Yesterday, I shared my present plan for extending the use and performance of my kitchen into the breakfast room with out doing any main transforming that may require shifting water strains, jackhammering up a concrete basis, or repairing and changing flooring. In case you missed that plan, you can read about it here.
As I shared yesterday, the principle downside with our present setup is that these again cupboards on the peninsula are presently used as our meals “pantry”, and it’s simply not handy in any respect.
The principle recurring suggestion that got here from commenters on yesterday’s submit was that I ought to transfer the meals to the pantry, and use these cupboards for storing small home equipment which can be presently within the pantry.
Belief me, I want it had been that straightforward. However there’s one downside with that plan. These cupboards on the again of the peninsula are solely 10 3/4″ deep.
And this, in a nutshell, explains the issue with my whole kitchen. A few folks commented that I presently have loads of storage, and I simply want to make use of it otherwise.
I do know that it might look like I’ve loads of storage, however appears might be deceiving. All the again wall of my kitchen has these identical shallow cupboards which can be solely 10 3/4″ deep. And what’s worse is that eight of the cupboards on this wall are solely 9″ huge on the entrance facings, and 10″ huge inside the cupboards. I can’t even match a dinner plate in right here, a lot much less an equipment like a blender or air fryer.
These cupboards had been labeled as 12″ deep and 12″ huge at House Depot, however these are the surface measurements of the entrance facings, not the within usable house. And once more, I’ve eight of those cupboards on this again wall. These are just about ineffective.
So whereas it might appear to be a wall of helpful storage, about half of is simply taking on precious house that might be used a lot extra effectively with cupboards I may truly use
And of the remaining cupboards on that wall, 4 of them are solely three inches wider than the tiny cupboards, however they’re the identical 10 3/4″ depth. So that is very inconvenient for meals storage. It’s barely usable for something, so I’ve made essentially the most of them, however I’d do away with them at this time if I may.
However anyway, again to the cupboards on the again of the peninsula. These aren’t deep sufficient to suit any of my small home equipment. Right here’s my Immediate Pot inside the cupboard…
And the door received’t shut all the best way…
My air fryer is even bigger than the Immediate Pot.
And the meals dehydrator is even greater.
So storing small home equipment in these cupboards isn’t an choice. These small home equipment belong on this cupboard that I constructed particularly to accommodate small home equipment.
Right here’s the image that I took proper after I completed the pantry and loaded up the cupboards and drawers. Since then, I’ve acquired extra small home equipment, however I’ve gotten rid of among the objects pictured beneath that I by no means used. However this cupboard remains to be good for my small home equipment.
However ever since we began having folks over to our home repeatedly, and having meals collectively as soon as per week (and sure, we have now an precise meal, not simply snacks), I’ve began utilizing this cupboard to retailer paper plates, napkins, cups, forks, spoons, bottled water, and so on.
So the small home equipment have been displaced, and now stay on the countertop. However I needed to decide as as to whether I need the paper items out on show or the small home equipment out on show. Clearly, I’d relatively have the paper items hidden behind closed doorways, however that is simply cluttered and ugly.
I need my equipment storage again, and I need handy storage for our meals, in addition to the objects I now maintain readily available for our weekly gathering and meal. The paper items may go within the cupboards behind the peninsula, however then I’m again to needing a spot to retailer the displaced meals.
So far as the opposite areas within the pantry go, this was by no means meant to be a meals pantry. This was at all times meant to be extra of a butler’s pantry, the place I retailer the overflow of kitchen objects that I don’t use repeatedly. And I designed it with that in thoughts. There’s a spot for every little thing, and every little thing is instead. And that features personalized storage like this…
The massive drawers within the center part on the lengthy wall include a 16 place setting of dinnerware that received’t match wherever else (and for which I particularly constructed the massive drawers). The opposite cupboards with pull outs maintain massive pots and different objects that merely received’t slot in these cupboards on the again of the peninsula.
So in my thoughts, it makes completely no sense to take this stuff out of the cupboards that had been constructed particularly to accommodate them, when I’ve no different place to place them, simply to place meals in right here when this pantry was by no means meant to be a meals pantry. Eradicating all of these things (and even a big portion of them) from this pantry when I’ve no different place to place them would simply be creating chaos.
In my thoughts, the most suitable choice is what I discussed yesterday. I’d change all the tiny nugatory cupboards that I’ve now in my kitchen with practical and environment friendly cupboards. Even IKEA’s 15-inch wall cupboards can be an enormous improve from what I’ve now. I’d achieve 4 inches of depth, and I may use widths which can be truly usable, like 30″ huge cupboards, which have 28.5″ of inside usable width as an alternative of the ten″ of inside width just like the eight cupboards I’ve now.
Actually, the one handy cupboards on the again wall of our kitchen are the decrease center cupboards.
These are so handy for glasses and dinnerware, and I’ve every little thing organized similar to I need it. I used to be beforehand utilizing these two cupboards as meals storage, they usually simply weren’t large enough. I stored having to search out house for overflow, which is how the meals ended up on the again of the peninsula within the first place.
So there’s the within scoop, and a bit extra perception into my thought course of. Which leads me again to this plan…
It’s in a handy place and would give me a ton of storage for meals, paper items, bottled water, and so on. This plan, together with altering out my present again wall of ineffective cupboards for cupboards which can be truly usable, appears to be the proper resolution to make my kitchen a lot extra usable and environment friendly.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
