Very cool. Maybe consider painting the kitchen wall the same color as that orange bowl on the kitchen shelves? I think that would look amazing.

Off topic, but just curious about the negative side-effects (if any) of having the just bed above the kitchen. Have been wondering about that whenever I've seen examples on the site. Cute place, by the way.

Elizabeth, I'm curious, too. It seems like cooking odors would head right up to your bed linens for a start.

I'd stick with similar color cabinets, as they work well with the loft and ceiling beams. It might help to know more about your style and what the rest of the space looks like.

I would keep the ceiling beams natural wood and the bed loft is also strong architectural wood element, although I am not sure why there are two wood types?

If you are using Ikea cabinets (and you are not planning to have them professionally spray painted) then that helps to narrow your color scheme down. I would opt for their gloss white to contrast and highlight the wood and metal elements. It looks like you have red accents already so you could work that into your scheme.

With only having one view it's hard to say for sure, but if you rearrange the elements in your kitchen you may be able to have open display shelving on the right wall under the stairs.

In response to Elizabeth II, negative side effects of having a bed over a kitchen, the first things I thought of were the heat and the smells absorbing into your bed linens.

The kitchen is very cute as it is now.
I would just hang a light above the dining room table or on the wall and add a picture on the wall next to the table.
If you're still thinking of changing the cabinets than perhaps you should get white cabinets to match the shelves, leave the black granite.
The walls you can paint in some light colors, I was thinking about a light shade of green. Or, just leave it white, as your display of stuff on the shelves is already colorful enough.
Add some flowers and plants and lights above the sink (if there are none..)
Good luck.

What don't you like about it? Is it colors, layout, function? Was there a flood and everything was destroyed? If you're budget conscious you could save a whole lot of money by doing nothing -- it looks cute and functional.

as many others said, i think it's really nice the way it is.... buuuut, i guess all of us want some change in a while. i would go out for the whole scandinavian look. white walls, white cabinets, keep the open shelving, leave the wood from the bed "frame" intact (it's gorgeous). I would throw in some industrial details, your bed frame already looks kind of industrial/lofty with all the stainless steel and wood: so maybe some industry lamps and tolix stools?

I also like it as is. I would do three things:
- upgrade to a stainless, more professional-looking range
- upgrade to a stainless, nicer hood
- change the refrigerator door to open the other way, so you don't have to get around it to get inside.
Regarding the bed over the kitchen - I have a loft bedroom - not quite this small, but my bed is essentially right over the kitchen too. I use the hood to get rid of strong cooking smells. I've never found it to be a problem. My bed linens smell nice! :-)

I think the kitchen already looks great, so I'm a bit confused by the need to remodel!

My only suggestions:

1. Consider some closed storage above the stove. Its a pretty busy-looking space right now, so bringing some hidden storage might make the space seem a little larger.

2. Invest in lighting - the space under the bed seems somewhat dark. I agree that a light over the seating area would be a big help.

3. This would be a huge change, but it might make the kitchen a little more comfortable functionally. Try making the kitchen's work areas oriented into an L-shape (in the back corner under the bed) instead of a single row. That fridge just looks really difficult to access right now. If you had the stove along the left wall and the fridge along the right wall under the steps, you could put the sink on an island facing into the larger room. You'd then have the "kitchen triangle" and easier access to the fridge. The sink could easily be disguised with a slightly taller countertop with barstool seating facing into the kitchen. If you don't want to deal with the plumbing issues, you could keep the sink along the left wall with the stove and just have a decorative/seating island at the front corner.

I'm thinking of a similar alignment to the one in this photo (although your kitchen is obviously smaller).

http://www.featurepics.com/online/Luxury-Kitchen-Island-Stove-785933.aspx

4. For a wall color/backsplash, I'd keep it solid color and on the light side (for the lighting issues). A glass mosaic tile backsplash could catch additional light - maybe bring in a color from the living space? Something colorful would also make your white shelving pop a bit more - its lost against the white wall (and white dishes) right now.

Hmmm... I'd also add a larger island.

