The degree of success one will have depends heavily on the type of maple - not all maples have equally difficult roots to work around. And not all maples will tolerate disruption in their root zone equally as well.

Ideally, if one wants to underplant any type of tree, it should be done at the same time as the tree is planted. This allows any accompanying plants to establish successfully before the tree's roots begin to be a problem. And it always a good idea to select plants that are pretty drought tolerant once established, as any tree's roots will seek out moist soil and hog the moisture. If the tree is already well established, I'd locate any plants no closer to the tree than the dripline unless a shallow rooted, low growing groundcover.

Kitchen almost complete. Still waiting for counter top. Same issue with lighting. I really don't like to look at the lighting hardware from my family room. I also decided to place all my electrical outlets (under cabinets) so it looks like I will need a light rail. You may need to zoom photo to see. Hope the light rail works. I will run a test with cardboard.

The light rail wasn't enough to block my view so they ordered extra trim that's 3.5 and inserted it under cabinet. It hangs 1.5 inches down from outside view of cabinet- not ideal but it blocks the view.