Get Organized with Kitchen Cabinet Storage Solutions
By McDaniels Kitchens and Bath|Kitchen Design
Modern kitchens depend on ample and efficient storage solutions to create a clutter-free and streamlined kitchen design. They are not only essential to your kitchen’s functionality, but they also work with your kitchen layout to make the heart of your home a stylish and comfortable space.
By including clever cabinet storage solutions, you will have an efficient kitchen design that simplifies meal preparation, cooking, clean up, entertaining, holiday gatherings, and much more. Even the most compact kitchen design benefits from customized cabinetry with storage accessories. In fact, a well-organized kitchen storage plan transforms a cluttered room and creates more usable space in your kitchen design, no matter the size of your kitchen.
If you are creating a kitchen design for your forever home, you will love the efficiency of your new kitchen storage, that lets you maintain a clear kitchen and find everything you need with ease. If you plan to sell your home in the near future, then a clutter-free kitchen design with the latest storage features will boost your home’s value and appeal to potential buyers.
Let’s explore everything you need to know about planning the perfect storage solutions for your kitchen!
Assess Your Storage Needs
Before planning your kitchen storage, you must assess your needs based on your space, family, and lifestyle. Start by decluttering your kitchen to see what you really need to store. A full declutter should be done a couple of times a year anyway, so use this opportunity to clear out any junk and assess what is important. If you are embarking on a kitchen remodel, you will need to clear out all of your cabinets before any work commences. Either way it is a win-win because you will be left with a clutter-free kitchen!
Once you know what you need to store, assess your space by looking at your kitchen’s layout, size, and style. Is your existing layout big enough to accommodate the storage and work spaces you need? If not, do you have scope to expand your kitchen footprint or to create a new layout that adds more storage options? Understanding your space constraints will help you plan to maximize your available storage. Even if you are limited to a compact kitchen, smart, customized storage will let you maximize this space.
Every family is unique, and your storage should be crafted to meet your individual needs. Examine your family, who uses the kitchen and for what purposes, your lifestyle, and any special interests.
- Do you like to bake, barbecue, or make sushi? Create a storage area customized for these supplies.
- Do you have young kids or teens and need room to store their favorite snacks, lunch boxes, and drink bottles? Use deep drawers, pull-outs, and pantry storage to stow these items where the kids can access them easily.
- Do you host parties and holiday gatherings and have special dishes, serve ware, and table linens? Decide how often you use these items and create storage that meets your needs. Seldom used items could be stowed in a less easy to reach space like a top shelf in your pantry.
Identify your unique needs and create storage to fit your requirements.
Clever Kitchen Cabinet Storage Solutions
Once you understand your needs and have examined your available space you can start planning storage solutions. Include a combination of storage features that will give you the organized kitchen you always wanted. Let’s explore some of the top storage features and accessories for today’s kitchen design.
Drawers: Drawer storage has become more popular than ever, for its ease of access and flexibility in accommodating many different items. Include drawers of varying sizes and depths for items commonly used in your kitchen. For example, shallow drawers are ideal for utensils, spices, or placemats. Deep drawers can be employed for pots and pans, kitchen gadgets, snacks, dishes, and much more. Drawers are especially useful when paired with internal dividers, peg systems, or even knife blocks.
Pull-Out Shelves: Shelves that easily slide out to you work similarly to drawers in that they give you easy access to the contents. You can use them for storing pots and pans, kitchen tools, food items, and much more.
Corner Storage: Blind corners can be tricky and require a special storage accessory to maximize your corner cabinet storage. Depending on your style of corner cabinet, go for a Lazy Susan or Super Susan that rotates to reveal the contents or choose corner cabinet swing out shelves to bring items out to you.
Specialized Accessories: Some items require a specialized accessory to make it easy to store and access them. The prime example of this is a mixer lift. This customized shelf holds your stand mixer and allows you to neatly stow it in a lower cabinet and then pull it up to counter height to use it, all without straining your back!
