How can I add, or improve, my kitchen? ( lemmy.world )

ickis , 11 months ago

Love the size of your kitchen, that’s a great set up for parties!

If I were in your shoes:

• I would have a pot rack overhead to clear out as many drawers as possible, there’s even some with auxiliary systems for kitchen utensils (spatulas, etc.).
• A magnetic knife block either wall mounted (my preferred) or on the counter would clear up more drawer space as well.
• Under cabinet shelves / cup racks have done wonders to maximize storage in cabinets & on counters.
• A fancy roller prep table with a storage shelf could work with your set up. I have a mobile island with a foldable butcher block top which stores all our baking ingredients, prep bowls, silverware, & resealable bags.
• A few tall pantry pull out cabinets to the right of the ovens going towards the breakfast nook would be pretty sweet, you could even have one made to hold a fire extinguisher & broom/dustpan. If you build more overhead storage you could also throw in a stepladder to keep close at hand & out of the way.
• If you don’t have it, pull out cabinets in your island would be great to maximize storage capacity, that island is huge! If you’re handy with a saw & tools, you can fabricate your own pull-out drawers with specific configurations as well.
• Replace the wall oven combo as well as your microwave with a combination oven, see example here . That would provide opportunity when remodeling down the road for longer cabinet space where that microwave & larger wall oven footprint once were.

IMO More overhead storage is the way to go when maximizing storage space as well. Consider it when/if you remodel.

I have an overflow closet for my tight galley style kitchen which holds most of the kitchen appliances I use periodically (5-7 times a year - think portable grill, sous vide, pickling jars, etc.), larger pans/pots for parties, & bulk food items, & seasonal/event stuff (folding chairs & picnic baskets, etc.). This pantry is not located near my kitchen, it’s sorta inconvenient in the same way using a stepladder is. On top of that I actually do keep a stepladder in my kitchen, in a confoundingly tall & thin cabinet (2.5 ft H x 6 in W x 24 D). Anything you wouldn’t use on a weekly basis should go in maybe a pantry or further back in your island storage.

My partner and I cook a lot, probably 95% of our meals are made by us and we like to explore different aspects of cooking, some of which require a lot of prep space (bread proofing, large batches of kimchi, etc.). Our kitchen is in essentially in a short hallway. so it’s been a fun challenge setting it up, but it’s paid off.

My apologies if this was too much of a ramble, I’m a big fan of kitchen organization & workflow efficiency. Hopefully this rant has helped in some way.

Please keep us updated on what you do!

essay OP , 11 months ago

This is awesome. Thank you. Will be a bit before we do a remodel but I’ll repost when done. Might be a year or two.