[cork2win]

If I use cover panels on my upper cabinets (in the photo, next to the vent hood), do I line up the lower cabinets to match exactly? If so, then that means I have a space in the lower cabinets (on each side of the cooktop) that would need a cover panel to fill it, even though a cover panel isn't necessary?

Do I just not line up the cabinets *exactly* and leave the base cabinets all butted up against each other? Or do you do some other trim work to fill the existing space?

[gwen]

I have just a sec but thought I would post a pic of our area with a similiar configuration:



We didn't place any filler/cover panel pieces on the bottom. Off to the left we have a 49" base cabinet in the corner with a few inches of filler. This cabinet allowed us a little play with the base cabinets around the stove without any cover panels.

In your configuration, you may consider matching cover panels on the base to where you have them on the wall. It all comes down to the cabinet dimensions and the space you have them in.

[cork2win]

Thanks Gwen. Having never seen these cabinets in person I'm having a really hard time picturing just how obvious it would be if the lower cabinets didn't line up *exactly* with the upper cabinets.

I did see another post while I was searching for an answer to this question that used stainless steel fillers by the stove and I really liked the way that looked, even though you wouldn't really see them in my setup, I guess you'd see the edges. Hmmm.

[wd40]

If you feel you really have to use the cover panels to keep things aligned, all you need is a couple of strips for the front part, since the top will be covered by the countertop anyway.

In this case all you really need is a single 33"x12" cover panel, split in half (i.e.: 2x 33"x6") and cut down by about 3" to match the height of the cabinets, with one piece on each side of the cooktop cabinet.