We all love our kitchens. They are the center of our homes, places where we cook, eat, and more and more – just spend time. No wonder you want your kitchen to look great. In fact, kitchens are the most remodeled rooms in American homes.
One of the biggest challenges, especially in smaller kitchens is managing the need to store things there and wanting it to look great and not cluttered. This is where some sneaky and clever design is always welcome. The remodeling experts at Northeast Design & Build share some of their favorite storage options.
Drawers Are More than Just for Cutlery
When you think drawers, chances are that two things come to mind – a bunch of cutlery neatly ordered in your preferred order, and that other drawer. We all have that one miscellaneous drawer full of all kinds of odds and ends that may or may not have a purpose, but have all been sitting there, tangled together.
But it really doesn’t have to be like that. There are so many things you can do with drawers. For instance, your spices don’t have to have a dedicated shelf, taking up space and perhaps looking unseemly. All you really need is an empty drawer. If you are creative, you can create holders for different vials and cans. What’s even better is that spices actually last longer if kept away from light, so you’ll be doing yourself another favor.
Pantry Door Hangers
No matter how big or small your pantry is, chances are that it is already full and can’t seem to store anything more. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this article. But there is a way to squeeze just a bit more storage out of your pantry.
Your pantry door can actually serve as a storage area as well. You can either buy ready-made shelves that attach to a door and use those, or you can make shelves yourself. All you need are two perforated aluminum channels that you will screw into your door top to bottom, parallel to each other. These channels can serve to hold baskets full of groceries or other supplies. Best of all, all of the clutter will be invisible as soon as you close the pantry door and your kitchen can remain clean.
Pullout Shelves in your Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are indispensable when talking about kitchen storage. No matter if we are talking overhead cabinets or floor-mounted ones – they will be the base of your storage. All of your dishes, much of your food and even the appliances that you don’t use regularly probably have their spot somewhere in your kitchen cabinets.
However, regular kitchen cabinets have one major downside – they can be inaccessible, especially towards the back. Sure, you can store a lot there, but what good is it if you can’t reach items you need when you need them.
The solution are pullout cabinets. They function pretty much like any drawer would, but they are bigger. All of the sudden, your whole kitchen cabinet becomes easily accessible with only a minor modification.
Dish Drying Rack
Yet another item that needs to have a designated place in your kitchen. And if you don’t use a dishwasher, you will be using the dish rack a lot. But it also takes up a lot of space. The solution is fairly simple.
Have the drying rack over the sink. Not only will it clearly demarcate the dish washing area, but it will also prevent any dripping or water pooling in other areas of the kitchen.
Optimizing your kitchen is an on-going process and only by using your kitchen can you learn what works for you and what doesn’t.
