Your Home’s Core Room Should Be Smart
Your kitchen should be as smart as you are. But for many homeowners, the kitchen is a nightmare of overcrowded countertops, packed drawers and cabinets that constantly seem to lose things. The thing is, most kitchens are designed with typical storage in mind, not practicality. This is where JEM Remodel and Construction can help. We make the most of unused spaces and create functional, intuitive zones that make cooking and cleaning easy and enjoyable. Whether you’re renovating your kitchen or just looking to update certain elements, storage solutions will transform the way you use your kitchen. Here are a few ideas on how to make the best of your space.
Pull-Out Pantries and Vertical Storage
Static pantries with shelves are a huge waste of space. You can’t see the cans behind the boxes, and you always end up stacking new items in front and forgetting about the old ones. The answer is pull-out pantry organizers. These slim, tall pantries slide easily on industrial-strength rails, so all the contents are accessible. You can introduce them between the refrigerator and a wall or next to the stove, or fit one inside an existing cabinet.
You can also create a spice rack in the inside of a cabinet door. This easy modification creates drawer space and allows spices to be kept handy to the kitchen work area. With trays and boards, use vertical dividers to avoid the teetering Tower of Babel that comes crashing down when you want the bottom board.
Benefits: Greater visibility, less food waste and quicker cooking.
Idea: Tall pull-out for brooms, mops and cleaning supplies by the sink.
JEM’s custom cabinetry services can create pull-out pantries to fit your cabinetry.
Corner Cabinets – No More Dead Space
Until recently, corner cabinets have been the darkest corner of kitchen storage – often deep, dark and difficult to access. But clever hardware has addressed the issue. Lazy Susans continue to be a good option for base corners, as they rotate trays to retrieve items from the back. A more high-tech alternative is a blind-corner pull-out. These have two shelves connected and pulled out together to access the corner.
Magic corner or swing-out shelves are another great alternative. Attached shelves swing out when you open the door making a storage area. This is a great solution for pots, lids and large mixing bowls. Corner cupboards in the higher reaches can have diagonal doors or hinged systems to remove the need for the “grazing” reach.
This can save you the need for extra cabinets. This will create an open and spacious kitchen and add further storage space. Browse JEM’s kitchen remodels to see how we deal with awkward corners.
Custom Inserts for Utensils and Drawer Dividers
Most kitchen tools and utensils are best stored in deep drawers rather than regular cabinets – if they’re properly organized. Without drawer dividers, your drawers become a mess of spoons and spatulas, measuring cups and pot lids. Drawer inserts are designed to give tools their own space. You can request knife slots, utensil compartments and deeper drawers for serving utensils.
For utensils, have a removable bamboo or metal insert that can be washed. But don’t stop there. Design one drawer to hold baking tools: a series of compartments for measuring spoons, cookie cutters, pastry brushes and icing tips. You can designate another for foil, cling wrap and parchment paper with a cutter. The most versatile insert is an adjustable peg system – you move the pegs to accommodate your growing cookware collection.
Large items such as mixing bowls, colanders and food processors can be stored in very deep drawers with high sides. You simply pull the drawer and lift – no craning into lower drawers. Great for people with bad backs and knees.
JEM’s custom storage designers help you measure all of your spatulas and pots to create your drawer inserts.
Better Storage for Under the Sink
Under the sink is usually a cluttered jumbled mess of half-used bottles, old scrub brushes and trash bags. Why? There’s no room for the pipes in the middle, and people tend to throw up their hands at trying to organise this “unorganisable” space. But with a little work and some innovative products, this can be an extremely efficient space.
For example, add a drawer system that wraps around the pipes. There are a number of products available with U-shaped drawers that slide out to the left and right of the plumbing. Or, tension rods can be used to hang bottles – slide the rod across the back of the cabinet and hang bottles from their necks. Use a wire shelf on the inside of the door for scrubbers and sponges, so they can dry out of a puddle.
A pull-out bin system, which can be installed on the door or on slides, conceals garbage and recycling. Some even have bins to separate garbage, recycling and compost. For a deeper cabinet, use two narrow bins, stacked. Leave room for cleaning items that need to be stored away from children – a lockable drawer is recommended.
JEM’s turnkey remodeling services also offer custom under-counter options that work with your plumbing – and every inch of space.
Open Shelving and Pot Racks – Stylish and Practical
Not all storage needs to be enclosed. Open shelving can be warm and inviting while showcasing your displayed dishes or glassware. Hang floating shelves on an empty wall or over a coffee bar. Store everyday dishes and bowls – close to the dishwasher or sink. The trick is to only use open shelving for those items you use often and do not mind displaying and dusting.
It’s time to bring pot racks back, but don’t go for the massive, farmhouse-style mounted on the ceiling if you have a small kitchen. Opt for a rail with hooks on a wall. Mount your pots, pans and even utensils on a backsplash or beneath upper cabinets. This leaves lower cabinets free for storing less attractive items, such as canned food and appliances. Mount a magnetic knife strip next to your work station so you can quickly access your knives; now you’re not blocking out a chunk of counter space.
Open and closed storage offers visual interest. Open and closed storage above open shelving delivers the best of both worlds – you can see all your supplies, but your wine glass will never get dusty.
Call JEM Remodel and Construction to arrange a free kitchen consultation and beginning designing your own, dream clutter-free kitchen. Using pull-out pantry units, custom drawer dividers and other nifty devices, we harness wasted space to provide you with storage that fits your real-life needs – not your fantasy kitchen.