well, it would help to know whether there is another sink -- i.e., this is an independent corner of the kitchen rather than an integral part of it...

Counter top needs to be lower for rolling out and kneading dough. Surface should be marble.

This is a pic of a kitchen baking section I kept on file. Says the counters are Arabescata Veneto Marble.

If the jar has a wide mouth a scoop can easily be used for flour or sugar ,I don't have a baking nook, I wish I did though:)

You could use a plug for your mixer and paint the cabinet or remove the doors and have open shelves ,where the window was ,add shelves to keep your flour and other baking need. A portable cart could be of use to you as well .

my main flours and sugar are in wide containers. only soy, amaranth, almond, that i use just a small amount, are kept in their bags. and yes the large ones are hard to find. i've had good luck at homegoods. i have some square ones now as well for the pastry flours (white and wheat). definitely having flour creep!

odds are if it looks 'cute' it doesnt work. it needs to look 'big'.

i'd abandon the sink if you are having a redo. cap the plumbing, new countertop. you dont need water right there as much as counter space right there. and more storage below.

or go hog wild and have an oven installed. mine has a bread rise setting. i have another oven over in the main part of the kitchen but its great to have 2, and even better to have one right where i'm working.

I bake a lot but I don't have a baking "area" I guess my whole kitchen IS the baking area, probably because it's about 2x the size of your "nook". I keep flour in the pantry because it's heavy. I also keep cookie tins and cookie cutters in the pantry. I have a concrete counter with open shelves below it with bowls so I don't necessarily have to reach into a cupboard with messy hands (this where the cast iron lives as well). I have an open spice rack over this counter my hubby made out of wood, it's very narrow (the vanilla and baking powder is also there). I don't have a stand mixer, I mix everything by hand or with a hand mixer. I have a big crock pot I put utensils in like spatulas and spoons. I have an (upright) baking tin and sheets cupboard by my sink because that was the narrowest spot in my kitchen. I have cookbooks under my counter on the reverse side and I keep odd appliances (like a cookie press and waffle irons) and tupperware on the other side as well. I am currently keeping most of my pyrex type dishes in a drawer with tea towels for lack of any other place for them to go. I have a kitchen scale I keep in another cupboard with the booze and the pie plates and the rolling pin and box grater are in a pot drawer with the moulinex thingy. I guess you've got to decide what you make most and go from there.

I would use wide mouthed acrylic containers like Genevieve shows because they are lighter weight and less slippery than glass. Oxo and Click Clack make good ones. If you stand in front of the counter, reach up with one hand but don't stretch. That's as high as your shelves should go for you to use the things on them regularly.

You could have open boxes with backs if you are worried about that.

Why not get shelved like the metal ones in your 2nd inspiration pic? They look sleek and are washable.

Good idea, @rachelsmdai.

How many floating shelves do you think would work? Should they span the entire wall? Maybe they should be wood like the cabinets (although those will be painted, G.C. is adding trim and still need to decide on that - can be a design dilemma for later on...) or match the faucet or perhaps the hardwood floors we are contemplating installing...

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Great job!