Rosemary can indeed be killed by too much watering. In the last climate where I lived it got enough water in the winter and should essentially never be watered in the summer. Here, it likes just a little bit of summer water. But that's a special case. Vegetables need lots and lots of water. As long as you're watering them deeply and then leaving them for a day or so, rather than constantly running out there so that their roots are always sopping, you're infinitely less likely to kill them with overwatering than with underwatering. When I hand-water, I'll often stand over one, say, five-by-five spot for a full minute or more, then water the one next to it while I watch to see how fast the first one drains and ceases to be "shiny". Or I'll leave a soaker head in the bed and let the bed _flood_, so that it's got water half an inch or an inch high in it, then move it to another bed and watch the first bed drain. If it drains faster than about five seconds, I'll do another round and watch it drain again. I generally keep at it until I have at least a faint doubt of, "Uh-oh, did I seriously overwater? Is it going to drain?" because it takes several seconds or even a minute to drain. And then it drains and I breathe a sigh of relief and I know that it's good and saturated and that in all but the hottest weather, I can leave it for three or four days. All of the details - how fast a saturated patch drains, how many days I can wait, and so on - depend on your soil and your weather. If your soil is sandy, it may never take more than a few seconds to drain. If it's clay, it may take minutes. But my point is to water _thoroughly_, and as infrequently as is reasonable, rather than giving it frequent little sprinkles. To start getting a feel for your soil, start poking your finger in it frequently. (If you hate dirty nails, use lightweight rubber gloves.) My view is that ideally, soil for vegetables should be like a moist brownie, not sopping but not dry, and no more than the top inch should get dry. You can keep it at that ideal state longer by adding mulch, so that the excess water will drain but the residual water won't evaporate off the top.

Is this space intended to be used as a dining room as well, or is there a separate dining room. I also assume the door will be the main point on entry. If the door is main entry and this space is just a living room then I would place an open book case to serve as a landing pad. Other corner across for door is other location. I would place TV console on wall same side as door. Float the sofa directly across from the TV and use the are behind as your walkway. should be room for a chair or two 90 degrees from sofa.

In addition to Kitchen designer you will need a general contractor and structural engineer to consult about wall removal, support beam, electrical, plumbing, gas, etc. Are you planning to remove the soffitt for more cabinet storage to the ceiling? Do you really need all of the visible items, shelves, tables in this area? Do you have sufficient counterspace, room for an island? Can an entry space be created at the entry door right into the kitchen that is also at the top of the basement stairs? Start your idea book of kitchen remodels in homes similar in age (guessing 1940’s?), and style for inspiration. Becky Harris has some great insight into this in her Houzz columns.

If you're moving away from traditional then you do need to remove or update these pieces. They're very ornate. You could try to find a contractor and ask if they could just remove the ornate bits and then paint them. Are you just moving to transitional style? Have you decided on a color scheme? There are numerous pictures on Houzz of bars and fireplaces. Create an Ideabook and save pictures you like to give your contractor an idea of what you want. Of course you could completely remove both of them, but that niche is going to need something, and you will need to do something to update the fireplace.