The area is too small to try and attempt to make planting "beds" - I'd treat it all as a single planting area. Lawn in this situation is absurd. First, the area is far too small to have anything more than a token lawn, which is pointless, and lawn in an arid, desert environment is environmentally irresponsible. I'd design the area as a xeric garden featuring natives and/or plants that would relish this situation. These can be extremely interesting and visually appealing, offer a great deal of color and texture and most have the attributes of being virtually no maintenance as well. A visit to a local garden center should provide a range of choices but I'd consider cassia, salvias, aloes, agaves, senecio, kalanchoe, euphorbias or any of the many succulents that thrive under these conditions. One or two larger, speciment type plants and a limited selection of smaller ones placed in groupings should suffice - you don't necessarily want to cover the entire area with plants. And keep the gravel mulch. These plants love the reflected heat gravel affords (it is a common occurrence in their native state) and like any mulch, gravel will help to retain any soil mositure and keep weeds at bay. One thing I would consider is changing the topography slightly. The area now is extremely flat and featureless. If you were to bring some additional soil to mound up a portion of the planting area - say an irregularly shaped mound roughly following the 'L' - add a few larger rocks and a flagstone path from the street to the entry, you provide some immediate character and some staging for the plants. The attached link connects to a number of xeric gardens, some well-designed, some not; and not all suited to your climate, or conditions. But take a look at some of the plant choices and how they are combined and notice specifically how many of them treat smaller entry gardens sans lawn. The first (Nelson, Huntington Beach) is partcularly appropriate for your situation. Here is a link that might be useful: xeric garden possibilities

I bought the 10X12 HFGH and it is up. I dug a hole and placed the base frame in it and filled it with what we call red breeze. I did have a bit of a problem with the instructions. I went to HF web site and downloaded a new set of instructions. That helped, but even with these new instructions, it left a lot to the imagination. They were different than the ones that came with the GH. I do want to make some modifications to our GH also to make it stronger. I am new to this site and would like to know how to find pictures on here, especially of the pool cover for insulation. I am thinking of putting up bubble wrap on the inside to help with insulation. I found these items on EBAY. Greenhouse Insulation Fittings - Super Alliplugs x 50 Has any one tried these? Here is the link to his EBAY store. Looks like lots of parts we could use on our HFGH. http://stores.ebay.com/Greenhouse-Warehouse He is located in UK, but the parts look exactly like what came with the HFGH, if you need extra parts. Tom S Colorado Here is a link that might be useful: GreenHouse parts in the UK for HFGH

