchplate because of their measurement error. They refused to cover the cost of moving the switch and when I wouldn't give in, they threatened me with small claims court - (but later gave up. )They made other measurement errors involving items that now do not fit in my "custom kitchen".

So, at this point, warranty or not, I do not want these so-called "award-winning" morons in my home to fix anything in the future! (I am still awaiting replacement brackets for the wrong size they ordered originally-- over a month later!)

I wish I'd read all these entries first but maybe someone else can learn from my experience. I believe I was overcharged and under-serviced... a sad commentary on my own ignorance and perhaps a sad commentary on the regulation of kitchen designers here in Canada!

Thanks Jouney! I appreciatte the insight, and I really wish there were more independent kitchen designers... And by more, I mean any at all!

That said, budget isn't the problem here... My budget includes all our needs as we speced it out well in advance. The problem is I need to take control of the design myself as the company doesn't have a KD. Not are they very detailed oriented as they ignored what was speced out in my contract!