That is a lot of function in a small space! Are you doing a backsplash and upper cabinet? Do you like having information on your refrigerator or do you want all the things posted above this desk? Check out Etsy for fun white board/magnet board/cork board ideas.

I don't want to junk up the fridge with magnets, etc.  I don't think we will do backsplash.  We will probably paint the wall gray and put floating shelves.  Thanks for the Etsy suggestions! We can keep coffee accessories in the drawers

Also, we will be removing that intercom system

Instead of open shelves, I have a two door cabinet above my coffee bar. DH collects mugs from our travels, I have coffee cups and saucers I prefer, and the sugar bowls and creamers-way too much stuff to have on constant display. Years ago , in a tiny kitchen that seriously lacked storage, I asked DH to make extra shelves for our cabinets. I then spaced the shelves to accommodate the actual, varying heights of the items to be stored. Example: my coffee cups need about 5” of height, his mug collection needs 7”, etc. I have four adjustable shelves in the coffee bar cabinet, three in the cabinet that holds mixing bowls and serving bowls spaced 8” apart, and the cabinet to the left of my stove has three spaced 12, 7, and 8” apart to accommodate the organization of that cabinet. Before you go the cute and popular route of open shelving, assess the way you and your family will truly live in the kitchen. Will you only display four stylish mugs and a potted plant or will you need storage for more than thirty mugs? In the search bar on Houzz type coffee bars and look at the pictures. I always find great ideas there and sometime it helps to decide what you like and what wouldn’t work for your family.

Thanks Remodeling1840!

Consider floating shelves along the back wall for coffee cups, calendar on the left wall along with letter storage and key hooks if needed (example); everything else but the coffee maker goes in the drawers to keep the counter clear. You could color-code the calendar entries with a different designated color for each kid. That way at a glance if you see a bunch of blue for example, you know that kid has a busy week. Also you don't have to write names, so you have more room to write all the activities in.

Love your ideas Chicagoans!

We just added in a kitchen command center. I don’t keep the coffee pot there but we put a cabinet above that has mail/folder/book slots (bonus- holds wine bottles too!) and a lift up cabinet and shelf above. We also made the top drawer into a charging drawer. Pinterest has tons of options if you look up kitchen command center.

Thanks Marie. I'll check it out on Pinterest