Kitchen Guides
How Your Kitchen Storage Can Pack a Punch
There may be hope for us afterall – here's your cheat sheet to maximising storage in this tough, tough space
We expect a lot from our kitchens. Given it is the home of all our appliances, cutlery, cookware and every fancy gadget under the sun, mastering kitchen storage is a very sought-after and perplexing skill coveted by even the biggest neat freaks. With people squeezing themselves into smaller apartments, yet accumulating more stuff than ever, how is the humble cooking space supposed to ingeniously accommodate everything needed whilst being organised and exciting? If you are facing this mammoth task, employ these simple kitchen storage solutions to fit and organise all your essentials without being mistaken for a hoarder.
The owner of this pale open kitchen ditches convention by creating a superficially cluttered space. Although it may tick off a neat freak, we suspect there is a method to the madness, allowing all the essentials to be a quick grab from the stove.
How Open Shelving Can Solve Your Kitchen Woes
How Open Shelving Can Solve Your Kitchen Woes
Build overhead cabinets
It’s not only about what you can store under the counters. Overhead cupboards are a great way to keep the fancy china and glasses accessible, yet out of harm’s way. This storage option works for items you use occasionally.
Find a kitchen designer near you
It’s not only about what you can store under the counters. Overhead cupboards are a great way to keep the fancy china and glasses accessible, yet out of harm’s way. This storage option works for items you use occasionally.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Pick a pantry
Pantries have always been big news in the kitchen storage business. And the imported ones come with a price tag to match. But if you’re smart, you can get your local carpenter to craft one of these bad boys at a fraction of the cost. They are a great organising tool and instead of the conventional base units opt for a full-length one, so you don’t have to get down on your knees every time you need the clingfilm. Take this one – fitted with shelves on the door, it keeps all your knick-knacks easily visible and accessible.
Pantries have always been big news in the kitchen storage business. And the imported ones come with a price tag to match. But if you’re smart, you can get your local carpenter to craft one of these bad boys at a fraction of the cost. They are a great organising tool and instead of the conventional base units opt for a full-length one, so you don’t have to get down on your knees every time you need the clingfilm. Take this one – fitted with shelves on the door, it keeps all your knick-knacks easily visible and accessible.
Opt for drawers
Another staple of kitchen storage is the drawer; second only to shelving. Although not a common practice in the Indian kitchen, flexible drawers are ideal to house all your utensils and cutlery. Unlike cabinets, with drawers you won’t have to get down on your knees or get on a stool to reach for stuff crammed in the back.
Another staple of kitchen storage is the drawer; second only to shelving. Although not a common practice in the Indian kitchen, flexible drawers are ideal to house all your utensils and cutlery. Unlike cabinets, with drawers you won’t have to get down on your knees or get on a stool to reach for stuff crammed in the back.
This is an ingenious solution to those awkward corner spaces. As corner drawers run deeper than your average-sized ones, they pack quite the storage punch.
A commonly forgotten area in the kitchen is the space under the sink. But if you install a pull-out drawer here, it would make for a much better space to stash those cleaning supplies or even the dust-bin. Think about it – you’ll never have the tinge of those unsightly smells lingering in the air again.
Take a look at more small kitchens from around the world
Take a look at more small kitchens from around the world
Contain and label everything
Don’t ignore the power of a good container system. Since we are accustomed to needing a few ‘hundred’ different spices to create that master piece of a dish, it’s important to have your spice jars neatly labelled for the task. There is nothing worse than rummaging through the cabinets to find the jeera in the midst of a cook out. Be quirky with a mix of jars in different shapes and colours or go uniform.
Don’t ignore the power of a good container system. Since we are accustomed to needing a few ‘hundred’ different spices to create that master piece of a dish, it’s important to have your spice jars neatly labelled for the task. There is nothing worse than rummaging through the cabinets to find the jeera in the midst of a cook out. Be quirky with a mix of jars in different shapes and colours or go uniform.
Clean countertops
It’s a trade-off, you either clutter the kitchen counters with your daily-use appliances, or you store them away in inaccessible cabinets. But what if you could have your cake and eat it too?What if you could keep your gadgets handy, yet hide them away when not in use? A simple solution to your problem is the ‘appliance garage’. All you need is a tiny nook of counter space and a collapsible door.
It’s a trade-off, you either clutter the kitchen counters with your daily-use appliances, or you store them away in inaccessible cabinets. But what if you could have your cake and eat it too?What if you could keep your gadgets handy, yet hide them away when not in use? A simple solution to your problem is the ‘appliance garage’. All you need is a tiny nook of counter space and a collapsible door.
Pop in pull outs
Every kitchen has them, those spots that are on the verge of being functional, yet are dead spaces. And you really don’t quite know what to do with them. But why waste the space, if you can install one of these? The slender pull-out is ideal for a spice rack or to hold your mugs and cutlery.
Read more:
5 Things to Know Before Installing a Modular Kitchen
9 Ingenious Ways to Stash Your Bulky Culinary Kit in the Kitchen
Tell us:
How have you solved the great storage conundrum in your kitchen? Share with us in Comments below.
Every kitchen has them, those spots that are on the verge of being functional, yet are dead spaces. And you really don’t quite know what to do with them. But why waste the space, if you can install one of these? The slender pull-out is ideal for a spice rack or to hold your mugs and cutlery.
Read more:
5 Things to Know Before Installing a Modular Kitchen
9 Ingenious Ways to Stash Your Bulky Culinary Kit in the Kitchen
Tell us:
How have you solved the great storage conundrum in your kitchen? Share with us in Comments below.
A well-planned kitchen allows you quickly find everything you want. One of the best ways to keep all that you need at your fingertips is through shelving. You can line your walls with custom-built shelves to accommodate a wide range of pots and pans that are otherwise really hard to store away safely. In a compact kitchen, open shelving is a real space-saver and works out to be a relatively inexpensive option compared to closed cabinets. And the design possibilities are endless – you can colour coordinate and even choose between wooden or steel racks.