A couple of things first come to mind .... one is your budget. If you don't have a very big budget, then maybe keeping the existing placement and simply replacing is your only option so that you're not getting into moving plumbing, etc. Most people have no idea how much kitchen remodels cost. The second thing is the available space ... without seeing it, maybe the current placement makes the most sense so that's why designers are suggesting to keep it and just update everything. Often times in smaller spaces like a kitchen there really is only one way that makes the most sense. The third is ... what is vanilla? Is the design itself vanilla? Is it the materials they're suggesting? If the current design is okay, then you can make a simplistic layout very interesting in the materials that you choose (example, I always use two different colors of cabinets, cabinet details like glass doors, beautiful hanging pendants, updated appliances/hood, an interesting backsplash, etc.) I just did a kitchen remodel and used the existing footprint because it made the most sense space-wise and budget-wise, but replaced everything and it turned out stunning. The fourth is resale ... a kitchen design is not the place for "out of box thinking" as you want some thing that is very functional and would appeal to most people. I would save my creative thinking for the finishes and go with a standard layout that makes the most sense in the space.

I am trying my best to add a picture of my sketch here...its kicking my tail!

It is not to 1/4=1 scale... it is more 1-1 scale.... and its rough, I ran out of space for the rest of the house.... but I am working on reducing the size to scale down to fit on one page better. The biggest issue is the small doorway to the kitchen is so congested and everyone stands in front of the stove or move over to beside the sink. I didn't quite measure properly because it looks like there is room for an island but when I put in a rolling island in order to open the oven you have to move the island, to open the dishwasher you have to move the island, to open both.... you have to remove the island.

The doorway goes to our dining room and off the dining room is a large patio that we use allot. The expansive covered porch has the proper rafters and foundation in place for enclosing the space (the previous owners were planning on something but that was as far as they got) we screened it in thinking that we would use it, and we just don't. It collects massive amounts of sand and dust and the screen keeps it in, we do use the open patio we installed a few years ago quite a bit. I'll add some more sketches as I get them closer to scale...And I sincerely appreciate all that take time to help a stranger. Budget is fairly modest, we are also wanting to relocate the master bath out toward the porch, which was (from neighborhood talk) what the previous owners were planning. Our house has morphed an incredible amount from 1981!

when I upload the sketch...maybe this will be more clear?

budget..... realistically I am shooting for the 100$ mark. My husband and I are pretty handy especially if it comes to assembly or anything mechanical, we are both mechanics by trade, so hardware installation and painting (after being in the military one gets accustom to painting every couple years!) won't be a problem. I know that is the least of our cost, but I suppose every little bit helps.