No Comments »

Design Dilemma: Creative Kitchen Storage

• Tweet

• Tweet

Got a tiny kitchen? Then, inevitably, you’ve wrestled with where to put all your stuff.  Those of us with space-challenged kitchens must, by necessity, find inventive ways of storing our pots and pans, dishes, foodstuffs and utensils.

Here are a few ideas if you’ve maxed out your cabinet space:

1) Make use of awkward space.

If you’ve got an extra deep cabinet that isn’t living up to it’s potential, consider building a slide-out storage cube to your own needs and specifications.  Above, a storage cube has been built to hold cookbooks up front and spice racks in the rear. A small microwave in the cubby below is usually hidden behind the cabinet’s “flipper” doors, which open out into the room and then slide back neatly into recesses along the sides.

2) Design your own potrack.

Below, an inventive homeowner has designed a potrack using an old ladder — both rustic and funky in feeling.  It’s perfect for a galley kitchen, since it’s long and narrow. Wide slats don’t interfere with overhead lighting.  Just about any type of ladder can be used, depending on the look you’re going for.

And no need to limit your creativity to ladders alone. All sorts of objects can be adapted for this use including bicycle wheels (see below) and even towel bars for those who don’t have overhead space but who can hang pots on the wall.

3) Use shelves on empty walls.

An empty wall in a small kitchen is a missed opportunity. Maximize your storage by filling up those empty walls with open shelves, which can keep your small kitchen feeling airy while also providing a valuable place to store dishes and pots. Below, light-weight wooden shelving provides that needed storage without seeming heavy or claustrophobic. The owners have added more counterspace in their kitchen by installing a marble topper over what would otherwise be wasted space over the radiator.

4) Create more storage under kitchen seating. Got a bench in your small kitchen? Add more storage  by using  space down below. A creative homeowner used standard IKEA cabinets typically built to fit over a fridge to instead fill out the empty space under a cozy kitchen nook.

Images: Women’s Day; Apartmenttherapy.com; ThisOldHouse.com; www.alvhemmakleri.se; apartmenttherapy.com