We haven't actually remodeled so I don't know about your questions, but we did recently buy a new modular and I was able to have some input into the design of the kitchen. My one big recommendation is drawers. Lots of them. We got no door cabinets in the lowers except for the sink and what was supposed to be a cooktop (long story-we didn't use our cooktop) and in some shallow cabinets in the island but the rest are all drawers and I LOVE it. I keep my pots and pan, dishes, bowls, etc all in drawers. I was skeptical at first but it's the one thing I love most about my new kitchen. I have pics on my blog.
http://canwebuildthis.blogspot.com/2...r-storage.html
This one shows the cabinets before we moved in. The cabinets in the first pic are a bit different now (we ended up buying a slide-in range instead of using our old cooktop and wall oven like we had planned) but the rest is the same.
http://canwebuildthis.blogspot.com/2...d-kitchen.html