What type of storage is best for small kitchens?
Friday, 3 February 2012 1:05 PM
If you have a small kitchen you may well look enviously at the space and amount of storage in the country-style rooms that are beloved by property programmes on television. There may not be much you can do about the size of your room, but there are steps you can take to ensure the space is utilised as efficiently as possible.
Using pull out storage is a great way to make putting things in and taking items out of cupboards as simple as possible, so it is worth considering in any kitchen. It is particularly suited to small rooms, as it is also an easy way to add space.
Such storage solutions come in many forms, from a simple chef's pantry-style basket designed to hook on to the inside of a cupboard door to specially-designed units that have a host of pull outs and racks.
If you have a big enough budget and can work it into the floorplan of your room, the best choice is likely to be a tall cabinet with twin doors. Racks fitted to hanging rails inside of the doors can be used for bottles, tins and kitchen accessories, but it is the shelves mounted on a rotating spindle in the cupboard itself that will provide the most storage.
The shelving slides out of the unit, so that you can access everything easily and is large enough to store a whole weekly shop in, other than goods that need to be kept in the fridge or freezer.
Not everyone has the room or budget for a state-of-the-art solution like that, but there are plenty of other options to consider when redesigning your small kitchen or trying to find a way to make better use of what is already there.
One particularly effective choice is a carousel designed for use with corner cupboards. Attach some racks and they will slide out every time you open the door, giving you additional storage space and an easy way to reach the items you keep in the unit. You can also go a step further by choosing a 'magic corner storage' unit that features racks attached to the cabinet door and shelves that slide out from inside the cupboard.
Should you have a galley-style kitchen, you may not have corner units. If this is the case, it is worth looking at in-cupboard drawers. This simple idea involves fitting sliding shelves, baskets or drawers inside the cabinet to make maximum use of the space. Couple these with spice or cutlery racks mounted inside the doors and you will be surprised by just how much additional storage you will have.
Such units are not just for food and kitchen utensils, as there are a number of similar products that are designed for specific purposes. For example, you can add a pull out wine rack or cage for storing cleaning products to some of your cabinets.
You may prefer to use one of your cupboards to install a pull out waste bin. Kitchen bins can take up a fair amount of space, so a free-standing one is not a particularly practical choice in a small room. Select a model with a number of different compartments and you will be able to sort your rubbish for recycling as you throw it away.
