If there’s one room in the house where storage is always tight—it’s usually the kitchen.
With so many dishes, appliances, and utensils to store, it can be challenging to keep everything organized and easily accessible while cooking. Follow these storage ideas to keep all your supplies orderly in your kitchen space—even the awkwardly shaped ones.
Storage Ideas to Incorporate into Your St. Louis Kitchen
1. Trash Pullout
Trash and recycling bins aren’t the prettiest to look at, and since they’re so bulky, they take up a considerable amount of (precious) floor space in your kitchen.
Instead of having your trash and recycling bins at the end of your countertop, consider installing a handy pullout drawer where you can store both cans. Pullout trash drawers make it incredibly easy to throw items away with one swift movement, and they keep nasty odors in one drawer, so you won’t have to smell them throughout your kitchen.
2. Kitchen Island Cabinets
Kitchen islands have ample countertop and seating space, but often, they’re short on cabinet space. During your kitchen remodeling project, consider installing several cabinets around the perimeter of your island—even in front of the barstools or seating area. You’ll be surprised how much storage this unlocks in your kitchen!
3. Drawer Organizers
How many cooking utensils and pieces of silverware are floating around in your drawers? Hundreds? Or maybe thousands? Whatever the number is—it’s way too many not to have some variation of drawer organizers.
You can buy drawer organizers at the store, but they often aren’t a perfect fit and may shift around (and scratch) your drawer. Instead, it’s much better to have custom drawer organizers built inside your drawers to accommodate your unique needs.
4. Sink Pullout
The deep cabinets beneath your sink are a great place to store cleaning supplies you frequently use in the kitchen, like multi-purpose spray and dishwasher detergent. However, this space can quickly become disorganized, so a pullout drawer under your sink is an excellent way to make your cleaning supplies more organized and accessible.
5. Floating Shelves
If incorporating more cabinets or drawers into your kitchen isn’t an option, you may love the popular trend of floating shelves (also called open shelves).
You can use floating shelves to store decorative dishes you’d like to keep on display, or put plates, bowls, and other daily-use items on them for easy access. Floating shelves are also a great place to store herbs you can use to spice up your recipes or houseplants you’d like to keep in your kitchen as stylish décor.
6. Walk-In Pantry
If you don’t have a walk-in pantry—you should prioritize this upgrade for your kitchen remodel.
You can clear out cabinets where you’re currently storing extra food, adding additional storage space to your kitchen. On the upper pantry shelves, you can stow away items you don’t use as often, like the KitchenAid Mixer everyone swore you needed to put on your registry, but you’ve only used twice since your wedding. (Don’t worry—you’re not the only one!)
7. Countertop Space
While it’s true you don’t want to clutter your countertops, you also shouldn’t overlook them as a place to store popular appliances you use each day.
For example, you may have a corner of your counter that works great as a coffee bar and another where you keep your spice rack and toaster. However, your lesser-used appliances should be stored in easily accessible cabinets or tucked away in your pantry to keep your countertops clear enough to use for cooking, baking, and meal preparation.
8. Cookie Sheet Drawer
Cookie sheets and muffin tins are probably the most annoying and frustrating kitchen items to store. They’re too long to fit in a regular drawer but too tall to fit in a cabinet. What are you supposed to do with these awkwardly shaped dishes?
Well, that’s where the brilliant invention of cookie sheet drawers come into play. These pullout drawers are divided so that you can separate your cooling racks from your cookie sheets, and they’re wide and deep enough to store all your bakeware. What a relief!
9. Rolling Cabinet
Is your counter space limited? If so, you may love a rolling cabinet! These cabinets can be rolled under a desk or countertop, but since they have a butcher-block top, they can also be used for chopping, dicing, and food preparation.
If you have kids who love to cook with you, this can be an excellent way for them to “help” you in the kitchen with their own small countertop. It’s also a great alternative to a kitchen island if your home doesn’t already have one.
10. Built-In Dog Shelves
Many homeowners with furry four-legged friends keep their pet’s food and water bowls in the kitchen, which can often get in the way—not to mention the water splashes and pieces of food all over the kitchen floor.
Consider adding a built-in food and water bowl to the end of your kitchen island, with a drawer above where you can store food, treats, and medications. This handy corner keeps all your pet’s items organized and prevents you from tripping over and spilling the dog’s water bowl (again).
Create the Kitchen of Your Dreams with Lakeside Renovation & Design
When you’re ready to implement some of these creative storage ideas into your kitchen design, contact our team at Lakeside Renovation & Design.
We can transform your kitchen into an inviting place where you love to welcome guests, and a functional space where all your pots, pans, dishes, and utensils are organized and easy to access while you’re cooking, baking, or entertaining. Learn more about our kitchen remodeling service and get inspiration for your upcoming project from our experienced team!
