I kind of liked the Fait Avenue design
I like the gray glossy, with a white countertop.
I like the Lauder white cabinets. Its harder with that sort of finish to determine at a glance where they came from and how much they cost. Agree that the sideways wood on Fait looks cheesy and too much like Ikea, which wont appeal to older clients looking to downsize and move to a warmer climate.
Cb, I personally dislike glossy white surfaces. They might look cool in photos, but they collect fingerprints and dirt like there is no tomorrow - yech.
I kind of like the kitchens in this condo development (I know, granite is “dated”, but people still like it!):
http://www.bellevuetowercondos.com/listings/for-sale
Lots of glass walls, open floor plans with kitchens facing the views, and glass panes on decks to take advantage of the views.
The island in the Lauder kitchen photo is similar to island in my kitchen design. Smaller 30" sink, island about the same width and it will be deep with seating in living area.
If you don’t like Ikea’s door- and drawer-fronts, or what something more upscale, there are companies that make custom doors and what-not to fit Ikea’s cabinets.
One such company is semihandmade in LA (http://www.semihandmadedoors.com/) .Don’t know if you have time or budget for this approach though.
Some pics:
http://www.houzz.com/projects/47954/semihandmade-ikea-kitchens
what if you were make the island wider by wrapping it around the post? I’d extend it to end across from where the fridge ends.
that would give you more counter space above and space below for a dishes drawer, which is especially nice to have next to the dishwasher. Ending the island at the post seems to be an arbitrary compromise that is not necessary and makes the usable kitchen space too crowded. perhaps then you could have a 36" sink?
What is interesting about the Bellevue Tower photos is that the refrigerator is covered in cabinet panels so that it doesn’t stand out. That might be a good idea for this kitchen since the kitchen cabinetry and appliances will be wide open to the living areas of the home. I’m going to investigate how much more that might cost. I have my refrigerator covered with panels (and no handles) in my own kitchen at home. Sometimes guests wander around for a while trying to find the refrigerator 
I insist on counter depth refrigerators. So now I need to find a Counter Depth AND panel ready refrigerator. They are not easy to find, but I do know that Kitchen Aid makes a really nice French door style, counter depth, panel ready. However, these types of refrigerators do not have the in-door ice and water dispensers. So, it is a trade off. The Kitchen Aid has a filter water dispenser inside - but no ice dispenser.
I love the white glossy cabinet look. We had that kitchen in an apartment we rented in Copenhagen. But I soon noticed the fingerprints mentioned upthread. We did not spend much time in the kitchen, so I knew with regular use those cabinets would be a nightmare to keep fingerprint free.
I also don’t like the wood grain cabinets.
Here is the refrigerator that can have panels installed
Yes, I am going to extend the countertop around the post, but I am not sure if I can put another cabinet on the other side of the post. I need to analyze that more carefully. But, was definitely going to add counter space around the post. I really want to keep the ‘open concept’ to the views from the front door and a base cabinet on other side of post might defeat that design. I will put a box there and analyze it from several vantage points.
I love fridges that have a clean look - that means no in door ice dispenser. Id just go for a sleek stainless steel finish and call it a day. Its going to cost an additional 1K for the trim kit and panel . The freezer drawer can be opened to get ice. You can add a small water dispenser faucet to the sink.
Nice fridge!
Those panel-ready fridges can be more expensive than regular ones, but they all will be counter-depth. One drawback that can be a huge plus: no magnets on the doors, so a much cleaner look!
This was a suggested read from Yahoo for me this morning. 
I am familiar with the Semi Handmade company that makes the IKEA doors but haven’t really researched ideas or cost. I find it interesting to note that most of their wood door designs you posted above are a sideways wood grain and some of them are actually similar to the ‘fake wood’ IKEA door styles.
Thank you for the advice from you all about instant fingerprint mess on the glossy cabinetry. I will keep that in mind, but it may not be my deciding factor. I have to balance ‘wow’ factor against whether anyone is going to even think through the cleaning maintenance issues of certain types of cabinetry. Honestly, if anyone was really interested in fingerprint disasters… no one would buy a stainless refrigerator Yet, that seems to be the preference of current buyers.
It cost us $1100 for the wood panels for the SubZero in our kitchen. It was a horrible rip-off IMO, but it does look nice.
I kind of miss being able to use refrigerator magnets though.
CB, fridge doors are expected to pick up dirt and to be cleaned, but people usually don’t clean all cabinet doors that often. Additionally, most current ss fridges and other appliances are made with smudge-resistant finish. For example, my Miele ss oven doors look clean and don’t show fingerprints (amazing!), but the glass panel needs to be wiped often (ugh).
My H just had someone put IKEA cabinets into a call room and I was surprised how nice the carcass, hardware and accessories were.
Just be aware that IKEA is changing over from one style of carcass to another and buy accordingly if you do not want to buy the one that is about to be phased out:
CB, a 30" sink [ my is from Franke] with one bowl is plenty big. dont go for the 2 bowl design.
heres a thought- what if you were to flip the design?
On the back wall starting on the right looking from the LR- Fridge, right next to the door to garage, next to it -the dishwasher with cabinets above, next to the single bowl 30" sink, next to it cabinets above and below.
One the island, a drop in 36"cooktop with down draft vent[ can be vented in open space below to outside] with base cabinets on either side and below.
Make the island deeper - extend it 20" beyond back of down draft , for more seating room, as well as wrapping it around the post.
A much cleaner look [ imo. ] That’s how we have our kitchen designed. And the convienece to having the fridge next to the door to the garage makes it easy to put a way groceries quickly. Having the BIG appliances [ fridge, ovens] on one end of the kitchen lightens up the rest of it. And the bigger, deeper island gives it a more expensive look too.
Nice ideas but I think I might disagree…
I like to have ‘landing space’ when entering from garage with groceries, keys and stuff. If the refrigerator is right next to the door there is no counter space to left or right when you enter the kitchen. It might be best to have that bit of counter space (about 24").
With the refrigerator against back wall, groceries can be stacked on the island and loaded into refrigerator. Another design consideration is that people come/go to the refrigerator a lot. If the refrigerator is on the left end of the back wall (looking from living area) they can come/go through the open pass area to the left without having to go through the whole kitchen to get to the refrigerator. Another reason… there already is an outlet and the water line existing in that back left corner. I would not have to try to move the water line. However, I agree if I could anchor the large tall stuff on one wall or one corner, it would lighten up the rest of the kitchen.
In my opinion, people spend more time at their kitchen sinks than the stove. If the kitchen sink is in the island then someone can enjoy the expansive views while at the sink (reason that windows are usually placed above a kitchen sink). If the sink is on the back wall you are just staring at the back wall while doing dishes and stuff. So, if the sink is out on the island then it would be best to put dishwasher to the left or right of it. Another reason… the plumbing and drain for sink are already out near the new island area - just needs to be moved about 3’ to the right.
There is already a nice vent through roof on that back wall for venting the cooktop. It will save money to be able to use the existing vent through ceiling. Although it is offset to the right a bit and I may have to move the configuration anyway.
You mention that putting the dishwasher against back wall allows for an upper cabinet - which would be a 24" upper. I have two 24" uppers that are going to flank stove left and right planned for that back wall.
So, in general there will be tall refrigerator, uppers and a big stainless vent against back wall. Trying to stack all the ‘heavy’ stuff against that back wall