Dining Room/Craft Area

With finals upon me, I haven't had nearly enough time to put finishing touches on some of the in-progress projects I'm working on. I still have a fabulous dresser hack  that I've been working on (just waiting for the knobs I ordered online to arrive) and the finishing touches/organizing of the books on our new bookshelves.
Having finished the bookshelves, our next big task is to organize the craft area/dining area. This area is a challenge due to the fact that it needs to function for virtually everything. It needs to work for crafts, eating, working, storage and pet area. Whew! How to get all of this in a 9' x 7' space? My intention with this area has several components:

1. Finish making the dresser we've already started. Then get our butts down to our home-mecca, Ikea, to get another dresser and hack in the same fashion. We'll use these to contain all our art supplies and thereby get rid of the hideous Rubbermaid storage drawers that are currently there.
2. Get rid of the two small book shelves that are currently in the space. Right now they're filled with old magazines and trapper-keepers and just make the whole area look visually cluttered. Anything worth keeping on the shelves move over to our new shelves (though I suspect most of it will get the boot).
3. Figure out the kitty litter situation. Ugh. This one is a constant battle for us. We own two 20+ pound cats and have issues with the litter box. They are so large that they literally do not make litter boxes large enough for our cats. Our solution was to simply cut out a door in a 55 gallon plastic storage box. But due to the size of said box, the only option is to keep it in this area. As you might imagine, this is extremely unsightly, and we go through lengths to hide it. Right now, it sits under our unused kitchen table that we have pushed against the wall. I want to build a countertop in the area that can hide the box underneath with curtains and thereby reclaim our neglected table. I could really use a table to sit at to do work/study.
4. Using the aforementioned countertop, I'd like to build a few shelves above it and use it as a bar area. Our current method of storing liquor on the top of our kitchen cabinets is ok, but having to ask my boyfriend to come get the bottles down for me is inefficient. Plus, I'm proud of the small, high-end scotch collection we have, and I'd like to be able to show it off.
5. Take back our dining table! I'm very excited about this one, because it really is the entire purpose of getting this area together. My plan is to install wheels on the table so that we can pull out/push aside the table at will, allowing for a more usable multi-functional space. Instead of chairs, I intend to add a bench against the wall to the kitchen, so that I have seating when necessary and can push the table over it & out of the way when I don't.

But our somewhat plain pine table has seen better days and the country design of it doesn't match anything in our house. Since it's intended to become the focal point for the space, it needs something to make it more cohesive. I came across this coffee table hack and found my answer. The dresser hack that we're working on really speaks to this - they have a glossy, stained wood shell with white drawer fronts. So I was thinking of sanding it, then using the same stain/paint combo to tie it together. I'm so excited about the prospect I'm practically foaming at the mouth to try it out! But the idea of hand-sanding the large table isn't very appealing - so I may have to see if I can weasel a friend to loan me a belt sander.

But for now, I'll dream, and get back to studying!