Vertical Storage: Vertical dividers are ideal for storing items like baking sheets, serving trays, and cutting boards. They can be positioned in a lower cabinet near your cooking zone or an upper cabinet, for example over a refrigerator.
Narrow Pull-Outs: The pull-outs fit neatly exactly where you need them, such as near the cooking area. Use the narrow pull-outs for spices, cooking utensils, oils, or extra pantry storage. Outfit them with wire racks, utensil inserts, or other accessories that keep your items organized.
Under-Cabinet Pull-Outs: These are ideal for trash cans, recycling, bins, and cleaning supplies. They let you stow these items within cabinets to give your kitchen design a sleeker appearance and to make it more convenient to access them.
Under-Sink Storage: Essential cleaning supplies, dishwasher tablets, and other miscellaneous items are typically stored under the sink where they can be readily accessed. Rather than letting this space turn into a disorganized mess, include storage accessories like pull-outs or swing-out storage to make items organized and easily accessible.
Pull-Down Shelves: Upper cabinets can be difficult to reach, especially if you have limited mobility. Make them more accessible by including pull down shelves that easily bring the contents to you.
Open Storage: Balance closed cabinets by installing some open storage like floating shelves or niche storage. This is a prime opportunity to enhance your practical storage while also accenting your design’s style. Place decorative accessories, colorful glassware, or even plants in these spaces, all of which add color or texture to your design.
Perfect Pantry Storage
Food is at the heart of any kitchen design, so it makes sense to give a special shout out to dedicated pantry storage. There are several different types of pantries and which one is right for you kitchen design depends on your available space and your preferences.
- Cabinets for pantry storage – Dedicate a section of cabinets within your kitchen design to pantry storage. Include drawers, pull-outs, and dividers to keep pantry essentials organized, from food items to small kitchen gadgets, baking supplies, and more.
- Pantry closet – Create a reach in closet with adjustable shelves to serve as pantry storage. To keep it more organized, use bins and containers to sort dried goods, snacks, cans, and other items. You can enhance your pantry’s style by choosing matching containers that accent your design and decorative labels to keep track of contents and use by dates.
- Walk-in pantry – Just like a walk-in closet, this pantry style lets you step into the pantry area to view your storage and easily access items. Walk-in pantries typically include adjustable shelves or custom cabinets.
- Butler’s pantry – Take your pantry to the next level by including storage and much more. A butler’s pantry is an extension of your kitchen design that typically has customized storage in cabinets with drawers and pull-outs, open shelves, and more. Plus, it usually has a countertop for extra workspace and may include a sink, extra refrigerator, freezer, or dishwasher, depending on your available space and needs.
Which pantry style fits your kitchen design will depend in part on your available space. It may also depend on your personal style and how you like to operate in your kitchen. Some people prefer to have everything at hand within the kitchen so they can easily grab ingredients and gadgets while cooking. Others prefer to only keep a few essentials in the kitchen with everything else stored in a separate pantry and only brought out when needed.
Customize Your Cabinetry for Optimal Storage
A customized kitchen cabinet design will transform your home and lets you create a design that meets both your storage and style requirements. Kitchen cabinets are highly visible and influence your room’s style with the door type, material, color, and finish. Accessories like cabinet hardware enhance your kitchen’s style and give it a more polished look, especially when coordinated with light fixtures, faucets, and other design features.
Carefully choosing cabinetry and storage features lets you create the style you always wanted for your kitchen while also enhancing your kitchen’s functionality with amazing storage solutions. Examine your kitchen, your storage needs, and your preferences on how you like to operate in your kitchen, and cater your storage features to your requirements.
Include features such as adjustable shelving, pull-out bins, and built-in storage solutions that will help you maintain a clutter-free environment and enhance the way you live and work in your kitchen. Work with a design expert who can walk you through this process and help you tailor your storage needs and cabinet design to fit your home, lifestyle, and budget. Our experienced designers are ready to help so contact us today!