Kitchens are not only the place where we cook our meals, but also store the very items needed to prepare the smallest snacks to the largest holiday dinners. The kitchen, often times, also becomes the meeting place of the family as they gather to discuss the day’s events. So how do you plan a remodel of a kitchen to incorporate storage, cooking, and socializing? You need to get organized!
First consider the size of the space you have to work with. You will need accurate measurements and have an idea of how many things you have to store. Whether you’re storing just your basic plates, bowls, glasses, and utensils, or small kitchen appliances and grilling items, you should know the amount of storage you will need. Consider whether or not you have the space for a walk in pantry, wall pantry.
One idea that works well for storage while giving you a place to gather with family is the kitchen island counter with storage built in. Storage can be built into either side or just the side that is facing the cooking area. This island gives you the convenience of storing pots and pans near the stove while the other side may store the items needed for place settings at the dining room table. Using the island is a convenient and different way to free up kitchen cabinet space, if you are in need of storage room for food as well as kitchenware. Add a few barstools to the other side, and you suddenly have the family spending time together as meals are prepared and served! No space for a kitchen island? No problem. Incorporating Lazy Susans into your cabinet choices is an inexpensive way to provide additional storage space. These devices can be built into your choice of cabinets and provide a much needed solution for storing pantry items.
Another way to take your kitchen re-model is that of custom built cabinets, which you can deign to have pull out shelves, drawers, and custom-made silverware trays. These can even be built into corner cabinets, making use of what is often considered, dead space. Often times, in new updated cabinets, you will find that the ends of the cabinets are also used for storage, with pullouts being found there as well. Upper cabinets in the kitchen also have new and inventive ways of maintaining the updated look of your kitchen, while adding secret storage places only you will know are there! These upper cabinets can have vertical pullouts for holding items such as herbs and spices and small cans and boxes.
Having the wall space to add a custom pantry would free up storage in all the other cabinets. These custom pantries can be made with pull out shelves or shelving units that move separately within the pantry, folding back, and bringing new shelves to the front. Either way you choose to design your new kitchen, be sure to keep the family feel – whatever you store there, your kitchen will always be a place where people gather.