This kitchen is such a tube. Each time I just glimpse the plan, I try to move the walkpath to one of the two sides and eliminate one wall of cupboards, thereby putting the action into a staple-shaped U on the other side, allowing the cook's area to be dead-ended. I'm the one who lived 30 years with the stove and dishwasher facing each other in the old 8-foot wide corridor kitchen. Yes, you have to have rules. Your walk-through destination beyond the kitchen will guarantee there's always interrupting traffic. In this case, I would have the rule, "Everybody has to fill your arms with dishes and bring them to the dishwasher area after dinner before you can leave this room." They haul the stuff, plunk it, people leave, THEN someone opens the dishwasher door. During big events, you need the "nobody uses the laundry" rule. I used to require all party guests to stand "there or there" outside the work triangle on penalty of being banned. The more I look at the above plan, the more it looks like the kitchen I've torn out. If you must live with this configuration along a corridor, it's better to put the sink and the refrig on same wall and the stove on the other. OR just make a one-wall kitchen without the staple shape--stove, then sink, then refrig all one one side without a triangle. That way, no one traps anyone in place. And put the refrig close to the table and/or the entrance site for grocery bags. Could you use a smaller refrigerator? A narrower one?

Yes, this is a timely post as I am looking at the placement (new) of three fixtures in my dining room. The room is not a self contained rectangle. It is long and narrow and will have to eating areas on either end--with ceiling fans over the tables (well, slightly off center from the breakfast nook table, but we had to line them up for visual peace). Center light is just centered in room. Anyway, now we want the dining table to be positioned differently which means the fan will not be in the middle of the table but at one end. Was thinking about having wiring moved tomorrow so it can be centered with new table position but then I remembered the other day I asked the guys if my wall mounted faucet plumbing could be lowered an inch or two before the tile went it. Sure. But it would take about 4 hour$. Forget it! We need to just move on and live with whatever inconveniences we perceive.

I don't get bent out of shape concerning what people plant in residential gardens & I don't crusade the idea of going native to anyone who will listen. I figure if I make my own yard look good with natives, thats the best way to sell the idea but I'm not out to change the world. If someone asks, I'll answer. I'm not an average homeowner. I like the prairie and we removed the lawn and went that direction but then I keep in mind the perspective that I like gardening more than most who live around here. I'm not a sports fan which also places me in another minority, I'd rather be outside gardening during the game or when the Thunder plays. The toothpaste is out of the tube concerning our problem invasive species such as honeysuckle, Bradford Pear & privet. The popularity of the non-invasive plants you mentioned such as day lily, roses and hosta and several other popular landscape plants we could list is not the problem when you consider the amount of land covered in concrete and high maintenance lawns. I consider lawns to be a much more serious concern than whether people prefer native as opposed to conventional garden plants. Water waste is one of my biggest bug-a-boo's with sprinkler systems becoming very common, widespread chemical use on lawns that runs down the street into streams and air pollution. I find myself doing the math of what I see going on here and know is going on elsewhere. There are strict restrictions on ranchers and farmers, officials regularly check to see if they are in compliance while homeowners are free to spray their lawns with abandon. This makes no sense. I don't like seeing the city expand and watching builders scrape off the native prairie and then replace it with bermuda lawn grass and formal landscaping along with regular mowing, spraying and sprinkler systems. Fire suppression is a bigger cause of problems than introduced plants where I live. Eastern Red Cedar is out of control and is taking over thousands of acres of prairie at alarming rates inevitably creating deciduous forests of both native and non-native woody plants. In my opinion, it makes no difference whether they are native trees & underbrush or not at this point. Why should it? That land cannot be restored back to prairie, habitat is lost forever and it seems there is no stopping this aggressive transformation, no end in sight. When its dry, these infested places turn into infernos that explode. After the fire is finally out, the trees are what come back, not the grasses. Its a problem of balance and funds. Fracking is a major concern. We have earthquakes here all the time now, I heard we have more than California or anywhere else in the world right now. I also worry about the fact that we are depleting the aquifer faster than it can replenish itself with large scale farm irrigation. We have a vote coming up concerning something called 'Right to Farm'. Its about halting regulations on farming practices. I'm not sure what its all about since I haven't had time to look into it but it sounds ominous. Has anyone heard of this?

Waking up my thread again: I visited a nursery a couple of hours south of me today and they had all the quart pots on sale for $ 1. That included ground covers. So I got several kinds to try for different areas. The 2 I got for possibly this area between the stepping stones have very small leaves, are very short, and would look appropriately in scale : Veronica Repens. (Flowers white or blue. Tags and signs conflicted.) Scotch Moss. Sagina subulata ( I had tried the golden version in a different area and that never made it through the winter. I saw on signs today that that is hardy to Zone 5 (I am Zone 5); whereas the plain green is hardy to Zone 3 to 4). So I got the plain green one. Given both the SLOPE for the upper part, and the LOW area that floods when it rains, which would you suggest? Has anyone tried either of these in a similar application? Thanks.