I was caught off guard. By the time I realized there was a storm it was right on top of me. I live in Trophy club. DD called me to make sure I was ok and in a safe place, I stayed in the hallway with 3 dogs and they thought I was crazy for sitting on the floor in there LOL. Was without power from about 6 pm till 5 am. Then the next night power went out again this time from 10 pm till ? was asleep when it came back on. We only lost two large limbs in one tree. House on the corner lost 4 trees and the debri is still in the road, I guess he's hoping the town will pick it up but they came by today to pick up the debri and left his. There was one two story house that had a large tree fal on it lot of damage to it. Metal fences torn down from trees falling on them, wood fences down like match sticks. Many trees lost here. It was a mess here but most were lucky and not as much damage as it could have been. This has not been my week, first off my dad was in the hospital with a bad infection, they let him go back to the nursing home and I was going to go check on him but DH came home with flu like symptoms, fever, aches and such. Then the next morning DH calls out to me and ask if our bedroom floor was wet and why. Sure enough the carpet is soaked leaving foot print in the carpet. Call insurance to get it fixed and they keep thinking it's storm damage when I talk to them and they have to be reminded it's a leak in the foundation. The wet part of the carpet was cut out and service pro placed fans in bedroom and bathroom. Stay last night in a hotel, no water. Plumbers finished the repairs today but fans are still in the rooms. We are camping out in the living room casue the fans are to noisy but it's good to be home :) My dear son came over to cut the tree limbs up and placed them at the curb. So it's all ok. Funny thing is we had plans on getting new flooring in the bedroom but not this soon LOL. Just got done with having tile put down in 3 rooms and the hallway and I'm plenty tried.

thanks everyone for the suggestions! We have lived here since May, and have been pondering the kitchen ever since we had our offer accepted on the house. I think that I essentially like the room's layout to answer fori's question. The thing I'd like is a bit more counter space. I have considered getting rid of the island and putting in a peninsula, but I have a couple concerns at doing this, first and foremost, not totally sure whether the flooring runs under the island. I'm not at all interested in redoing the floors just to move an island. Second, and most importantly, but the cabinets, drawers and counter space on the end of the island closest to the stove & MW get used a TON because the counters, drawers and base cabinet storage is very limited directly to the right and left of the stove. Some folks asked about the room beyond the stove, through the door...it's our laundry/mud room + 4th bedroom and a bathroom and connects the house to the garage. Only place in which to access these rooms is through that door. So unfortunately it can't be blocked off. All the other doors are necessities too. One is to the DR, other to our front living room, the other to the basement. Im definitely toying with the idea of removing those goofy banisters between the kitchen and family room. I need to wait until I'm ready to extend the flooring into the family room though because of the piece that the spindles attach to on the floor. Regarding removing the soffits, I don't believe there's anything in the soffits above the refrigerator area, however I do believe that there's plumbing in the soffits above the main run of cabinets...our bathroom is directly above there and have heard water sounds running through the pipes (which I believe hide in the soffit). So, I'm thinking if I paint, the soffits will get crown molding... Thanks again for all the suggestions!!

OK - here are my measurememnts. They are in inches. To answer some of your quesitons: What is the extent of the remodel? Gut and redo? Basically gut - hopefully we can get rid of the soffits, no cabinets will remain. The only thing that is new enough is the range. You say "budget", "DIY", you don't want to "over improve". Can we at least move water? With the area we live in it would be benefit us to have a very expensive remodel. Although I know it will help to remodel the kitchen to eventaully sell. We are talking about Ikea cabinets to save $$ but will prob do granite and tile flooring. 10-15k is the budget as it stands right now. We will be doing a lot of the labor ourselves. We can move water as DHs Uncle is a plumber and he will basically do it for free if we feed him.. lol island/cabinets on bottom wall I wouldn't need seating at the island and would use it for storage and prep space but I feel that if I do nothing with the bottom wall again and leave it blank - will it look empty still. Can I get a better layout by utilizing that wall with cabinets and forget the island. Can walls/windows/doorways (interior and/or exterior) be modified/moved/eliminated? Interior walls - the bottom wall is structural and behind that wall is steps to the basement. So that wouldn't be possible. Left wall is the wall that is shared with the garage and the right wall is the entry foyer. I am not sure how that would look opening up. I would say no to modifying walls and windows. Is this a one-person kitchen now and forever? A two-or more person? That includes anyone doing anything in the kitchen...prepping, cooking, cleaning up, other. Mostly a one person but I would like it to be at least a 2 person kitchen. We are a growing family and need to think about a highchair as well. Currently, Me, DH and 6 mo old son. How do you feel about banquette seating? How high off the floor are the windows in the small bay bump out where your table is? I wouldn't be opposed to banquette seating - although under the window is a heater that prob can't be moved easily - but I have seem building vents under banquette to allow the heat to flow out.. not sure how that would work. Exact Dimensions: Top wall: * Distance b/w wall on the left and the window: 39 5/8 * Width of the window: 40 7/8 (including molding) * How high off the floor is the window? 42 * Distance b/w window and bay window: 55 3/8 * Width of bay window opening: 73 (molding to molding) * Distance b/w bay window and wall on the right: 13 7/8 *Height of Bay from floor: 24 1/2 Bottom wall: * Width of doorway on the left: 72 This is where the garage entry and basement entry are located just beyond this. We use garage entry primarily. Right wall: * Width of doorway toward the bottom: 47.5" * Distance b/w doorway and bottom wall: 10 9/16" Left Wall * From corner to lightswitch by garage (where ref ends now) 137" Other: * What are the dimensions of the table? * Diameter when round?: 48 * Length when leafs are in?: 48x66 *Opening now to enter kitchen (with Fridge there) 41" *Total opening by fridge wall to wall: 71 1/4 Sorry about the approximates - I had them on my work computer but I was able to log in there and get the exact dimensions. ALSO forgot to mention - I REALLY need a pantry type cabinet. Currently I am using the uppers on either side of the range and it is terrible space for pantry stuff. No way to do an actual pantry so it has to be a cabinet. Hope this helps. I am just at a loss as to what the best layout would be. Buehl - I like the layout you provided, but I am not sI gained that much cabinet space. I am already piling things on top of each other. ALSO I REALLY LIKE THE TRASH CABINET. We currently have it under the sink on a rollout thing b/c the Dog loves to get into the garbage. PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks....

Hey... Post some pics of your work - it may inspire other people with "skills" to do the same - Now remember, I make a living as a Fabricator, Trainer and a Consultant to the Natural & Engineered Stone Industry, BUT... this is NOT rocket science, and a person with the right skill sets can do a pretty respectable job if they have the right tools and training - BUT it takes LOTS of PRACTICE.. as far as the air polisher goes, you'll want to look at the max CFM (cubic feet per minute) OUTPUT of your compressor - AND compare it to the CFM usage required by the polisher - usually... an Alpha 658 requires around 15 CFM which is way low - BUT.........REMEMBER: IF your air compressor is only capable of putting out 10 CFM... and your polisher needs 15 CFM..... it's NOT going to work ..... you'll need a bigger CFM output compressor... IF you are only doing stuff for your own home: an electric Aplha, Flex, Metabo, Bosch or Milwaukee will do just fine - make sure and get a variable speed model, as you can fine tune your polishing ability by using different speeds with different pads - going wet to dry - definately an "art" to getting it "just right"..... Center water feed would also be really nice, but again - IF you are just buying the grinder for this job, and this job only - I would not spend the extra money (unless it will help you sleep better at night - then I would say - help the economy and spend the extra dough!!!!...HA!) hope that helps kevin