We have what I think is a small kitchen - it's around 2m wide and 3m long, galley style with the back door and window at the far end. We were fortunate that when we had it refitted there was a local company who would get custom cupboards made and fitted at a price less by some way than the B&Q quote. We were also able to specify any combination of finishes and handles that we wanyed, and in the positions we wanted.
This enabled us to have a unit built that houses a fridge/freezer, but also has a cupboard over it. Also, the end wall one end is that of the original 2 up-2 down cottage, so is mosly door and (original) window. So we have a 1.5m long cupboard 300x300 made that is mounted above the window with a lift-up door. It helps we have quite low ceilings although my wife uses a small stool as necessary.
We also had the wall units made so they were relatively lower to the worktop than standard, and were of a height that went to withing 50mm of the ceiling with a closing piece in the gap. And finally the side that holds the sink, I have the worktop made around 90mm deeper than normal, allowing space behind the units for waste pipes etc. and not getting the grotty bit behind the taps.
We have a full size (is there any other?) washing machine, and a half width dishwasher, plus a slide-in cooker. The microwave is built in to the lower half of one of the wall units. We have only the kettle as an appliance, no toasters, coffee machines, juicers etc. The food procesor lives in a cupboard.
The arrangement gives me a working area of 1200 to the left of the cooker, then cooker, then 600mm unit the other side. Opposite there's the fridge/freezer on the extreme right, single sink and drainer (small cupboard under), and about 1400 worktop where the kettle lives with cake tins, tea caddies etc. appliances under. It's also a bit of an odd shape as the boxed in soil pipe is in the corner, so that under worktop cupboard at the extreme left is non-standard width and depth!