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8 Ingenious Kitchen Storage Ideas to Make the Most of Limited Space

8 Ingenious Kitchen Storage Ideas to Make the Most of Limited Space

A small kitchen doesn’t mean you can’t have storage space. You just need the right kitchen storage ideas.

By making the most of the room you have, you’ll be able to store more and stay surprisingly organized. You just need a little bit of a kitchen makeover.

From simple organizers to transforming unused space, storage opportunities are everywhere in your kitchen, even the smallest kitchen.

1. Turn A Small Closet Into A Pantry

If you have a small closet near your kitchen, transform it into a pantry. You don’t need much space to do this. A simple coat closet you might not be using is all you need. Adding some shelves, bins and door storage helps reduce clutter in your kitchen. Consider having a folding basket that hangs inside the door to make transporting items from your pantry to your kitchen a breeze.

Sabrina’s Organizing and In My Own Style showcase this idea perfectly. You can also check out ways to maximize your pantry storage or even create a butler’s pantry with a large enough closet.

2. Transform A Corner Into A Pantry

Despite what many people think, a pantry doesn’t have to be big. If you have an unused corner in your small kitchen, transform it into a corner pantry. You can add some shelves and a door to store spices, cans, chips, dry vegetables and more. By going from floor to ceiling, even short shelves add a lot of space.

3. Use Your Vertical Space Carefully

Vertical space storage is one of the most ingenious kitchen storage ideas. Floating shelves allow you to display glasses, plates and bowls while giving you easy access. Add shelving above a window for extra storage.

Using hooks, wire racks and other organizers, you can transform your empty backsplash into storage for utensils and even pot lids. Some people even hang pot holder gloves and store cooking utensils in them to add a decorative touch. A freestanding rack or thin cabinet also helps make the most of the space.

You could even just add a wall of wire baskets for storing herbs, vegetables, fruits and snacks. Get creative. Don’t be afraid to dive into Pinterest for extra inspiration, or check out My Amazing Things to get started.

4. Add Wall-Mounted Containers And Bins

Bins, containers, baskets or any other type of small storage items work great when mounted to a wall. Use certain spices more often than others? Add some heat-proof baskets on the wall above your stove. Got free space on the side of a cabinet? Add some small bins to store plates, utensils or smaller cleaning items.

Since there are an endless variety of bins and containers you can use, let them also showcase your small kitchen’s personality.

5. Add Pull-Out Pantries Where Possible

Pull-out pantries are amazing and one of the more underutilized kitchen storage ideas. These go between cabinets that might have a gap or alongside the end of a cabinet. They blend in with your existing cabinets, but pull out much like a drawer. Use them to store small items, such as canned goods and spices. Some people even use them for root vegetables by having several bins for onions, potatoes, turnips, etc.

6. Use A Mobile Island

A small kitchen might not have room for a traditional kitchen island. However, a portable kitchen island works perfectly. Since you can move it wherever you need it, it’s never in the way. This gives you more room for prep, storing small appliances and having storage underneath for pots, pans, appliances and more.

7. Customize Cabinets With Built-In Organizers

The organizers you buy separately never seem to fit quite right. This leaves you with unused space in your drawers and cabinets. However, custom cabinet organizers are made to fit perfectly, no matter what your storage needs might be.

Need a smaller Lazy Susan? You can have one custom built to fit your cabinet, including have several rotating shelves. Want a utensil organizer that doesn’t slide around? Have a drawer built where the organizer is a part of it already. Replacing older cabinets with custom cabinets lets you not only make better use of your space, but implement all your kitchen storage ideas.

8. Use Slide-Out Drawers And Shelves

Often, you might not take advantage of storage space simply because it’s hard to reach. This leads to cluttered spaces, especially countertops. One of the simplest, yet most effective kitchen storage ideas is to use slide-out drawers and shelves. Have some small items in a cabinet? Add a slide-out drawer to contain everything. It’ll slide out above your shelves for easy access. Slide-out shelves let you not only add an extra shelf or two if needed, but ensure you reach everything in the back easily.

Ready to customize your small kitchen to store more? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

Image: difisher

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8 Kitchen Cabinet Designs For Tiny Kitchens

8 Kitchen Cabinet Designs For Tiny Kitchens

Many people think their options are limited when it comes to a smaller kitchen, but thanks to creative kitchen cabinet designs for tiny kitchens, you can do a lot with that space.

With some simple customizations and utilizing commonly unused spaces, you can fit more dishes, pans and more.

The great thing is you’ll also make your kitchen feel less cluttered by not having to stack everything on your countertops. All it takes is thinking a bit outside the box.

1. Add Cabinets Above Your Refrigerator

Many kitchens have an open space above the refrigerator. You may also have space to the side of your fridge too. This is unused real estate that’s perfect for kitchens. Adding top cabinets above your refrigerator is ideal for items you don’t use often. If you have space, add a thin pantry cabinet to the side of your fridge. This is perfect for canned goods and even racks for plates.

2. Add Toekick Drawers

The baseboard around the bottom of your cabinets is nice, but what if you could use the space? One of the best kitchen cabinet designs for tiny kitchens is toekick drawers. These are tiny drawers under your cabinets. You’d be amazed at how many pans, lids, cutting boards and cleaning supplies you can get in those small areas. This frees up your other cabinets for other items.

