Okay, back to building. (I know, I spend much too long between building sprees, but . . .)
Thank you all for your suggestions.
Someone reminded me of the delete the foundation under the floor trick, and by using that, I was able to increase the dining nook. For some reason I was looking at something else on the BHG website (oh, yeah, New Years Eve party ideas) and ran across a mention of not putting furniture against the wall . . . see if this feels better to those of you who felt the space was too big, please?
I was also able to add a counter--the reason why I had it the way I did is sinks belong under windows, so the sink is still under a window. I'm not sure I like stove next to sink, but . . . only so many places to put it. (Water plus electricity--though fortunately EA missed that one as a way to kill our sims!)
Pics from my game:
Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh