David Singley writes of his new kitchen:

IMHO, a kitchen is something you either have a dream for, or need to look at hundreds of ideas, you will  be living with it for a while!  There are a few shots of mine here [ 1 / 2 ]

Top are original to the house, (1908) in the original kitchen, now pantry. The base was a trashed, cheap metal one, so we found the unfinished oak cabinets at one of the home improvement stores that were a pretty close match, and painted. The laundry area is connected, the same new cabinets painted again match pretty well, as we used five 12" x 30" to fill the space and made edge trim to match the original.

Countertop is Boos Block. We had looked at Ikea, but it looked 'cheap.' The Boos is 1.5" thick, with no splices. Cost was only slightly more than Ikea, because they have much cheaper shipping (Ikea shipping cost was as much as top!). Warning on thick countertop - you will need the long screw kit to mount some sinks ($4), as standard is for up to 1".

Kitchen (was '70s disco style kitchen, when I bought it, original dining room) has custom made cabinets, more Boos [photos: 1, 2].

Because of the low windows, it was hard to fit a real working space + dining area in the room. We have vintage lighting in both area (no cans) and with dimmers we have great work and dining light.

For an idea of the size of the top cabinets above ref & ovens, take a look at this shot.

IMO, the new Kenmore Pro line would fit great with a old style kitchen.Very square simple design. I feel the stainless works very well with wood, and while I like white with painted cabinets, most white appliances have to much design/ trim for my taste. IIRC Frigidare is making refrigerators with slightly rounded tops & fronts.

more (disorganized) photos of the house & kitchen: 1, 2, 3

Plan,plan plan, there will still be problems.