A Happy Kitchen

I've been thinking about revamping our kitchen for quite some time.  It won't be a major renovation, but just a little freshening up.   A few months ago Apartment Therapy posted an article called "10 Simple Things to Make you Happier in Your Kitchen."  It really got me thinking about what would make me happy in my kitchen. 

1.  The rest of our house has some fairly neutral wall colors so I thought it might be fun to add a little color to the kitchen.  There is not a lot of wall space in our kitchen so it's not a huge commitment to go with something like this coral color.  The biggest project will be repainting the cabinets.  I'm liking the idea of a medium to dark gray.  I love this inexpensive chindi rug from World Market.  Check it out in this Epic Room Makeover by Mandy from Vintage Revivals. 

2.  I need to put together an entryway.  We enter our house through the back, kitchen door.  It would be great to have a place to put my bag, my keys, and hang up my coat.  Of course I'd love to have a cute tea print hanging in the kitchen. 

3.  Music is a must for my happy kitchen!

4.  Since we don't have an eat in kitchen, it would great to have a little nook to sit and relax with a cup of tea and a magazine.

What are some things you need to have to make your kitchen happy?