ChibiRobo's Profile

I just use a mechanical ice cream scoop if I want to keep pancakes uniform.

If you look at the kitchen in context, the after makes a lot of sense. The reno ties the kitchen to the rest of the apartment:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/derek-jennifers-dashing-digs/item/129934
(Picture looks to be the before)

Looks great, but was your fireplace a non-working one? I've watched enough HGTV to know that there's special paint that's specifically for working fireplaces. :/

Parallelfirst, your record isn't broken, it's on repeat because it rocks.

I've seen the Expedit shelves on TV and in magazines often, or at least some variant of the shelves. It's great for storage and display and I personally think the value and quality is fairly reasonable. I would recommend the largest one for you, either the 5x5 or the one that can hold a flat screen TV (that's if you care about TV). It would separate your sleeping area from your living area. I have one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/351454443_fc734be606_o.jpg.

As for sofa, it should be scaled to the size of the apartment, a two seater would work, armless to make the room still seem spacious. I put together a suggested layout with sofa and shelf placement (guesstimated the size based on the photos, so take it for what it's worth).
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1338/999862912_148cbb8fb2_o.gif

The couch is placed against the window wall. It frees up floor space and allows traffic to flow from entry hallway (?) to the kitchen (?).

Okay, after reading everyone's suggestions, I pulled together some of the ideas that I personally like (I don't recommend doing this at work unless you really have nothing better to do ;):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/909499294_71efc5aae6_o.jpg

I agree with wwoolsey on color. I think you should go with a yellow color for the walls plus an orange accent color; not exactly the colors in the image, whatever you're comfortable with. Painting everything one color will make the room seem bigger because everything blends. The accent colors should go on that one cabinet in the corner and the decorative tile on the backsplash. If you don't like the yellow tones, then you can go with any color you like as long as it stays fairly monochromatic.

If possible, I'd also suggest staining the floor to match with your table and chair set and adding a front on the fridge to match the cabinets. I personally don't like parquet floors, so making it dark would hide the pattern and would make the kitchen feel more modern.

Ideas that I also like:
- Meg's suggestion on painting the cabinets white.
- I Love Upstate's idea of the MDF to even out the cabinets.
- JenPDX's suggestion on the under cabinet shelves is great for extra storage and display, but I would also suggest some above the cabinet also. Don't forget to include clearance for the cabinet doors so that they don't slam into the shelves.
- Matthew's suggestion on the chalkboard paint, but I think it should be isolated to parts of the kitchen for notes or something. I'd also go one step further and use magnetic paint to make it a bulletin board. Also, the color of the paint ties into the countertop.