Nifty Storage Ideas From Dreamy Kitchens
If you could plan your perfect kitchen storage, perhaps you’d include some of these elegant solutions
Amanda Pollard
27 September 2019
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors... More
Setting aside trifles such as budget and room size, what kind of storage would make your kitchen perfect? Do you dream of a large pantry, or is it all about managing those multiplying tech devices? Take a look these clever solutions to see whether any would be top of your list – or tell us about other features you’d love to include.
A picture-perfect pantry
When someone mentions ‘dream kitchen storage’, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Pantry cupboard? It’s certainly something a lot of us would love in our kitchens, and if we’re going for our dream model, we might as well fit everything in.
This one has plenty of clever ideas to steal, including neat, door-mounted racks for spices and small ingredients, and enough shelving for larger items.
The breakfast station at worktop level features plug sockets for a toaster, coffee-maker and kettle, and there are beautifully labelled drawers below for easy-access essentials.
What else? A useful space for a microwave oven to keep it off the worktop and out of sight completes the set-up.
When someone mentions ‘dream kitchen storage’, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Pantry cupboard? It’s certainly something a lot of us would love in our kitchens, and if we’re going for our dream model, we might as well fit everything in.
This one has plenty of clever ideas to steal, including neat, door-mounted racks for spices and small ingredients, and enough shelving for larger items.
The breakfast station at worktop level features plug sockets for a toaster, coffee-maker and kettle, and there are beautifully labelled drawers below for easy-access essentials.
What else? A useful space for a microwave oven to keep it off the worktop and out of sight completes the set-up.
Prefer more space for food storage in your pantry? Ditch the appliance spots and go for something like this instead. Tuck in made-to-measure shelving for both large and small items, pull-out baskets, and handy wire racks on the doors.
A smart seating area
If you’re going to include a seating spot in your kitchen, it makes sense to combine it with storage. Design your perfect multi-tasking dining zone by asking a joiner to create a comfy bench with lift-up seats for stowing away large items.
The designers of this room haven’t wasted any space, and have even taken the opportunity to include useful wall cabinets above the bench.
Find a designer to design storage in your kitchen
If you’re going to include a seating spot in your kitchen, it makes sense to combine it with storage. Design your perfect multi-tasking dining zone by asking a joiner to create a comfy bench with lift-up seats for stowing away large items.
The designers of this room haven’t wasted any space, and have even taken the opportunity to include useful wall cabinets above the bench.
Find a designer to design storage in your kitchen
Some neat recessed shelving
Unused wall space doesn’t have to go to waste. Here’s one way to turn a blank area into a dream storage solution that’s not only useful, but looks beautiful, too.
The designers have built recessed shelving into stud walls on either side of the kitchen opening. Two columns of wine racks on one side and a bookcase for recipe books on the other has turned redundant space into a practical design feature.
If you’re considering building recessed shelving in your kitchen, make sure you’re fitting it into a stud wall – a builder or carpenter will be able to advise you on finding the perfect solution.
Unused wall space doesn’t have to go to waste. Here’s one way to turn a blank area into a dream storage solution that’s not only useful, but looks beautiful, too.
The designers have built recessed shelving into stud walls on either side of the kitchen opening. Two columns of wine racks on one side and a bookcase for recipe books on the other has turned redundant space into a practical design feature.
If you’re considering building recessed shelving in your kitchen, make sure you’re fitting it into a stud wall – a builder or carpenter will be able to advise you on finding the perfect solution.
A double-whammy drawer
OK, so not all of us have two sets of cutlery, but this idea could be adapted for other utensils. The goal here is to make use of all vertical space in a drawer by adding an extra layer.
The kitchen designers have custom-made two wooden cutlery shelves, with a lip that allows the top one to slide back and lift out. A magnetic front panel keeps the shelf in place when it’s fully forwards.
OK, so not all of us have two sets of cutlery, but this idea could be adapted for other utensils. The goal here is to make use of all vertical space in a drawer by adding an extra layer.
The kitchen designers have custom-made two wooden cutlery shelves, with a lip that allows the top one to slide back and lift out. A magnetic front panel keeps the shelf in place when it’s fully forwards.
Tuck-away tablet storage
Many of us find our recipes online nowadays, and consequently spend much of our cooking time moving our tablets around the worktop to avoid splashes. The dream? A dedicated spot.
This pop-up tablet niche is the perfect solution. The vertical dock slots into the island and rises up to keep the screen on show, without taking up space on the worksurface.
Many of us find our recipes online nowadays, and consequently spend much of our cooking time moving our tablets around the worktop to avoid splashes. The dream? A dedicated spot.
This pop-up tablet niche is the perfect solution. The vertical dock slots into the island and rises up to keep the screen on show, without taking up space on the worksurface.
