Some ideas to consider: A Pull-out trash & recycling in one of the cabinets. (Modified the cabinet inside and it hides a trashcan and recycling can really nicely.) Related - - Modified foot pull for my trash/recycling cabinet door: I can open hands-free with ease! I attached hardware to the bottom of the cabinet door as a toe-catch, it functions so well! 3) A well-powered above-range hood. Like OP, I had to unexpectedly gut the kitchen (125-yr-old-house, 5 layers of kitchen flooring, leaks detected under sink and refrigerator's water line!). But this gut-job gave me the courage to cut a hole in the outside of the house for a well-powered hood above the range. Watched ThisOldHouse to gain the courage, turned out great! 4) Hidden garage under a cabinet for my robot vaccuum: I had a powerstrip next to a solitary cabinet, decided to leave off the baseboard trim to create a "garage" for my vaccuum. It goes in there to recharge and comes out to keep my floors clean. 5) Hardwired under-cabinet lighting: Makes a big difference - the task lighting is very helpful! More on reddit.com

Kitchens are one of those remodels that can be $5k or (easily) $100k- all depends on your tastes and needs. We did the work ourselves but hired a designer to consult on finishes, layout, etc. This allowed us to spend a lot more on appliances, which was important to us. The items that we are thrilled with include; an XXL Miele steam oven which doubles as our second oven, but is also perfect for small dishes, quick reheating, etc; HUGE single bowl sink that allows us to clean large items without spraying water all over hell and back; the fridge/dishwasher are both 'cabinet front', so they blend in; mixer lift which allows us to keep our mixer plugged in, yet hidden away and easily accessible; 6 burner 'open burner' stove that is like cooking on the surface of the sun (in a good way); oversized vent hood so our house never smells like what we're cooking (but the neighborhood does!); DEDICATED drawers for cooking utensils and spices- easily accessible while cooking. From a 'layout' perspective, the smartest thing we did was take stock of EXACTLY how we live/cook and make our new kitchen match that. For example, we DO use our microwave, mixer, coffee grinder, decorative tea canisters, etc, etc...but we didn't want to stare at them all the time. So we were very deliberate in making sure we had dedicated and EASILY accessible areas for all that stuff. We have a convenient powered cabinet that has the microwave, a lower powered cabinet for the mixer that has a pneumatic arm to raise the mixer up to counter height, two lower cabinets just for dog food/treats, couple of junk drawers, etc, etc. We now have a kitchen that is always clean because EVERYTHING has a home. The most common mistake we read about when designing our kitchen was people that got every gadget and organizer, and then still had to put the microwave on the counter, coffee grinder on a high shelf, dog food in a plastic tub on the floor, cook books next to the microwave, etc, etc. You start with ALL THIS COUNTER SPACE and then end up filling it with shit b/c you use it all the time and have no place that makes sense to put it. We literally made a list of the items we used over the course of a month and found out that we probably didn't need to have 12 place settings take up 60% of our convenient upper cabinets, nor 35 coffee mugs, nor did we need 10 sauce pans in the lower cabinet next to the stove. All that stuff is IN the kitchen, but replaced by the bowls, pans, and tupperware that we use daily...and we made sure those cabinets were designed to hold those items. And a ton of hidden outlets. More on reddit.com

I suggest you live in the existing kitchen before making changes. A $75k plus remodel should be what you really want. How is the light, is the work flow comfortable or do you need to move major components. How will current codes affect design. I spent a year looking at ideas and doing my own rough drawings to imagine those elements on my kitchen. I went with a local custom cabinet maker. Design was directed by me and carried out by my GC and cabinet maker. It worked out well. More on reddit.com

Drawers in ALL of the base cabinets. So much more ergonomic than bending down. Pretty standard nowadays, but soft close drawers and doors are awesome. Lots of lighting with dimmers. Countertop lighting is a must. The less seams the better for cleaning. Important with cooktops, ranges, and sinks. Refrigerators - if you use a freezer less often, pick one with a freezer bottom. Side by side fridges usually can’t fit a pizza box. Dishwashers - pick a better, quieter model. You don’t want a dishwasher drowning out your TV or conversation. Look at consumer reports for flooring and countertop durability. In general, quartz/granite countertops and tile floors are the most durable. Stainless steel sinks are the most durable. Less easy, but I recommend buying and reading the NKBA kitchen design guide. It gives simple rules for design. For example, you should have at least 3 feet of counterspace next to a sink for your prep space. More on reddit.com