As a code "wonk", I am not only interested in the code requirements and how they are applied to the buildings I design but in their purpose. I suppose that is because I spent 7 1/2 years in school before getting a job designing buildings and then no one wanted to do the code analysis work so I've been doing it for the past 40+ years. For anyone who cares: "Fireblocking" is intended to prevent the passage of hot gasses through wall cavities (between studs) from one floor to another and from the wall cavities to a ceiling cavity. Therefore, it usually occurs at the ceiling line and never occurs below that point which should be obvious if you think about it. Firestopping has nothing to do with fire separation of spaces or fire protection of structural elements - that involves the use of tested/rated assemblies to prevent the spread of fire vertically and/or horizontally through walls and floor/ceiling assemblies in a building and to prevent the premature collapse of the structure before people can get out. Draft stops are for the purpose of preventing the spread of fire within very large ceiling cavities. This requirement rarely applies to residences and never applies to walls. The requirement in national building codes for fireblocking goes back to the early 70's in the Uniform Building Code and to the early 80's in the first dedicated 1 & 2 family dwelling codes published by CABO (later renamed the ICC). It was in 2000 that the ICC was formed and the first International Residential Code (IRC) was published. These codes (and the previous CABO codes) required fireblocking in walls at floor/ceiling lines but did not specify how to deal with "furred" wall spaces (when horizontal strapping is applied to studs before a wall finish is installed allowing air to move horizontally along a wall behind a finish like drywall). The 2003 IRC corrected this oversight by adding the requirement that horizontal furred spaces be fireblocked horizontally at leat every 10 feet (along the wall) which was the original requirement of the Uniform Building Code (UBC) back in 1970. (I told you I was a code wonk.) That was the code I used to take the registration exam in '71 so I know it very well. To me, the notion that a building inspector would require fire blocking in the middle of a wall because it was taller than 10 ft. would be proof that the inspector did not understand the purpose of fireblocking and had not participated in the evolution of the that particular building code requirement and did not understand the current IRC requirement. Imagine that, a building inspector who did not understand the building code. Where is Manhattan42 when we need him? Building codes requirements are not optimum building techniques or guides to good construction; they are minimum standards to be met and hopefully exceeded. If you do not understand the purpose of building code requirements you will never be able to design over and above them - that is the most valuable design lesson that I learned from Walter Gropius, the Dean of my architecture school so many years ago. Thanks Grope, I miss you. Everything was so clear then.

I'll be contrary and say I'm against keeping that cabinet. The "old" cabinet is a hybrid from the (I'd say 50's-60's) previous renovation and the original cabinet. The bottom is original and the top has clutzy replacement doors instead of the (probably) of inset doors, the new doors were probably an attempt to blend the new cabinets with the old. The kitchen probably had one of those long wall sinks with integral drainboards in that area and the photos show the newly improved arrangement with only one small full depth base cabinet - the sink base. If you keep it, I think you can't place the dishwasher where you've drawn it - I don't think you have even 18" for a dw between where a farm sink cabinet would be and the edge of the antique base cabinet. You already know that its height from the countertop prevents you from using that counter space for anything but storage. If you keep it, you might look for new doors for it and a better companion cabinet for the other side of the sink window. The wall cabinet there looks like a replacement ir later addition anyway. Doing the return (making the little "L" on the dining room side) doesn't actually get you much - you lose more of the easy storage in the corner, the upper becomes more difficult to use and you don't really gain USEFUL counterspace because you can't use the counter in the corner. A lot of this will have different charateristics than it does now because you're much further away from that upper when you use standard size cabinets. The "L" prevents changing the dw to the left side of the sink - again I think that's necessary if you want to save the antique cabinet. In what I drew, You can have the ref where drawn free standing or with a small pantry that opens towards the bathroom. If you choose to do a range in that location, the suggestion above for an antique range is a good one - craig's list sometimes has chambers and others listed for baltimore that work and are reasonable. The issue with an unrestored antique range is SAFTEY. They sometimes have problems with gas leaks, rust or ovens that don't work right. You could also maybe do the 40" Frigidaire for something that feels more like an older style. Lots more cash than that gets you a restored antique range. Some more cash gets you something really stylish like this bert. At about that level of pricing, you can just reach a pro style range like an american or blue star. In any event, What you can't do is keep that partly old cabinet and "recounter" it deeper, put a counter in front of the window and expect to be able to reach inside it on either the uppers or the lowers (without crawling). By increasing the depth of the counter, you're increasing your distance from the upper and you won't be able to reach as well as you could before. You also won't be able to use either of the drawers because of the extended depth of the counter. I had to laugh about the wall fan (I have one). Isn't your kitchen greasy? Don't you spend time cleaning the grease off those pipes and the exhaust fan itself? Don't you find kinda gory dust on the ceiling fan - dust that clumps up because of the grease? Little flecks of greasy stuff on the walls and cabinets that are nearly impossible to clean off? Here is a link that might be useful: Frigidaire range

@Denitra thank you for coming back and giving such insight! I love your inspo pic you added. I saved it to my file. I will take your advice and only make changes that compliment the nature on my lot. It's funny because all the homes have such muted colors, I never noticed the WHY around that. Thank you again!

A couple of thoughts...there are thin concrete pavers that can be installed over existing concrete...you could widen the walkway on either side with new concrete and then cover the whole thing with concrete pavers. In the past, I have had a concrete aisle poured in a horse barn but had crushed oyster shell added for texture so it wasn't slick for the horses...it looks great when it's done... am wondering if you could do a skim coat of concrete with the crushed shell on top of existing concrete. I think things are really looking great!!!