I get what you're saying. For a bunch of reasons my wife and I also spend a lot of time preparing meals. Real-estate folks describe ours as a "galley kitchen",

I get what you're saying. For a bunch of reasons my wife and I also spend a lot of time preparing meals. Real-estate folks describe ours as a "galley kitchen", not well-endowed with counter/work space. Having dinner guests is a real challenge. It resolves to KISS principles, but with some planning it's amazing what can be accomplished. As to design, we've gravitated to a relatively spare approach. Though not at all imitating "industrial" space, after all, we actually live in our home. Linoleum flooring, quartz composite countertops, stainless sink/range, laminate cabinets, etc., are "homey" enough but also durable materials. One thing is crystal clear: in small kitchens storage is a precious resource. Dedicated cooks prefer buying supplies in larger quantities, spices, flours, etc. That means a tightly managed pantry with little empty space. Sometimes having "too many" cabinets can be a good idea. But understandably tastes and needs vary, so no doubt others would do something entirely different with the space our kitchen occupies. Then again, if I was designing our kitchen from scratch, well, it would be so MUCH better, but WTH, when wouldn't that be the case.