Refrigerator...keep in mind some things. First, to open fully, the doors of your refrigerator must stick out past the surrounding walls/cabinets/counters. This means you can only recess your refrigerator so the carcass/box is even with adjacent walls/cabinets/counters on the hinge side(s). In this case, it's a counter...25.5". The depth of your refrigerator is approx 31". Unfortunately, KA doesn't give all the necessary dimensions, in this case, the depth of the carcass/box. You need this to know how deep you can recess it. Remember, you also need room behind the refrigerator for air clearance (1/2"), water lines for ice maker & water dispenser (probably an inch or two), plug, and, if used, the anti-tip device. The 31" does not include these items. (FYI...the doors on my refrigerator stick out 4" from the carcass/box. This does not include the handles.) If we assume your refrigerator is similar, then its carcass/box is probably 27" deep (31" - 4"). Add another inch for the water lines and you can probably only recess it into the wall 3" or so. (27" deep carcass + 1" = 28"; 28" - 25.5" = 2.5"; you can go up to another half-inch or so if the door hinges allow it...it depends on the hinges.) The handles extend out another 2.5". So, this means approx 6" of your refrigerator will extend out past the counters. This brings us to the second point...your aisle. According to your layout, the aisle b/w the counter and the island is 40". However, in front of the refrigerator, the aisle is only 34" (40" - 6")...rather narrow. That's bordering on too narrow to get the refrigerator in/out without removing the doors...and maybe still too narrow even then. It will also create a "pinch point" when the refrigerator is open...a minor annoyance in this case, I think, b/c it's not a path through the kitchen and a refrigerator isn't usually open for very long (and others could always go around the island.) The concern is the ability to move the refrigerator for cleaning, repairs, or replacement w/o damaging the refrigerator or your cabinets & counters. The cabinet above the fridge is usually installed so the front of the cabinet box is flush with the refrigerator's carcass/box. You might be able to install it so the cabinet + doors are flush with the refrigerator doors, but you run the risk of hitting your head on the cabinet since you're tall. I recommend sticking with the former. Dishwasher + Corner Sink...You really need more space b/w the sink and the DW. If you look at the pic with the "Sink specs from Thomasville", note that it recommends a base cabinet at least 15" wide b/w the corner sink base and the DW. You only have 9"...you really need at least 15"; 18" would be better. As to a corner sink, there are pros & cons. It's a great way to handle a corner and the less-than-optimum storage under a sink base. You combine the sink base and corner storage into one so you only have one place with inefficient storage. However, unless you have a large corner sink base (48" or more), only one person can use the sink at one time. OTOH, there's plenty of space behind the sink for your faucet, soap dispenser, etc. You also don't have to worry about how deep (front-to-back) the sink is b/c there should be plenty of room for everything. But, you do have to be careful how far back the sink is installed, have them install it as far forward as possible and don't let them put any more than a 3" piece of stone b/w the sink cutout and the edge of the counter. This is to prevent the need to lean too far forward to use the sink. (The taller you are, the more important this is.) Prep Zone...Your Prep Zone will most likely end up on the perimeter b/w the corner sink and the range. That's where your water source is as well as it's close to the range. While 39" is normally enough room for prepping with a "straight line", when you factor in a corner sink and the fact that some of the floor space in your Prep Zone will overlap with the corner sink's floor space, you may not really have enough. I would like to see you increase that 21" cabinet to 30" (and decrease the one on the other end by those 9" to 27"). It will make a big difference in functionality. I don't recommend putting the DW b/w the sink and range...you really don't want to work over/in front of an open DW if someone is loading/unloading it or a running DW venting heat & steam on you! (If you're very, very disciplined about no one ever cleaning up while someone is prepping or cooking or there's never more than one person in the kitchen at a time, then a DW might be OK, but it's not ideal.) Besides, you should try for as little overlap of Zones as possible. Seating at the island...The National Kitchen & Bath Assoc (NKBA) recommends the overhang of counter-height seating be a minimum of 15". You have 12". I suspect you've put in 12" so you can fit an island. However, you should be aware that even if you skimp on overhang, people sitting at the island will take up the same amount of floor/aisle space...they'll just have to either sit farther away from the counter's edge or have to lean farther forward...neither of which is particularly comfortable for any length of time. Some people here swear that 9" or 12" is enough, but I suspect they have very short legs. You, OTOH, have stated you are tall (6'1")...so I doubt very much you have short legs. Our family ranges in height from 5'10" (me) to 6'6" and still growing (my DS). We have a 15" overhang and while my DD and I think it's OK, my DH & DS wish it was a few inches deeper (neither of them sit at the counter very often b/c of this). Honestly, I would have rather had 18" as well, but 15" works OK for me. One comment: You say everyone tells you they love an island even in a small kitchen. I wonder if they had a better designed kitchen if they would change their tune. Sometimes we don't know any better and think something is the best we can do. In the case of a kitchen, once you work in a well-designed kitchen, you're spoiled! What others think is fine, you know really isn't. People can adapt to anything...even a poor layout...and if they don't know any better they don't know how good it could be! Aisles...I'm concerned about the aisle b/w the back of the island and the porch door. At most, you have a 42.5" aisle (34" + 8.5"). It may actually be narrower when you start counting door trim, door knob, etc. When the door is open, you may have an issue with chair/door conflict (even an empty chair). Counter height...You were wondering about counter height. Have you calculated your "ideal" work height? It's not just a matter of height...upper arm length comes into play as well. To calculate your "ideal" work height (it takes two people): Stand up straight with your feet slightly apart and arms straight down at your sides. Now, bend your elbow 90 degrees. Keep your arm against your body. Have the second person measure the distance between your elbow and the floor. Subract 6" from the measurement. This is your "ideal" work height. Note that work height can be modified by raising the height of the cabinets, installing them on a platform, increasing the thickness of the counter, or by using large, thick cutting boards placed on top of a standard-height work surface (36" off the finished floor). Crown Molding...Most ceilings are not perfect and the floor-to-ceiling height can vary throughout the kitchen. To accommodate this and to make the differences "invisible", KDs usually either place a significant gap b/w the ceiling and top of the crown molding or use a 2 or 3 piece crown that includes a "filler" piece that is adjusted to accommodate the ceiling height discrepancies. The latter is, IMHO, better than the former. However, to do this successfully, the space for the crown does have to be tall enough so differences in filler piece heights are not noticeable. The shorter the filler piece, the more noticeable differences in height are. In our case, we have 6" of crown. We have a 3-piece crown molding with the filler (Stock-S) in the middle. The top and bottom pieces remain the same throughout the kitchen, it's only the filler piece that changes height. (We have approx a 1" height difference b/w the "tallest" and "shortest" floor-to-ceiling height in the kitchen.) Here's the design of our crown molding: Rev-A-Shelf Trash Pullout...I'm sure it will be less expensive to install it yourself after-market. Cabinet companies are notorious for marking up cabinet inserts tremendously. Since cost is a factor, I recommend ordering the cabinet you intend to use for your trash pullout as a full-height cabinet (i.e., no top drawer) with the door unattached. You can then purchase the pullout elsewhere (search the web, you can find it for much less than it is on the Rev-A-Shelf site) and install it yourself. In the end, this is your kitchen, so you have control over what you end up with. Please, really think about all the things I've mentioned b/f you decide on a final design. You will then be making an informed decision and whatever you decide you will know the pros & cons and know the compromises you have to make. Good luck!

I know you said you did not want to switch rooms; but since you like the look of the sink in the bay (the outside views are awesome), it may be worth exploring. If your DH is like mine, change is hard, but he comes around eventually. Perhaps posting another thread that asks people to weigh in on the two kitchen locations with a mock layout for each might get DH to consider the possibility if he can read what others have to say concerning the positives and negatives of each kitchen location. Many people are remodeling to get a larger kitchen space by eliminating two sit-down eating spaces in their homes. Thus, If you switch the rooms, I do not think you would have to “stage” a formal dining room if the time comes to sell. The larger, well designed kitchen would be a major selling point. Keeping the kitchen in its current location does not gain you a whole lot more space for the kitchen because of the traffic patterns; moving the kitchen to the dining area gains you much more kitchen space. You gain the space for family friendly island seating, and the kitchen does not have to be in a location that “fights” with the traffic patterns of your home. The generous dining space combined with the larger kitchen space would be awesome to entertain in. One negative would be carrying groceries a tad farther but not a whole lot more. ;