Kitchen Storage Solutions

What Goes Where With the kitchen activities and lifestyle in mind and an inventory in-hand, the homeowner needs to decide what gets stored where. Again, this decision can be largely based around usage of the kitchen. “I take the height of the clients into A Base Filler Organizer from Rev-a-Shelf makes the most of unused space. consideration, as well as who the primary cook is,” says DesCombes. If the primary cook in the kitchen is short, cookware like pots and pans will best be stored in a base cabinet. One product that would work well in this kitchen is available from Rev-a-Shelf, manufacturers of kitchen and bath organizing systems and accessories. “Our pot and pan organizer installs in the base cabinet and has a top shelf for lids and a bottom shelf for the pots and pans,” says Marketing Manager Shari McPeek. Splitting up sets of dishware can make sense if certain items are best positioned in one particular spot, like near the prep sink. “Dishes stored in wall cabinets is certainly traditional, but it might only work for some dishes, and it’s not necessarily the best,” says DesCombes, who likes the adjustability and accessibility of a dish drawer. “Just move the pegs around to alter what pieces you want to put where.” Installing a dish drawer near or next to the dishwasher is one ergonomically advantageous storage solution, particularly for those challenged to reach the shelves of an upper cabinet. “There are different rules for glassware, dishes, canned food or cereal boxes, and they all have to do with their size and accessibility,” says Katsioula-Beall. “Instead of calculating abundance of shelving space, I opt for convenience and accessibility.” The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) publishes an extensive list of guidelines that CKDs use to design a kitchen in a remodel or renovation. Some of these guidelines can be very helpful to the homeowner looking for answers to storage placement questions. Placement and orientation of the kitchen waste or recycling receptacles is one facet of kitchen storage planning that is addressed by the NKBA in a specific guideline. As a general rule, the trash bin should be placed within the “work triangle”— the area in the kitchen defined by the three main functioning positions: the sink, the stove and the refrigerator. Recycling might be another matter. “Recycling and waste can be very personal,” says DesCombes. “A two-sided, under-the-sink pull-out is fairly basic, although a lot of families don’t want their recycling in the main part of the kitchen.” The end goal of a kitchen storage overhaul is to make life in the kitchen easier. Placement of utensils, cookware, dishware, the trash and the recycling should all serve that final goal. Maximizing Space Once the homeowner determines what needs to be stored where, the solutions may present themselves a little quicker. Even if the tightest of budgets rules out the option of creating additional cabinet space or carving out walls, there are myriad affordable organizing systems, pull-outs, door hangs and other accessories that will help find a space for all the accumulated items in a crowded kitchen. “The Lazy Susan is one of our bestsellers,” says Rev-a-Shelf’s McPeek. The  company offers that particularly product for blind corner, diagonal wall and base

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