Cooking Space

I've finished building the counters and table around the stove, giving us a decent workspace.  With the pot rack overhead, I spend less time in the cupboards.  The microwave works well behind the oven, and building the counter-top there freed up counter space elsewhere. 

The set-up works.  The big table to the right serves as our food prep area.  You can see the measuring cups and spoons on hooks below the spice rack.  Everything is within easy reach and there is enough space overall.  I have a couple of ideas for small improvements like a place to hang oven mitts.  There are two openings on either side of the stove where I could put a box to create another storage space.

The space looks nice too.  It's visually pleasing, colorful.  There is a large vine plant on top of the cupboards by the sink which is able to reach across the top of the doorway. 

All in all, I'm pleased with how this project turned out.  It's done for now.  I have an idea to take out the free-standing cupboard you can see on the right side of the picture.  I'd replace it with the curved shelves I've already made.  The big cupboard is ugly and it doesn't fit properly into that space and it blocks the sightline to the door.  I can fix that and get more storage space in the process.  The only problems are that I don't know what's behind it, and the project will involve putting a patch of linoleum down on the cupboards footprint; something I've never done before.  For the time being, this'll remain a project for the future.