1) First! Some general kitchen thoughts:

http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-design-tiny-kitchen-or-rather.html

http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-else-studioren-can-renovate-her.html

http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-stock-your-kitchen-non-edible.html

2)I love the loft, and think the wood is great looking and should be the focus of that end of the room. But I think the wood cabinets compete with it, make it look busy and generally complicate the whole picture. I'd do white painted cabinets or black. Ikea has cool glossy laminated cabinets -- check em out.
3)consider a zinc backsplash. You can use zinc nails to rivet two runs of zinc sheeting together and make it really industrial. You can order it here. http://www.rotometals.com/
4) Or! If you're feeling especially exciting, install a giant mirror for the backsplash. It will reflect light and make the place feel much bigger. Embrace the notion of a foxed (antiqued) mirror (with some of the silver scraped off) -- indeed, you can fox it yourself before it goes up. Makes it less slick, and will be imprefect enough that you won't mind when it starts to fox on its own.
5) think about moving your fridge out a bit along the wall under the loft and wrapping counters around the wall under the loft bed -- get more prep space. It feels really crowded to me.
6) Get a much bigger island, or a huge old battered table, and put it up on big casters that you get at the hardware store (make sure the casters lock). You can eat at it or use it for prep, and you can get baskets or apple crates or whatever for added storage under. Or make the kitchen into a U, using base cabinets to make a peninsula that extends out from under the loft and get rid of the island all together. Hard to tell if you have enough room there but i think you do.
7) Uncharacteristically for me I actually think you have TOO much open storage. Hence the additional run of counters on the wall under the loft. You might consider making that whole wall floor to ceiling closed storage with the fridge on the end or embedded, and take down those open shelves. (leave one good long one for stuff you use all the time)
8) Get a great hood for the stove that goes all the way to the ceiling. Draw the eye up -- really show off that ceiling height. (And maybe save your bed from grease and smells!)

With the value of real estate dropping everywhere nowadays, you're not going to get your investment back on a new kitchen anytime soon - so why spend money replacing something that looks decent and isn't broken when you have no idea what it is that you want?

Keep the money in the bank for the eventuality of one of you getting laid off or invest it for your retirement - if it's really burning a hole in your pocket, go on a vacation...

I agree that a modern streamlined gloss white cabinetry is your best bet. I would reposition the fridge so that the cabinetry could continue to wrap around in a U, with a peninsula where your island is now. Light Blue/Grey is a good color to tie wood tones and white together I think, but many other colors would work (Green too). I think a mix of upper cabinets and open shelving would be good. It would be great if you could have plumbing in the peninsula and place the sink and dishwasher there. I like the idea of the fridge placed where the stove is now, however moving the stove (with a better hood to save your linens!) to another spot might be complicated by the low bed platform. This is a cute, unique space though, with lots of opportunty. Good luck!

Oh, yeah...i would stick with a light countertop too...and quartz rather than granite

I think it is amazing, changing the range and hood to match the fridge would be a nice touch, you could also move the island against the wall and change the top, since you probably won't be using the under the stairs area as a main walkway. If you re-do the stairs you may gain additional space and could provide a funky architectural detail.

Have fun!

Consider adding colors that enhance the feng shui bagua layout of your space since it's such a compact apartment. You can find the bagua at Feng Shui By Fishgirl.

Paint the underside of the loft (i.e. the ceiling of the kitchen) a white or cheery light blue. I would think that would help make it feel less like there is this heavy force hanging above you. Other than that, if you're just looking to change things up - perhaps paint the cabinets a fun color and get new pulls? If your range hood is just a filter, I would also see what it would take to install one that actually exhausts outside. They're not cheap, but worth it in such a small space.

i'd like to know how that hood vent works when there's a bedroom above it. does it just recirculate rather than vent somewhere?

I would: keep the open-shelves as they are & change the wall color and add color-coordinated
back-splash & paint the lower cabinets doors.

agree with others it's nice as is, update stove/paint/maybe bigger island are all you need.

I would use the space under the stairs for a shallow pantry and put the fridge on the wall where the sink is.

Please don't change it!! It's perfect as-is.

I think cabinets would conflict with all the cool wood details and take away from the overall effect. The shelves you have seem to work perfectly.

The only things you might do are (as some others suggested) some lighting under the bed area to lighten up the kitchen just a little, and maybe make the island a touch bigger to give you more workspace.

Your kitchen is so cute!!

The greatest possible improvement (and really only that I see necessary) is to update your oven/stove. Like some others have said, I also think it would make life a little simpler -if you have enough space along the wall- to make your fridge door open the other way.

Changing out the handles on your existing cabinets to be a darker color that matches the dark coloring of your chairs and loft trim could also help give the room a face lift.

I love love love you kitchen! The open shelving and loft bed are very cool. I'd like to see bright white and bright colors to accent, I think it would open it up a lot more. Use white paint to paint the cabinets, underside/sides of loft, and island. Use white tile for the counters and a backsplash of blue tiles (slightly lighter than those blue glasses) (maybe an occasional orange tile in the mix.) I love the open beams on the ceiling, the white wall and loft would accent those a lot better. Also paint the seats of those two chairs white. I really think having white being the main color with accent everything else. As cute as it is right now, it looks cluttery: light brown, dark brown, grey, white, black, blue, orange. you can make it more simple (and open) with it being white, blue, orange, black (from appliances). It would be fun to see an after photo!

