THE KITCHEN LAYOUT I WANT

Actually it's my brother who came up with the layout that we ultimately decided to go with.
This is what we will attempt to create:

This layout requires more work, but with all the savings we've had so far, we decided to dive in and create a better workspace. Changes include:

1. Getting rid of the patio door and replacing it with an exterior windowed entry way.
2. Position the refridgerator on the other half of where the patio door was to create more counter space
3. Remove the wall between the rec room and kitchen and put a "sit at" counter there.
4. Add a tall pantry in the corner and additional counter space below the window near the opening to the rec room

As my brother put it, you can determine the functionality of a kitchen by imagining a triangle between the fridge, the stove and the sink. You can see that the custom-designed kitchen, which I understand was meant to save us money, has a very awkward triangular work area:

In this new design, the work area is more open and less congested:

After talking to a couple of contractors, it is apparent that the work required to create this layout is not as costly as it first seemed. So we're going to go for it!

So the checklist of what is left to buy goes something like this:

• sink faucet (bought at home depot, ok I splurged a little here!)
• tiles for flooring (bought)
• tiles for splash wall
• heat mat for flooring
• garburator
• exterior door (in process of ordering)
• drop lighting for above the sink area
• high dining chairs

I'm still torn about whether or not I want puck lights installed under a couple of the cabinets. It sounds to me like they are quite costly... like $50 per light. Many nights of sleep clearly hasn't helped me reach a decision.

My brother and I went to a door manufacturer today and got a great price on a windowed exterior door. I do need to do some measurements since the exterior wall in this kitchen is thicker than what you would find in a standard house. I need to let the company know by August 1st. That gives me two weeks to solve the problem of how the door will be installed before we place the order and pay. But more about how that encounter went in a future post.

Wow! I just noticed, I really made the entry door small in the layout. o.O

Day 5 and still no folder. I back tracked for that day, and today i revisited the optometrist office, save on foods, and browns social house to see if they might have it. No luck. My brother says he distinctly remembers me holding the folder when we met back up after our appointments. He feels the same way i do... that it really is in the house somewhere. My brain is getting tired of scenarios. It looks like I will have to attempt to recreate the information I had there, though I know its impossible to duplicate it exactly.