Create a Kitchen Layout that Promotes Easy Food Prep

I'm surely no kitchen designer, so I won't pretend to know what an ideal kitchen layout would be. What I do know is I like to cook and eat at home so I know what I'm eating. Moving into a place that needed a makeover gave me a chance to make the kitchen work for my needs. 

I'll show you the before and after photos and you can see some of the changes.  In a future post I will describe what's inside the cabinets, and why. 

Before

After

There are a few finishing touches needing doing, including painting, mounting my cutlery magnet, outlet covers and some greenery.  If you were to add a "pop" color, what would you choose?