No Fitted Kitchen? No Problem! – Ideas for Efficient Storage
The design magazines are full of photos of massive fitted kitchens, with ranges of cupboards that could store a year’s worth of food. A fitted kitchen is an excellent way of making sure you have enough storage space. But if you’re renting, or if you don’t have the money for a complete kitchen makeover, don’t despair; there are plenty of attractive ways to keep your provisions that don’t require a huge investment.
Glass fronted bookcase
Repurposing a glass fronted bookcase is one way to provide a kitchen with attractive storage. It’s particularly pretty if you have glass jars or nice earthenware containers to display. A good old-fashioned dresser is another good option, and can also form a decorative centrepiece for the whole kitchen.
Wooden wine crates
Wooden wine crates are a good-looking way to store packages or utensils that aren’t in frequent use. Sand them down to avoid splinters, and oil or varnish them so that the wood doesn’t get stained. They can also be bolted together to make a simple, effective set of open shelves.
Wall cabinets and medicine cabinets
Small wall cabinets and medicine cabinets can often be picked up at flea markets or on Craigslist or eBay for very little. They’re useful for storing jars of spices and herbs, pepper grinders, tea bags and other small items, giving direct access whenever necessary. Putting up two or three different cabinets can work nicely in a bohemian or farmhouse style interior.
Open shelving
Open shelves are just as effective and attractive as cabinets, if you take a little care to store things properly. For instance, use seagrass or wicker baskets to hold cutlery, napkins and other essentials; the baskets can be left natural, or painted to match your kitchen. Wire baskets work well in an industrial style household.
If you’re living somewhere short term, it’s easy to install a single long shelf above the worktop without drilling into the walls. Just use wooden blocks or even bricks placed on the counter top to support the shelf at regular intervals. That doubles your storage space without taking away too much of your work surface.
You may not have a fitted island, but a good solid table can do double duty as work surface and storage space. Look for under-table shelves and rack mounted drawers that can be screwed easily to the underside of the table. You can even adapt office furniture, such as filing drawers on wheels, which can be particularly useful as you can wheel them out of the way when you want to use the table for entertaining.
You can have a great kitchen makeover without having to spend thousands on fitted cabinets. Just apply your imagination, together with a bit of DIY skill, and you’ve got it sorted.
