Kitchen Design for Extra Storage
Refrigerator Cabinet
The refrigerator cabinet provides a nice customer look to any kitchen while increasing the storage available. The side panel covers the unfinished sides of your refrigerator while the extra deep cabinet above provides space for large Costco items or small, infrequently used appliances.
If you decide to incorporate a refrigerator cabinet into your design and you are purchasing new appliances, you may want to choose a countertop depth refrigerator. This provides a clean, custom look to your kitchen as the refrigerator will tuck nicely into the space. Just be sure to read the manufacturer directions on venting space required around the appliance and include that into the design.
Pantry Rollout Trays
If you have a smaller kitchen, you may want to consider a pantry rollout cabinet. Perfect for small items, the rollout cabinet helps you to locate things in your pantry that would otherwise fall victim to the black hole of outdated goods. Because the cabinet is narrow and has many shelves, one can easily see the complete inventory without removing anything.
Sink Base Sponge Drawer
In the old days, the sink base cabinet had false drawer fronts at the sink location. Obviously a traditional drawer won't work when the sink is taking up most of the cabinet space. But instead of the false drawer fronts, how about adding a tilt out drawer to place your wet sponges in? These little plastic trays are great for cleaning brushes and sponges or anything else that needs a safe place to dry.
Cutting Board/Cookie Sheet Cabinet
Back in the old days people used the bottom drawer of the range for storing large items like cookies sheets. But many of the newer ranges now utilize that bottom drawer for a second oven or warming drawer. So what do you do for storage?
A cookie sheet cabinet with slots for sliding your larger, flat items in and out is the perfect solution. Remember the days when you had to remove all of the pans to find the one you wanted?
Roll-Out Trays
The roll-out tray is a great, inexpensive way to see what's in the back of a deep cabinet. Most cabinet manufacturers will allow you to choose the number and height of each tray. So you might decide to store paper towel rolls in one tray so you design the tray above to just clear the rolls when they are standing up. It's this kind of detail that will allow you to create a kitchen that really fits the way you live.
Taller Wall Cabinets
If you have a standard eight foot ceiling in your kitchen, you may want to consider a thirty-three inch tall wall cabinet. This will give you a little more storage over the standard thirty inch tall cabinet.
You may also choose to go the full forty-two inches high with your wall cabinets. But keep in mind, your cabinets will touch the ceiling (if you have an eight foot high ceiling). This takes away your ability to add indirect, low voltage, over cabinet lighting. The forty-two inch tall wall cabinets with an eight foot tall ceiling will also limit your options for crown molding on the cabinets.
By taking the time to explore all of the options out there, you can incorporate some great storage solutions into your design that will perfectly fit the way you use your kitchen space.
Author Bio
Michael Luckado has built, remodeled and repaired thousands of homes across the U.S. He co-founded Armchair Builder to help people save money and avoid hassles when building. You can build your own home with a little help.