The importance of kitchen storage

Kitchen hacks and storage solutions may get a lot of attention online, but when really trawling through kitchen storage ideas, no two kitchens should ever be alike. This is because no two chefs are the same.

While there are many ways to utilise a small kitchen, the flow of movement in a kitchen of any size is key to your enjoyment and usage of a new kitchen. And remember, a kitchen renovation should always be targeted towards the user, not a potential home owner in the distant future, as everyone has their own tastes, opinions and ways they use a kitchen.

How do you decide which kitchen storage solutions are right for you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Who cooks in the house and how do they cook?

Whether you are talking Melbourne kitchens or Rio de Janeiro kitchens, the first thing to consider is who cooks in the house. If it is just you, look at the types of meals you like to prepare. Having a huge amount of space and a 6-burner stove does not necessarily mean you will start making duck a l’orange every night (and you probably shouldn’t either; ducks aren’t supposed to be orange). Instead, configure your kitchen storage solutions to cater to your needs. You may find that you don’t need as much storage as you originally thought, and that this space can be utilised in other ways (extending bench space, kitchen island size, and most importantly the sense of space in the kitchen).

• Will the demands on the kitchen change?

While you may be the only one using the kitchen at the moment, are you likely to start a family any time soon and will this impact on the demands you make of your kitchen? While you want to ideally design your kitchen storage to suit you and only you, keeping a long term view for your future use of the kitchen will help you save money in the long run.

• What kitchen storage ideas do you want to adopt and what do you want to drop?

You may find that your cooking style (whether you’re an artistic ‘cook’ or more of a methodical ‘chef’) may not require a traditional pantry and that you can appropriate this space into a laundry, or even extend available space for appliances.

Here are a few modern kitchen storage ideas that are helping to shape the sorts of orders received by kitchen suppliers in Melbourne and the world over, as well as changing the way we use our kitchens.

Kitchen storage in 2018 is driven by keeping things minimal. While more personality is being injected into the aesthetics of modern kitchen design, and a larger nod is being given to past styles (such as provincial tile splashbacks), there is a growing desire for kitchen storage ideas that keep the unnecessary items well-hidden so as to highlight clean lines in the design. An innovative use of space in the kitchen is what defines the growing popularity of the tiny house movement and this is quickly leaking into everyday kitchen designs.

A storage solution again appropriated from tiny house design, the undersides of cabinets have for a long time been wasted space. A simple hinge and magnet design frees up space in draws as well as on the walls.

There are occasional ideas, such as the above pull-out drawer for hanging pans, that make you wonder why we haven’t been doing this all along. Non-stick pans’ lives are extended by not getting scratched when stacked together and more space is saved in other areas of the kitchen. Many of these kitchen storage ideas are simple DIY projects but incorporating them into your kitchen designs when visiting a Melbourne kitchen supplier will enable you to better plan the layout of your new kitchen.

Just as the underside of your cabinetry is being seen as an opportunity rather than wasted space in new kitchen designs, a smarter use of vertical space is increasingly being incorporated as well. Whether this be for baking racks, cooking boards, cutlery, utensils or tableware, a greater use of vertical space frees up designs to be more malleable.

Finishing with an oldie but a goodie, hanging utensils, pans and knives either on magnetic strips or bars is nothing new, and professional kitchens have been doing it for as long as professional kitchens have existed. The greatest advantage when hanging your favourite and most-used cooking utensils is that it suits both types of cooks: the cook and the chef. The cook does not have to think too hard about their dish and can simply grab their favourite pan and improvise a quick dish, while the chef can more easily set out the various tools they need to create the perfect degustation delight.

If you would like to incorporate space-saving kitchen storage solutions into the design of your new kitchen, be sure to come into the Cook & Bathe Melbourne kitchen showroom to work with one of our team members to design the kitchen that works for you. Browse the Cook & Bathe online kitchen range so you can bring some ideas in store.