Susan Serra's been raising a lot of interesting issues re: the kitchen renovation. And she did this drawing. Think you can click here to see it full size.
She said:
When I look at the picture toward the window, what I get is a long/narrow/confined feeling. What I want to feel is the room more squared off, more wide. To give that feeling, I thought of a bench, and this IKEA one has storage in it.
Then, you could get a white table, narrow...maybe only 28" wide. Like this (paint the legs white) or this one, which you don't have to paint the legs white.
You could put up a chair rail molding and paint some sort of raggy/stripey (in a horizontal) pattern which will continue to exploit square, rather than narrow. Just on that back wall.
I also get the feeling that when I go into this room, I want a payoff. The window isn't enough. And, the window is fine...it has brick behind it, which is warm, the black fire escape goes with the black trim across the way and the black window trim...all that coordinates well. But, the window needs assistance, it can't stand alone, doesn't do the job!
This could end up being a mini hang out place for you. If we pushed the bench/table closer to the wall, you could prop a few big pillows against the wall, put your feet up on the bench and relax with a book/magazine or laptop. Do a little work there...you have to visualize potential lifestyle scenarios, and just because you haven't thought of the kitchen in this way before, doesn't mean there are not awesome possibilities for another place in your apartment to go to when you feel like hanging out...in a different way! Having multiple relaxing/work/hang out options in your apartment is cool!
Related Links from Domino:
