The first thing that I would do is put a nice sharp edge on the bed along the grass side. A good edge makes a bed look neat and carefully planned. Next, I would seriously think about edging the whole bed with a low hedge. It's a box - play that up. As the hedge grows and fills in it also covers/hides/detracts attention from a lot of problems. Since height is the basic issue, I would use a perennial that can be sheared, something like Santolina, Teucrium, Germander, Iberis (Candytuft), or Aurinia (Basket of Gold). I have had good luck in my zone 5 garden with Santolina (only marginally hardy for me) on the outside edges of raised beds with the corners done in Candytuft and Aurinia. If your garden conditions are right, short sedums might be an inexpensive edging/hedging choice, since almost any stem would root for you and shearing would not be necessary. You could check out ones like the blue/grey Sedum sieboldii (6-12in), reddish Vera Jamison (1 foot, but sometimes flops open), or the warm yellow variegated Sedum alboroseum Mediovariegatum (listed as a 2 footer, but only growing about a foot in my clay, forms a nice rounded upright plant for me). There are lots of taller sedums, but my Autumn Joys and the newer Maestro (a sport of Matrona) get really tall in good garden soil. Also, it's just a guess, but I think that a shorter edge will make the other plants look taller than they are, somewhat hiding your height restriction problem. This sedum idea really depends on how much you like sedum and how much sedum you like. You might try mixing and matching some of the shearing plants up with some sedums at your local nursery and see if you get a combo you like, then using the sedums in shorter runs or for structural impact in certain areas. I would stick with just a few types of edging plants to make the area more unified. If you wanted to, expecially since it's a large area, you could also divide the inside of your garden into sections or shapes. Lots of Parterre ideas are available online and in books. Remember though, that even relatively informal hedges, such as I have suggested, are WORK. You could start with a perennial hedge on just the grass side towards the center and see if you like the effect, before spending a lot of time, effort and money on the idea. You can then divide or take cuttings from you existing plants and spread them across and down the sides over several seasons. Also you could easily incorporate the Dianthus that you mentioned into this garden. They are nice low plants that like good drainage. I am especially fond of the Chedder Pinks like Firewitch which form dense mats of bluish foliage. There are lots of other varieties, but the matting forms (versus the grassy ones) also plays into that guess/idea of mine that you need layers. A caution though - keep the Dianthus away from your grass - I have a really bad infestation of grass in some of mine along my grass path, which I just can't seem to eliminate. In fact I would keep your entire edging/hedging planting at least a foot away from the grass edge and keep that area heavily mulched. Some of the sedum groundcover ones such as Dragon's Blood or Angelina are pretty short( 4-6 inches), very colorful in bloom, and spread easily. They could be used to carpet the interior of the bed, lessening the too much mulch look. Another possibility are Thymes. I'm especially fond of wooly thyme, a very low blue-green mat forming thyme. This can take some moderate amount of stepping on which might be nice along a driveway. Lots of other steppables out there in the marketplace, even one using the term as a brandname. When I want to plant a larger-growing new plant in my garden I do not hesitate to simply dig a somewhat larger than usual hole (to give the new plant some breathing room)in the middle of my thyme or tear out a bunch of Dragon's Blood sedum and plant directly into these groundcovers. The removed bits can be patted into the ground somewhere else and usually take well with no extra care. A good edge and some strategically placed pots of creepers might give your garden a finished look and play well with your hot color scheme.

Why doesn't she 'balance' the cabinets on either side of the stove, so they're the same size? Isn't that part of design? Where does the wall end to the left of the stove? Does it go all the way to the back side of the sink run? If so, I think I'd add cabinets there to balance the entire wall. But I don't see a reason to have the cabinets flanking the hood and stove to be different sizes. I agree that the hutch design isn't good. I wouldn't do the thin cabinets on either side of center on the top or the bottom. Was this design your instruction to her? I think the problem with the fridge wall is the drop of the upper over the cabinet. I don't think it's necessary, and all should be level, and the doors designed to look nice together. I agree that 36" would be narrow for baking, but for using the mixer in order to use the island across as main baking workspace, it serves an important purpose. There is no reason those cabinets facing the stove can't be 24" deep so that your sink is in the right spot. Your work triangle would be GREAT if the sink was put where you asked. Maybe the other cabinet sizes need to be adjusted. She has now insisted on charging you by the hour, instead of the original agreed fee, right? And has given you plans that need revision and more time... You've reported that she has given you argument and attitude previously, and I think she still might be...

I don't want you to lose your best view to the backyard. So I took Lavender's suggestion and tweaked it. And I see that ControlFreak and I are on the same wavelength. Fridge: I would inset the fridge partially into the wall so it doesn't stick out in the room as much. If you have the budget for a counter-depth fridge, even better. The fridge should be enclosed in cabinetry with upper-storage. Make sure you get a cabinet above it that is the same depth as the fridge. Far more usable than one of those that only sticks out as far as the upper cabinets. Then you actually tend to use it instead of piling stuff on top of the fridge because reaching the cabinet is so difficult. DW: Normally, I wouldn't suggest a DW up against a door but your door opens out (unusual for an exterior door) so someone coming in will see it instead of opening the door into the DW so this should work OK. You would, of course, need to train yourself to watch for it before walking in. I would get a panel DW for this location since it will be seen so well when coming down the hall and, possibly, from the DR, especially if you open that wall the way Lavender suggested. Sink: I moved your sink and window both down the wall. You need more space between sink and range so someone can clean-up and someone else can cook without bumping into each other. This also gives you a longer stretch of counter between sink and range which is where folks tend to do most of their prep work. Moving the window down also helps bring more light into that hallway. I kinda hate to see you have the extra expense of moving the window but I think the extra space for prep is worth it. Range: Unless you couldn't stand it to cook on, I really think you should go with a 30" range in your small space. Most of our daily meals are sauted and steamed so I use my cooktop a lot and a 30" range has never been a problem for me. Of course, YMMV. I just think you need the space for other things Pink Rectangles: These are windows on each side of your hood. I know you probably feel you need storage but the storage would be minimal there so I would do tall, narrow windows. It will not only allow you to get more natural light and look outside but it will also make your kitchen feel more spacious. Yellow = lower cabinets Blue = uppers Trash: I didn't mark it but I still think you need to have your trash under the sink. You really need all the storage you can get so wasting a cabinet on a trash pull-out doesn't make sense, imho. You are close to outside. I'm assuming your outdoor garage can is close? I keep a small holder on the inside of my sink cabinet door that holds plastic grocery bags. It doesn't hold much but it holds enough, imho, and then we empty it regularly so no trash smells build up in the kitchen. I really like Lavender's idea for opening up the dining room to the hallway. I figured there was a bathroom door there not drawn in. Since there isn't, I think doing that will bring that light into the hallway, the hallway won't feel so long, and it will actually make your kitchen feel bigger since it will be so close to a wide open space instead of a narrow, dark hallway.

What a lovely front porch! I'd be so tempted to hang an old-fashioned porch swing. What I really want to say, though, is that I LOVE your yard sign. Thank you for displaying that, and for sharing it with us here. We need to see more of that sort of radical welcome these days. :-)