Well contrary to other opinions here, I think your kitchen is in need of some changes. It's just too dark and cluttered. To that end,

1. Conceal your cabinets. Open shelving almost never works, here is an example why.

2. The loft is ingenious, but why are there two types of wood going on? It looks sloppy and not well thought out, and unfortunately your eye is drawn right too it.

3. Are you using the pot rack? If so, put some pots on it, if not, consider taking it out and adding some pendant lights.

4. I would say paint your cabinets white, but I can't figure out how that would look with your two-tone awkward loft thing. Can you paint that white? Again cool idea, but really strange execution.

5. Declutter the fridge, counters, etc.

5. Swap out your appliances for SS.

6. White subway tile backsplash.

7. Soft blue/green for the walls.

You have nice bones. Good luck

That's a very good thinking on your part and the way you have designed your kitchen it does seem that the you are more cautious about the designing. These days there are a lot of such requirements I have come across. I have heard of many such instances wherein the people just contract out such work.

contractors

I think that if you were to spend any money at all, I would replace your range with a SS Jenn-Air down draft range and remove the range hood entirely. You could replace it with a wall-mounted microwave oven, but I would just change all of the wall shelves for Ikea SS wall shelves, take the electrical connection for the hood and convert it to undershelving lighting. You wouldn't need to replace any of your cabinetry at that point, but it would make your wall unified with the rest of your kitchen and it will brighten the workspace at your sink up significantly.

As for storage, I would consider getting a much larger kitchen island that rolls with a granite counter top in the colors you want for the rest of your kitchen. When you're not using it, you can push it underneath your stairs to open up the space. They also sell them with a section that rolls out for dining on.

Otherwise, I think the loft over the kitchen is awesome and the kitchen itself may not be the style you want, but it is extremely functional and has a cohesive style. Good luck.

I think it's almost unanimous- your kitchen is super cute the way it is. A couple of the simplest solutions might be defining the space with a unified wall color behind the cabinets (which I wouldn't change) and on the neighboring wall AND in your floor treatment. Recommending a color is difficult without a look at the personality of the rest of your loft though. I love the idea of a great big island to make a statement in the space. It's hard to tell from your post just how much you want to accomplish, total reno or budget update. Have fun!

From what I can see, you could afford to expand your kitchen a little. You could do a la shaped design, with the fridge being just below the stairs leading to the bed. Then you fill that space with counters and storage below!

I know the island thing is oh so popular(is it really practical in every situation? not so sure), but with the extra counter space from the l shaped design, you might not even need that island.

And I agree that giving color and material suggestions is difficult when we don't know your style. Another picture of the living space might help.

And show us when you guys are done!

sorry, meant to say L shaped, not la shaped...

I am not sure if anyone else suggested this, but if I were going to do anything at all, I'd move the sink to face the room instead of the wall, and probably enlarge the island a bit? I know that you are budget conscious and all, moving plumbing might be a fair expense, but THINK of all the time you spend in front of the sink!!!! Wouldn't it be nicer to be facing the room???? I'd probably move the dishwasher to the island as well....

Good luck!

I think that as someone else has already said, decluttering the kitchen would make a big difference, along with changing the lighting, as I think that the design that you have is already unique.

As you said about But how about a 'breakfast diner like' table that extends out from the wall (under the stairs) with some brightly coloured stools?

DIY Supplies

The place is very dark & cave like. I would paint it all white including the bed area.I would paint wall by stairs an accent color then build shallow open shelving on it. I would get rid of open storage on sink wall and get some cupboards. The idea of a long island is appealing.

I thought the 'before' pic was an 'after' pic. It's nice as it is.

like the open storage; would never ever replace it w/cabinets

I think that looks great, and what a great way to use all that extra head space by putting a floating bed above the kitchen.

Although I think I might be a bit warry of it to start with plus if you get the munchies you could empty the kitchen in no time lol

But a great design and a top idea IMO, great work :)

Fasteners

I quite like your kitchen the way it is too. I think the overhang works well. My one bit of advice is if you do change your kitchen cabinets and units for it to match the wood up above too. But I'm in agreement with a lot of the comments here, I think it looks good enough as it is, you definitely don't want to go with dark colours or dark wood etc.

Renovating your home? Don't forget those fasteners and fixings.

I realized it's been a while... but we also live in a loft in Boston and have been trying to find the right person/company to design/build a lofted bed for us (also, ideally hanging from the ceiling.) Can you please tell me who you used and how to contact them? Thank you!