A coworker mentioned this tool, which looks pretty cool:
http://www.roomsketcher.com/

For finding and selecting vendors, a quick-and-dirty planning technique is creating and sharing maps under Google Maps. I created one for our local remodeling vendors, and shared it with the husband. A decently diverse selection of location icons and colors allows you to classify and color code your location types. You can add notes for each location, which I use to keep track of general summaries, how I found the vendor, etc.

So my last experience with an IKEA planning tool was the IVAR shelving planner which they had over a decade ago. Today's Kitchen Planner tool is significantly better, but using it is still an exercise in masochism. A few useful notes:

• doesn't appear to work in Chrome at all
• works very poorly in Safari on Mac
• works fine in Firefox on PC
• the "Switch Top/Front" tool is really great for more precise cabinet height placement when you are in "Floor View"
• note that the glass-door cabinets get a separate category from the wood-door cabinets (probably because the glass doors come in fewer sizes)

We started off with the black-brown Nexus finish, but are fairly sure we want to go with light-colored cabinets now (probably birch, Nexus finish). We're also fairly settled on using one of their aluminum-framed, frosted glass cabinet doors for the wall cabinets. The only drawback is the limited size selection (and slightly higher cost). We may/may not have a cabinet to the right of the stove (would do shelves and/or a rail system there). Enjoy some quick screenshots of what we put together:

Birch:

Black-brown: