We no longer crate our 6 y.o Chocolate Lab (because my wife is home during the day, and I am home at night) ; but when we both worked during the day he was crated. We made his crate a place of relaxation for him. Big comfy cushion, a couple toys, etc. When we were home, we often gave him treats and fed him in his crate so it was a place he didnt associate with "being in trouble" or having any sort of anxiety towards that.
We got away from crating whenever we moved from PHX to PIT and were staying at my parent's house. There really wasnt a place to put his crate, and since he was good at letting us know when he needed to visit the facilities, we said screw it.
When we moved from PIT to PHI, we tried to reintroduce the crate, and it did not go over well. He completely ripped apart the crate trying to get free. I think the fact we were in a new house, coupled with the fact he was now conditioned to roam the house freely, we just dropped the crating for him.
He has not had any issues roaming freely and normally just sleeps on the couch, in his bed or in my bed while we are gone. We also have a routine like you mentioned above and it works great for him. He's the laziest dog in the whole world, but he is SOOOO good with our kids and strangers - we love him very much.