Also where semi short on storage which is why there's ton of stuff out on the counters..

I would get a cabinet quite long or 2 put together for extra storage and put that whare the loveseat is and find a new home for the loveseat , you could also put doors on the shelves beside the loveseat for more closed in storage as for the kitchen paint the walls some great color will quickly add some life to the space. The cabinet you get for the storage is something you can take with you when you move so get a good one.

Thanks! Do you have any suggestions of how to update the counter space to make it look a bit nicer once the clutter is gone? My roommates are super big on the drying racks also and I feel like they really don't look so great

Baskets on top of the cabinets was the first thing that came to mind for more storage. Or if someone in the apartment has a nice collection of something, maybe it could be displayed up there. I'd remove everything from behind the sink and lean a nice picture there instead. Hang your hand towels from the door pulls under the sink instead of having them on the counter. You could also put a small rug in front of the sink. Put a couple of stick-on hooks on the wall next to the wall oven and hang your hot pads there. If there is nothing on the other side of the wall from the couch, get a secondhand cabinet or bookshelf and paint it a color you like. But really, things need to be put away instead of being left on the counter. :)

Can the drying racks be put in a cupboard when the dishes are put away? Then you just pull them out when you need them.

There's four of us living here and were all on pretty different schedules, so there's always someone who's eating a meal and doing dishes... So putting the racks away wouldn't really be so efficient

you'll have to make the best with the drying racks. get a bright colored ceramic flower pot or a shiny copper pot to hold pot holders, spatulas, etc.

Get microfiber drying mats - wash, dry and put away. There is no reason to keep dishes in a rack except that people get too lazy to dry and put things away. Habits are hard to change but when a bunch of unrelated people live together there should be consideration. It would drive me bonkers if I had to deal with that mess every time I needed the counter.

Can you store some of the colorful, prettier items on top of the cabinets? Also you can head to Home Depot, etc. and buy some metal shelving to fit along that half wall. Storage and decluttering is key.

Removing stuff from frig and displaying "pretty" things in the glass cabinets. More difficult with roommates!

can you get a portable dishwasher to put in the area across from the sink? And then get rid of the drying rack, the bane of all roommate apartment situations.

The worst mess is on the fridge!! I agree that the counter could be more tidy. Hand drying dishes is probably not going to happen (I don't do it, either). But if you bought a couple of these to hold the larger items and placed them in back of the half wall, you might be able to scale down to one dish drainer on the counter plus the nice colored ones you already have for the cutlery, etc.

You could free up space and decorate at the same time with over the window pot rack:

If you go online under kitchen carts you can find all sorts of things. Something like this against the half wall would provide more prep space and storage:

Would your roommates be willing to take a few hours on a weekend to go thru all cabinets and purge? You may find you have multiples of many foods, spices, oils, dishes... Then if there are items that sit on the counter and are rarely used: store them in the freed up space.