To all those talented, imaginative problem solvers on Houzz:

I am trying to come up with a layout for my small condo kitchen renovation that accomplishes the clean, minimal, modern look similar to the ones in the photo ideas below, and am at a loss.

The Metropolitan - Williamsburg Brooklyn · More Info

Elegant Kitchen and Bathroom Design Build in NW, Washington, DC. · More Info

Current kitchen layout and measurements are below, and not to scale. The white line shows where the current edge of the wall (and measurements) are; the orange line is where I would push the new edge out to be (+/-). For the new kitchen layout, I would open the wall where the refrigerator is now so that the whole partition is open half-way, and push the half wall ~12 inches into the dining room area so I can add a countertop to the back wall. Something like what I made with the Lowe’s layout except I spent hours trying to make it symmetrical, and it doesn’t work well.

Any help / advice / creative ideas would be greatly appreciated, particularly on how to do arrange the cabinets. Yes, I know there are kitchen designers out there. I have called them. Frankly, I am much more impressed with the ideas and advice people are willing to give here.

Additional problems: The gray “Duct 1” and “Duct 2” are floor to ceiling obstructions that cannot be moved, and are in all condos below and above. The “?” is the width of the current wall that opens up into the dining area—unclear if that is part of the duct column 2. I assume my contractor could cut around the backs of the cabinets to accommodate. The “water tower” cannot be moved either.

Bonus: if I could avoid the microwave above range bc not attractive. Where to put it?