I think a comfortable distance between the island and the counter is around 42". It seems that you have only 30" between your cook top and the counter. I might be a little too tight. The wall between the entrance and the kitchen could be 4' long instead of 6', you would then be able to move the island a foot which would give you more room between the cook top and the island. Could you switch the location of the toilet and vanity in your dad's bathroom so your enter facing a vanity instead of a toilet which is a lot nicer.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

I had purchased hafele hob 10 months back... I got it serviced 6 times... Now i requested for replacement with new one... Still they have not attended my request...

Bhaskar, IMHO, there is no right or wrong for any interior design projects. What suits one family may not suit another. Readymade and custom built have their own pros and cons. You need to decide it based on your preferences/ availability. I would agree that it is extremely confusing for a new person. But, it is more often so because we try to do to much work ourselves. While we rarely question other professions like the builder on the materials , design, finish e.t.c. when it comes to designing we want to be our own designers to fix everything. Participating in the design process is good. Some people are born with the eye for details and others just think that they are good at it. It's the second bunch that takes most of the hit. For e.g. You would see some recent posts here where homeowners decided to call their own shots and ended up making extremely costly mistakes. Feels bad because they will end up living with it for a lifetime. Long rant :). Coming back, to get a uniform comparable quotes - Hire a design consultant, draft the designs and specify all the possible material, measurements hardware details . Prepeare a BOQ and share this with the vendors and then request a quote am sure you will get better comparable numbers. Thanks, Nitin Cornerstone Designs, Bangalore.