A splendidly tidy tech drawer
Has your streamlined kitchen worktop been taken over by a tangle of cables, phones and tablets? The ideal solution for storing and charging your devices might be one of these bespoke drawers.
A tray at the top has enough cut-out inserts for all the household’s phones and tablets to be neatly stored away to charge. Holes in the top tray lead the cables to a charging point in the drawer cavity below. Ingenious.
Has your streamlined kitchen worktop been taken over by a tangle of cables, phones and tablets? The ideal solution for storing and charging your devices might be one of these bespoke drawers.
A tray at the top has enough cut-out inserts for all the household’s phones and tablets to be neatly stored away to charge. Holes in the top tray lead the cables to a charging point in the drawer cavity below. Ingenious.
A pan-tastic insert
If you have room to stack your pans with their lids on top, you might not appreciate this one. But if you’re constantly balancing pan lids in a precarious pile on a shelf, feast your eyes on the simple solution inside this drawer.
A single piece of wood is enough to divide the pan drawer into one area for cooking vessels and another for lids.
If you have room to stack your pans with their lids on top, you might not appreciate this one. But if you’re constantly balancing pan lids in a precarious pile on a shelf, feast your eyes on the simple solution inside this drawer.
A single piece of wood is enough to divide the pan drawer into one area for cooking vessels and another for lids.
Slots for awkward items
Anyone who bakes will probably add a place for bun tins and chopping boards to their list of dream storage solutions. This cupboard ticks that box perfectly.
By dividing the cabinet into four sections, the kitchen designers have created distinct areas to store items upright. The smaller areas allow the trays and boards to sit vertically without falling over, and each one can be removed easily without disturbing neighbouring items.
Anyone who bakes will probably add a place for bun tins and chopping boards to their list of dream storage solutions. This cupboard ticks that box perfectly.
By dividing the cabinet into four sections, the kitchen designers have created distinct areas to store items upright. The smaller areas allow the trays and boards to sit vertically without falling over, and each one can be removed easily without disturbing neighbouring items.
A cosy corner
While some homeowners like to conceal their storage, others prefer theirs on show. Not convinced? Check out this beautiful pantry corner for an idea of how to do open storage in style.
The key is to choose jars, baskets and tins that look visually pleasing, and display them in a uniform pattern.
This dream space is made even more gorgeous by the cosy undershelf lighting and the wooden-fronted drawers, which differentiate them from the rest of the room.
While some homeowners like to conceal their storage, others prefer theirs on show. Not convinced? Check out this beautiful pantry corner for an idea of how to do open storage in style.
The key is to choose jars, baskets and tins that look visually pleasing, and display them in a uniform pattern.
This dream space is made even more gorgeous by the cosy undershelf lighting and the wooden-fronted drawers, which differentiate them from the rest of the room.
An organised undersink cupboard
It’s not only cooking items we store in the kitchen, of course. Cleaning products are another essential, and we usually tuck them away under the sink.
The back of the low cabinet tends to be hard to access, which often leads to a mass of half-used cleaning products lurking at the rear.
This dream solution avoids that, as the pull-out wire racks and door-hung shelves make it easy to grab products and put them back. The brilliantly useful tilt-out drawer at the top, meanwhile, is perfect for washing-up brushes and sponges.
Read more:
Fresh Design Ideas From 20 Urban Indian KitchensWhich Kitchen Style to Choose: Open or Closed?
Tell us:
What storage would be in your dream kitchen? Do you have any must-haves we’ve forgotten here? Share your thoughts and ideas in the Comments section.
It’s not only cooking items we store in the kitchen, of course. Cleaning products are another essential, and we usually tuck them away under the sink.
The back of the low cabinet tends to be hard to access, which often leads to a mass of half-used cleaning products lurking at the rear.
This dream solution avoids that, as the pull-out wire racks and door-hung shelves make it easy to grab products and put them back. The brilliantly useful tilt-out drawer at the top, meanwhile, is perfect for washing-up brushes and sponges.
Read more:
Fresh Design Ideas From 20 Urban Indian KitchensWhich Kitchen Style to Choose: Open or Closed?
Tell us:
What storage would be in your dream kitchen? Do you have any must-haves we’ve forgotten here? Share your thoughts and ideas in the Comments section.
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88wj88: They do make sinks with drainholes toward the back, and sometimes even in a back corner (your choice, left or right). In our last house I had a "one-and-a-half" sink; I selected a model in which both drainholes were in the center back. It wasn't much more expensive than the regular center-drains sinks, and what a difference it made to undersink storage. :-)
The photo of the pan drawer with the lids in the section behind makes no sense - why not just put the lids on the pans in this drawer? Also the pop-up iPad would be impossible to read easily without bending down to get level with it. Kitchen designers so often miss how a kitchen really works on a day to day level.
One needs designers who LIVE in kitchens so they know what works... or doesn't! But guess they're too busy being designers. No offence intended!