I like WPF a lot but I don't like to work manually with XAML too much (maybe because it seems to me that I'm writing an HTML page instead of a Windows application? 
).
I hope that the WPF Designer inside Visual Studio will be improved always more, but fortunately for the moment there are out some interesting Power Toys that can help your work with WPF to be more "friendly".
One of this is the XAML Powertoys, a set of tools with the primary goal of enabling developers to quickly layout and maintain Line of Business Application forms using the UI controls that ship with Visual Studio.
Some interesting features:
- Create WPF or Silverlight DataGrid For Class - quickly create a WPF DataGrid complete with bindings that are easily associated with properties on the source class
- Create WPF ListView For Class - quickly create a ListView complete with bindings that are easily associated with properties on the source class
- Create Business Form For Class - quickly create a form complete with bindings that are easily associated with properties on the source class
- Create Business Form - quickly create a form complete with bindings if desired
- Show Fields List For Class - display a list of class fields similar to Microsoft Access. Allows dragging of fields to create controls
- Group Into - allows selecting one or more controls and group them inside a new parent control
- Chainsaw - Minimize Cider Designer XAML - allows selecting of one or more controls and will remove all MinWidth, MinHeight, x:Name, Name, Margin properties and will set all row and column definitions to Auto.
- Remove Margins - allows selecting one or more controls and removes the Margin property from them
- Edit Grid Column and Rows - allows selecting a grid and then add or remove rows and columns
- Set Defaults For Created Controls - allows customizing the initial properties that are set when the software creates a new control