hi, i'm kind of wondering whether you've thought about how big a sink you need or want, first. you mentioned that it's a good size kitchen, so maybe you'd want at least a "standard" size of 33". there are a lot more choices, too. single bowl vs. double is a whole other debate! i'm getting a 24" sink, but i have a small kitchen. also two other thoughts: many people seem to center their sinks with regard to where the panes are in the window so they aren't looking right into one. sometimes they even place the sink faucet centered on the window, but off-center from the sink to make it look symmetrical. there are a lot of threads on this subject too. i'll look for the one i'm thinking of with good photos. or you can google "gardenweb kitchen window sink centered", or something like that. the other is the 33" lazy susan. i was considering one of these, but someone mentioned the door is pretty small. if i understand your layout correctly, your corner cabinet is open on the back to a walkway. garenweb member buehl turned a regular cabinet backward to be accessed from the walkway side so you have full access to the cabinet. that's pretty hard for me to explain, so i will link the thread. anyway, it's seems more useful than a corner susan if you can do it. then you will also have 9" extra to distribute to a sink base or the the far drawers. good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: How to gain a full-use cabinet instead of corner cabinet

Hate to be so cryptic, but it really depends on the style of the fixtures in comparison to the scale/look of your kitchen. The ceiling height is also helpful. Personally, I prefer the rule of odd numbers aesthetically, which is that anytime you have a grouping, odd numbers look better than even ones. So if you have pictures of the fixtures you're considering as well as photos of your kitchen, that would help in making a determination.

yes. I have them. a large 8 foot woven. in my family room. I wouldn't worry about moisture from the sink. it's not like they're in the shower. Unless you're a short order cook who makes fried chicken in batches every day, I don't really think they'll be that difficult to care for. Any thing you put there will need to be wiped down. solar shade should be the easiest, but yes, they are plain. look at some of the wovens and pick one of those. I order mine from blinds.com (who is owned by home depot) so you can go in the store and look at all of the samples in those books. what did you think of pirouettes? the last green one? I really like those.

I think it's cute, and it's small enough to be moved if necessary--even for a quick meal in front of the bench. If it's useful, too, for serving, staging items to be prepped, or to display a fruit bowl (and not in the path between the sink and fridge), all the better. I lived with a drop-leaf table in my kitchen for many years, but aisles were wider. It was great to have the extra flat surface, and I had the option of using the leaves for bigger projects.