We were going for a hutch look for a 48" stretch too, but found it wasn't really possible to get the look while retaining utility (at least with inset cabinets). You just end up with too many small cabinets. (Our old kitchen had a big 7' buffet cabinet that looked a lot like your drawing, except with open shelves in the middle of the uppers, and I adored it--we only took it out because we were making structural changes that would slice it in two, and we didn't have another 7' stretch of wall to move it to.) What we ended up with was three equal uppers (16" each, but you could easily do shelves as one of those too--in ours, two are combined as one larger upper but the doors look the same) and then below, we did one 12" cabinet and one 36" bank of drawers. We find this a very useful layout, but you have to be okay with lack of symmetry. (Not an issue with our space because this is the end of a long run of cabinetry, so it worked.) You could also do two 12" cabinets flanking a 24" drawer bank, but I agree that 12" cabinets have limited utility. Ours is for cutting boards and cookie sheets and is perfect for that, but we wouldn't be able to fill two cabinets like that. I'd much, much rather have the extra space in the drawers. One thing we did consider, which might work for you, is a 24" center drawer bank and two 12" drawer-over-door cabinets--gives you more shallow drawer space and then less narrow cabinet space to fill. The major issue if you are doing inset or framed cabinets is that the drawers in 12" cabinets are really, really narrow, to the point of not being very useful. Here's ours:

Thank you all -- searching for "low windows" was very helpful I even read of some people who left the windows and worked the kitchen around them without replacing or covering them up, and I really am excited to see what we can come up with keeping this in mind. We had one such window in the bathroom, IN the bathtub/shower stall. The previous owners had covered the wall with a shower curtain, but the wall/window just couldn't withstand all of the moisture. So, we did remove and replace that one with a smaller one, unfortunately. If we had another bathroom, I'd have loved to have kept that big, old window there right where it was, and designated that as a "bath only" bathroom. But I did keep the pink tub that was there and am so glad that I did. ;) Thank you al for yor input. I'm very excited about embracing the windows and working with, instead of against, them.

Apartment buildings have elevators and stairs are for egress during a fire so stairs are typically on the exterior wall. Since that wall is not fire rated it is possible to put windows in it. These stairs are required to be concrete and/or steel and can be independent of the exterior wall therefore it is common to see stair stringers and handrails through windows. Private residential stairs are not required to have a fire enclosure so they traditionally have interior stairs open to a foyer or living space and sometimes use an exterior wall for support with windows (if any) only at landings. Allowing the window to show the stair stringer is a modern design idea borrowed from commercial/industrial buildings. This is not a "Transitional Style" design idea but if you use such a commercial/industrial approach and try to marry it to traditional design ideas (like the portico) it will be a great design challenge to maintain a residential scale and not fall into commercial developer cliches as demonstrated by your current house design. In my opinion designing in plan instead of in all three dimensions and arbitrarily assembling architectural elements from different eras and cultures is not true "Transitional" design that simplifies and modernizes traditional design ideas so they work together without looking cobbled together. In fact, transitional design has accompanied every major shift in architectural styles. What you are calling "Transitional" is a developer/realtor term for anything that can't be otherwise categorized. Your house would be called "Neo Eclectic" by architectural historians.

Mama goose - I really like that one from the links you sent. I also found this doing some more browsing online. The window is larger is gives me some more perspective. http://hookedonhouses.net/2013/03/13/kays-kitchen-inspired-by-somethings-gotta-give/ I'm open to ideas for the back entry and laundry area. I planned for stackables. Right now I just have a washing machine. The previous owner put up clothes lines in the attic and there's no vent. I hang a lot (not in the attic) but am missing a dryer. Until I do the remodel, I'm lucky my neighbor is a very good friend. Accessing the half bath isn't a huge issue. The other door you see goes to my office/den which connects to my bedroom (bungalow layout :)). So, I'm the primary user, and guests will likely use the other one.