I'm fortunate that my wife is pretty good at decorating. She keeps up with what colors are in style, walks through model homes occasionally and doesn't do anything that isn't generally appealing to most people. So in terms of decorating I let her take the lead on that one. I'll get involved, and generally have some input, if there is a home improvement project involved as we do this stuff ourselves instead of hiring everything out. In doing it ourselves we tend not to change things on a whim and pick things that are more timeless.
In terms of the appliances on the counter top I get the convenience thing but we have lots of countertop space and have exactly one appliance on our counter top, a coffee maker. Everything else is in the cabinets. The cabinets have nice pull out sliding shelves so everything is easy to get to. Knives are in in-drawn knife blocks. We both don't care for clutter at all so while I appreciate the convenience of having everything out it wouldn't work for either of us. You don't see high end homes with cluttered counter tops. They might take a few commercial/industrial material ideas from a restaurant setting and incorporate them but it's not usually about convenience.
I don't know much about your wife's decorating style or about the designer she's chosen. The point here is maybe to include other things in your kitchen like some sliding shelving or possibly some cabinet improvements to make your cooking related tasks more simple.
A successful marriage is about communication and compromise. It's all about picking your battles. For instance, maybe you just need an area/room of the house that you can do whatever you want with. My father in law has what he calls a man cave. It's kinda hideous with crap all over the walls but it's stuff that he likes and enjoys. Maybe the decor she chooses isn't your thing but if it makes her happy then it is what it is. Only you know whether or not you are happy with this person, or if you want to be. Maybe you want to compromise on some things to make her happy and maybe you don't. I get that it sucks but maybe some more functional kitchen adjustments, that aren't out in the open, might make you a both a bit happier.
In terms of the appliances on the counter top I get the convenience thing but we have lots of countertop space and have exactly one appliance on our counter top, a coffee maker. Everything else is in the cabinets. The cabinets have nice pull out sliding shelves so everything is easy to get to. Knives are in in-drawn knife blocks. We both don't care for clutter at all so while I appreciate the convenience of having everything out it wouldn't work for either of us. You don't see high end homes with cluttered counter tops. They might take a few commercial/industrial material ideas from a restaurant setting and incorporate them but it's not usually about convenience.
I don't know much about your wife's decorating style or about the designer she's chosen. The point here is maybe to include other things in your kitchen like some sliding shelving or possibly some cabinet improvements to make your cooking related tasks more simple.
A successful marriage is about communication and compromise. It's all about picking your battles. For instance, maybe you just need an area/room of the house that you can do whatever you want with. My father in law has what he calls a man cave. It's kinda hideous with crap all over the walls but it's stuff that he likes and enjoys. Maybe the decor she chooses isn't your thing but if it makes her happy then it is what it is. Only you know whether or not you are happy with this person, or if you want to be. Maybe you want to compromise on some things to make her happy and maybe you don't. I get that it sucks but maybe some more functional kitchen adjustments, that aren't out in the open, might make you a both a bit happier.