Guest Post By Vestabul Design.

Having a functional kitchen is the dream for many homeowners, but not everyone has the budget for a to-the-studs kitchen renovation. The designers at Vestabul have designed hundreds of kitchens for their clients and agree that the following 10 storage solutions should be included in every space. The bonus is that they can all be installed into most existing kitchens in a weekend!

1. A Cutlery Insert

This is the perfect first accessory to add to your kitchen. Cutlery inserts are available in plastic, wood & metal and come sized to a variety of drawer widths. They are best installed in a top drawer that is ether near the table for convenient table setting or near the dishwasher making unloading an easy task.

2. A Utensil Insert

Once you have dealt with your cutlery it’s time to tackle all of those miscellaneous utensils. The difference between a cutlery insert and a utensil insert is the size of the slots. A utensil insert needs longer slots to accommodate mixing spoons, ladles and potato mashers. One or two smaller slots will corral measuring spoons and the wine opener. Again utensil drawer inserts come in a variety of sizes in plastic, wood and metal.

3. A Knife Block Insert

There is nothing worse than having dull knives. If yours are floating around in the junk drawer most likely they are dull. A knife block placed in a drawer can safely store your knives and keep them sharp and at the ready. Ideally you will want to place this insert in your prep zone. If you have a bank of 4 drawers in your kitchen, the second or third drawer is a good one to devote to your knives.

4. A Spice Insert

With cooks becoming much more experimental in the kitchen, spice collections are growing. To organize them and easily see what you have, install an angled spice insert into one of your drawers. Two spice inserts are also a great idea for your kitchen. One can be in the cooking zone with all of your savory spices and the other in the bake center for all of your baking spices and condiments.

5. Tray Dividers

If you have a deep cabinet above your refrigerator, pantry or wall oven this is where you should place your tray dividers. These vertical dividers take advantage of the depth of deep overhead cabinets. If not, install them in a base cabinet. Keep in mind that trays and cookie sheets are not that tall so often you can double up and use both base shelves for vertical dividers. Dividers are available as pre-made metal inserts or you can cut custom wood or melamine pieces and install them between your shelves.

6. A Recycle Center

Most homeowners recycle in some form or another and a recycling center in the kitchen makes sense. Cities and municipalities have different requirements for recycled products so install one that works best for your area. If everything goes into one large bin chose a single large pullout container. If more sorting needs to happen, plan one that has multiple compartments to accommodate this. A cabinet as narrow as 12” can accommodate a single bin while a 24” wide space will provide up to 4 bins.

7. A Trash Can

Every kitchen produces trash that cannot go down the disposer, be recycled or composted so a basic trash can should be included in every kitchen. The cabinet under the sink is a good place for this type of accessory. The best ones mount onto the sink cabinet door allowing the lid to pop up when you open the door. If space is tight, even a small pullout trash can helps with kitchen chores.

8. Sink Pullout Organizer

The area under the sink can really function in your kitchen if it is organized. Along with a trashcan a pullout basket to organize cleaning supplies to coral all of those miscellaneous detergents and cleaners. Choose one that has a deep basket on the bottom and a narrow one at the top. This ensures that the unit will miss the sink plumbing and still house a lot of items.

9. Tea Towel Holder

Having a place for tea towels to dry other than hanging them on an appliance door helps to organize your space. Even though the oven door works for this, it can add clutter to the space. There are two great options available for drying tea towels. One is a pullout tea towel holder with two to three prongs and another is an accessory that mounts to a cabinet door. Again the sink cabinet is a good place for this accessory but any available cabinet space will work.

10. Rollout Shelves

This accessory will take a bit more planning but is well worth it. There are ready made rollout shelf systems available in the market and the key is measuring your available space before you purchase them. They are typically made from metal and come in standard stock sizes. If you are a bit handier you can build your own rollout shelves with items purchased at a hardware store. Again measuring you space is key.

At Vestabul we believe that the best kitchens are Functioning Kitchens! Installing some or all of these storage solutions into your exiting space will allow you to store, prep, cook, serve and clean up much more efficiently in your kitchen. More efficiency means more time and we could all use more of that!

Thanks for reading our guest blog. Please check us out at www.Vestabul.Design for more functional kitchen design ideas. We would love to have you stop by.