This may or may not work in your case, but I'll throw it out there. You could raise the grade so that it pitches away from the house and sheds water onto the drive or walk (convex). You can sod around a portion of the space so that you can cut a nice shaped bed that does not have to relate to the hardscape. Just don't make it so narrow that the grass looks like an add on. If the downspout is situated in a way that you can add a piece or two to the bottom to redirect it out to where it can runoff, it would help. If you need a channel to make it flow without the baggage of an extended pipe, you could do that with some river rock. The trick is to raise the area high enough to keep the swale that the river rock fills higher than the surrounding hardscape so that it does not hold the water where it meets the walk. The top of the river rock can match the surrounding grade of the bed and/or lawn.

plumeriavine - I would draw it up, but I wouldn't get it accurate in terms of finding out whether one would really see that it goes beyond the doorway from a distance. It's rather simple in that it's just a symmetrical extension of the poking-out sink area, on either side. While I'm not sure, I imagine the contractor could just angle it in on both sides the way it's already angled in on either side of the sink, right? resueyla - thanks - I think you (and others) are right that symmetry is key. I'm glad you don't think it would be too noticeable! :) kathy_wa - thank you for the suggestion of how to buy more space! boxerpups - Wowy wow wow thank you for the several very helpful pics! I love the column idea (square versions would be really appropriate in my arts & crafts house that has a lot of square columns, wouldn't it? How fun to imagine... ). The only issue is that it's not just the sink that sticks out, as it does presently in my picture (link) above. I wish that were the case cause I kind of like the look of just the sink sticking out. If the area to the left and the right of the sink were to also get brought out into the room to the same depth as the sink, then the sink no loner looks like a centerpiece and the columns or even cute little feet if nothing else, may not work so well? I guess that's what I'm asking now. I think I'm convinced things should be symmetrical for THIS particular kitchen which doesn't have much of a choice due to that long line from doorway to doorway. But am I correct to assume that the soon-to-be sticking-out area (including both sides of sink) will no longer have a way of looking special in some decorative sense beyond that? I mean could I put columns just to the left of the future (sticking-out) dishwasher area and just to the right of the future sticking-out area to the right of the the sink? Sticking-out area? Sorry - I'm tired and obviously very inarticulate at the moment! ;)

I just got very lucky and found cabinets with shaker style doors ON SALE. I have an "L" shaped kitchen about 175" total and I'm putting in approx. 16 cabinets: top and bottom. White painted maple, dove tailed constructions, silent shut drawers, full overlay, for less than $5,000. The cabinets are Mid Continental. I looked them up online and they're reputable although not often heard of. It's the Hartford style doors. They have a square recessed panel with a rectangle frame although they have two other styles they consider Shaker. I didn't mind compromising to save over $2,000 which was the cost of the true shaker doors (they call one Concord). You can look them up and find a dealer and see if they also have a sale.

To sum up the changes from a week ago, it's now "Light up one big counter" and "Make the drawers a.b.a.p." rosieo, no matter what you do, you have a handle on the big things. I don't know if you will be happier with the range here or there; it may be a minor thing compared to all the other things you have figured out. In your set of images, photos 1 to 5 show the kitchen is in a windowless corner of the house. With a mirror on the wall you will get more light into the kitchen, coming from another angle. This makes a difference. ((B.t.w. Photos 1 to 5 make me think the footprint of the house is still in flux: I saw a storage area behind the pantry.)) Knowing now what I now know about your house, I would go to ikea for wood counters, for the price (way less than stone) and quality. Nobody has ever said anything bad about them. With the money saved, you can buy more of other things. If you have the money, you could have two single dishdrawers. When open to full drawer extension (or partially), they take up less space than a 30"high dishwasher panel. And, you cannot hit your shin on them. If you are certain that dishes will often go first to the sink (+disposer) before going to the dishwasher, you could justify putting the sink closer to the end, and the dishwasher on the other side of the sink. 500mm drawers If you go with the layout now shown in photo #10, know this: Your dead space corner could be reduced in size, if your counters were only e.g. 23.5" on top of 21" cabinets. Ikea drawers only need 21" space from front to back. Ikea 500mm length drawer slides are identical to the current model of Blum 500mm length drawer slides, and the drawers are almost identical, with an Ikea soft close damper added. I have them. I also have some of the longest possible Blum drawers: they're more spacious, but not a way way great thing to have absolutely. (p.s. length in this paragraph is the length of the gliders = depth of cabinet = distance front to back). If you went with the range-at-end, and then traded the range for a smaller one, you would have an easier time getting in and out of the corner it blocks. Is exhaust venting in your kitchen plan?