3. Add Shelves Above Your Oven

If you have a large range hood above your stove, you might want to replace it with a smaller hood. This then frees up space above the hood to add shelves or cabinets. This is the ideal place for storing mixing bowls or even hanging smaller pots. If you don’t want a cabinet, adding hooks to hang pots and lids works well here too.

4. Add Storage In An Island

If your kitchen has an island or room for a small island, you’ll love these kitchen cabinet designs for tiny kitchens. Adding an open bin under the countertop gives you ample storage for cookbooks and cooking utensils. You could even store your most frequently used plates.

An island can also conceal your kitchen table. Adding a pull-out or fold-out table to your island saves you space, but still gives you room to eat. It also serves as an additional prep area.

5. Build Around Your Doorframe

For kitchens with space around the doorframe, take advantage of it. While you probably won’t want traditional cabinets, thin floor to ceiling shelving offers space for dishes, knick-knacks, herbs and more. Never underestimate how much you can store in even a tiny area. To prevent a cluttered look, you may want to install a door on the shelves to hide away your dishes. For more display-type items, glass doors work well.

6. Use Corner Cabinets

Corners serve as the perfect place for kitchen cabinet designs for tiny kitchens. Instead of losing space in the corner of a wall, continue your cabinets by adding a corner cabinet. For instance, in the picture for this post, the cabinets around the fridge could be turned into a corner-style pantry, offering additional space and storage.

7. Build Around Your Window

Typically, a window is avoided when it comes to adding cabinets. However, it’s easy to add a small shelf or cabinet above and to the sides of your kitchen window. You may want to consider simply adding open shelves to the outside of the cabinets near your window if you want to grow herbs or store often used items. A plate rack above the window works well to quickly grab the plates you use most often.

8. Utilize All Cabinet Space

Many kitchen cabinet designs for tiny kitchens don’t stop at the inside of the cabinet. You can get far more storage space out of your cabinets by utilizing all the space they provide. For instance, a cabinet that doesn’t set against a wall is the perfect place for open shelves or a rack for storing smaller items. You can hang items on the sides of cabinets with hooks or magnets.

The underside of your cabinets is the perfect place for small shelves and racks. For instance, you could store all your spices by adding a rack under a top cabinet.

Getting Inspired

Tiny kitchens don’t mean you can’t get creative. From the design to the storage space, you have numerous options. Some great places to go for inspiration include:

Now that you’re inspired to redesign your tiny kitchen, contact us today to get your project started with custom kitchen cabinet designs.

Image: Christian Mackie

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granite natural stone-edgewood cabinetry

Debunking 5 Negative Myths About Granite

Many people would enjoy granite countertops in their new or remodeled kitchen, but worry about the negative things they’ve heard about this beautiful natural material.

In an effort to put their minds at ease, we’re going to debunk 5 of the negative myths about granite.

Granite will lose its shine

Marble may lose its sheen over time, but granite is much denser and resistant to normal household activities that would abrade softer stones like marble. In fact, granite is so hard that it’s polished with diamond-impregnated pads!

Hot pans will crack granite countertops

Granite is a very dense and hard natural material that is heat-resistant. You probably shouldn’t repeatedly set hot pans in the same place, but under normal use you don’t have to worry about your granite countertops cracking. You can always just use a trivet or hot pad like you would for any other countertop if you want an extra layer of protection.

Granite harbors bacteria

Because some granites are porous and require the use of sealers, there is a myth that granite harbors dangerous bacteria. However, according to this study by the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, granite harbored fewer bacteria than any other surface tested when cleaned with soap and water. When vinegar was used as a sanitizing rinse after cleaning, stainless steel edged past granite into the top spot. However, both granite and stainless steel were head and shoulders above the other surfaces, particularly after the vinegar rinse.

Additionally, the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health both give granite a clean bill of health. Neither have any records of illness traced back to properly cleaned granite countertops.

All granite is high maintenance & must be sealed

Not all granite needs to be sealed. Sealers work by soaking into the surface and filling in the pores and voids so stains won’t. If the pores of the stone are small enough, there is no way for liquids to penetrate – whether stains or sealers! In that case, the sealer will just sit on the surface instead of being absorbed.

In order to tell if your granite needs a sealer or not, do the water test. If your granite countertops do need a sealer, choose a quality sealer that only requires reapplication every 5 – 10 years. That’s hardly high maintenance!

Routine maintenance consists of wiping it down with soap and water just like you would any other countertop.

Granite is the costliest countertop material

People often perceive granite as being extremely expensive. That may have been true years ago, but with its continued popularity the price of granite has come down dramatically. Today, granite is often priced lower than comparable engineered stone or man-made alternatives.

With proper care, granite countertops will last more than a lifetime. That’s because it’s one of the hardest and most durable of all natural materials. It also increases your home’s value and resell potential.

When you are ready for the kitchen of your dreams, complete with granite countertops, contact us. We can turn your dreams into reality.

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Old World Kitchens

We have designed, built and installed beautiful, high quality custom cabinets for hundreds of homeowners. Take a look at some of our work to get ideas for your own home. We love what we do, so if you are looking for new cabinets or a new kitchen, just give us a call.

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