Trash Pullout(s): If you're kitchen is large, you will probably need 2 sinks...prep and main/cleanup. One of my biggest regrets is that I put our only trash pullout at the main/cleanup sink, not the prep sink. It's across a 6' aisle from the prep area.

If you have the room, be sure to put a trash pullout at both sinks; if you cannot fit 2 (and I couldn't), consider putting it at the prep sink. Yes, during cleanup the trash gets used...but I'm prepping more often & for longer periods than cleanup so it would have been better to have it in the prep area.

Base Cabinets: Rather than pullout shelves (a.k.a., roll out trays (ROTS)) behind doors, consider mostly drawers. Drawers require one motion to open/close...pull the drawer open/push it closed. ROTS's OTOH, require you to open the door(s) and pullout the shelf, then push the shelf back in and close the door(s)...but the door(s) must be fully open to pull out the shelves and you cannot close the door(s) until the shelves are completely back inside.

Full-extension, Soft-close Drawers: Full-extension drawers (pull out all the way) are a must. Soft-close is a luxury that is well worth the extra you pay in many cabinet lines. Soft close drawers (and doors) only need a gentle shove to close...a couple of inches before they close they are stopped and very gently pulled completely in. Probably the most well-know vendor of soft-close drawers/hinges is Blumotion (Blum hardware).

Design: When designing your kitchen, think of and design around the various zones in your kitchen. The "work triangle" while it still has some validity, has been somewhat superseded by "zones". Storage zone, prep zone, cooking zone, serving zone, cleanup zone; then there are the "centers" beverage center, snack center, message center, baking center, etc.

Gadgets/Neat Ideas:

• Tapmaster
• NeverMT
• Foot Pedal for trash pullouts
• Airswitch
• Soft-close hinges & drawer glides
• piano hinges to utilize the filler space b/w the top of the refrigerator & cabinet above.
• 4" Broom closets
• Filler Pullouts to utilize the often necessary filler (3", 6", 9")--both base & wall
• Windows down to the counter--both traditional/straight and bays and bows

I recommend you read the "Read Me" thread linked below. Then check out these threads:

Thread: Best advice from this forum
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0720293613004.html

Thread: What do you wish you had done differently?
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0722355328974.html?54

Thread: Now that I have [X], I think I could have lived without it (2007/2008 thread)
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0719430319398.html

Thread: List of stuff in kitchens?
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg072028398907.html

Thread: Scrimp on this, Splurge on that....
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg101324514831.html

Thread: Cool cabinet 'insides' ideas...

The key is zones that work efficiently, since you give up overall efficiency with the larger size of the room.

Depending on the layout a large fridge works nicely, or sometimes smaller ones, placed appropriately, can work better. In our kitchen we have the Electrolux All-Fridge and All-Freezer units...a set (one of each) near the cooking/baking areas and across from the pantry, and an extra fridge by the eating area, next to where we keep breakfast, sandwich, and snack items. That works better, the way we work and the way our room is arranged, than it would for us to have 1 bigger one. The price of the Electrolux units made that possible, since the larger than standard refrigerators are pretty pricey.

But, do read that "Read me" thread Buehl linked, and let us know more about your family, your needs, and your space. Can you post a floorplan of the space and it's surrounding rooms?

Responses and advise are great as usual
Just wondering- how do you open the threads recommended by buehl? Double clicking isn't working and I'm too incompetent to figure it out
TIA

You have to copy the link and paste it into your browser. Good Luck!

More recent "Read Me" thread is linked below. (It contains add'l information.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens! (May 2009)

bumping up to test replies

Did they pass? :)

Cindy, for me the one most important special feature would be the most excellent main work zone I could gift myself with. The right size in the right place, with the right stuff in the right places around. Whatever you do, don't let the extra space keep you from achieving that. (It happens.)

It's been four years, so I hope Cindy has finished her kitchen by now.

Oh! Do you have a way of cutting right to the salient element. Cindy? :)