[Sca-cooks] How to compact kitchens and alleviate back stress

[Suey]

We are renovating our kitchen which looks like a very narrow, tiny 
trolley car. We want to make space for a side by side frig. Also 
Theromix just came to our country so we want to make a pop up cabinet 
for that. With that acquisition we will be getting rid of several 
appliances, thus compacting space in the long run. With the frig we will 
be loosing cabinet space. We will be gaining drawers cause we are 
increasing the height of the lower cabinets to a yard or 1 meter so like 
over the dishwasher we will have a draw - hopefully to compensate for 
storage space.
We have a carpenter to make all the cabinets fit to measure.
The increased height is due to my back problems. I cannot stand for very 
long because of the pain of all the screws in my backbone. Also we are 
putting in a - I do not know what it is called in English - a 5 cm 
rubber floor covering imitation wood. My Pilates professor has put it 
into her gym and it is easier on the back than wood, ceramic or other 
floor types.
Any suggestions about how to compact kitchens and/or how to alleviate 
stress on the back would be much appreciated as we are still working on 
the drawing boards.
Suey