7 minute read 
Oct 7th, 2021 The kitchen is traditionally the heart of the home, and though often a busy room, it needs to be a calm space that brings the whole family together after long days at work or school.
Unfortunately, many kitchens are too chaotic and disorganised to be an enjoyable environment for family-time, socialising and preparing meals. Still, with a bit of organisation, even a small kitchen can provide all the space you need.
An organised kitchen is essential for many reasons:
- It provides somewhere to relax after a long day. If the kitchen is a stressful environment, you are more likely to avoid it and choose easy, convenience foods.
- It is a multi-functional room. The kitchen often has many different uses, you may even be using part of it as an office space, so it needs to work for you.
- It is the most sociable area of the home. Whether it is a space for the family to be together or hosting dinner guests, the kitchen will often be the busiest room in the house.
- You need space to create. Preparing delicious meals or baking the perfect birthday cake requires clear surface space and easy access to pots, pans and utensils.
- Accessible ingredients make meal preparation so much simpler. Foods need to be easy to reach and ordered logically to take the stress out of cooking and prevent waste. There are few things more frustrating than finding unopened, expired ingredients at the back of the cupboard.
- Hygiene is essential. Keeping a disordered space clean can be extremely hard, but this is more important in the kitchen than anywhere else in the home.
Not everybody has the luxury of a large kitchen. While a kitchen makeover can provide the look and finish you desire, for many people, it is just as much about making the most of the available space. At Granite and TREND Transformations, we have some ingenious space-saving solutions to create your perfect kitchen, regardless of the size or shape.
Hidden storage solutions
Are you making the most of your cupboards and drawers? With a little organisation, you might find your basic storage solutions can work harder for you.
Start by applying logic to where things are stored to ensure your kitchen is as efficient as it can be. Mugs and tea bags are best kept near the kettle; pots and pans will be needed near the oven and hob.
Drawer dividers and organisers can help make sense of your cutlery and utensils so that it is easy to find what you are looking for quickly.
Cupboards can become more effective spaces by using wire risers to add extra shelves or hanging spices or utensils inside the cupboard door. Use containers or baskets to store oils and jars of sauces, keeping cupboards free from drips – these can even be organised according to different meals, making it simple to grab what you need quickly.
Move dry ingredients like pasta and rice into labelled glass storage jars and display them on shelves. This move makes them easy to locate, frees up space for other items in the cupboards, and also makes your kitchen look professional and efficient. An added benefit is that it is always easy to see how much you have left, making grocery shopping much more straightforward.
It might seem obvious, but quality lighting can make everything much easier to find and access. We can supply and install a variety of LED accent and feature lighting for under wall cabinets, base unit plinths and even within drawer units and cupboards.
Think vertically
If your kitchen is very small, the best solution may be to expand upwards, keeping the floor and surface area clear.
In previous generations, kitchens would have had a central, hanging pan rack, a great storage solution for a traditional farmhouse-style kitchen. However, few modern homes offer enough space or high enough ceilings for that to work successfully. But even small kitchens have precious wall space going to waste, and there are many brilliant solutions to utilise it.
One obvious way to utilise wall space is to install high wall-to-wall shelves to display your favourite ceramics or those jars of dry ingredients. Shelves that incorporate a hanging rack for wine glasses, or have hooks underneath, really maximise the space available and can provide added storage for mugs, utensils or towels. It’s best to store items used less frequently on the highest shelves, though a handy step stool can help with access and be tucked away when not needed. Alternatively, a trendy sliding ladder can be installed.
Wall cupboards or tall units also provide a solution to storage issues in the kitchen. Space-saving tall larder units, with fully extending drawers that can be opened individually, make contents quickly and easily accessible from all three sides. Using drawers for larder items in this way creates a lot more space than cupboards would, and it is much easier to see what you have.
Any spaces that aren’t suitable for shelves and cupboards, such as above the sink or stovetop, could be used for magnetic racks for knives, or hanging pots, pans or cutting boards. Wall-mounted wine and spice racks are also excellent space-savers. Even a shelf above a window can provide the perfect display space for items used less often. And hanging nets or baskets for fresh foods like onions and fruit ensures they are kept unbruised and fresh for as long as possible.
Try using storage baskets between the top of units and the ceiling to store miscellaneous items without compromising style, but make sure they aren’t too heavy to be easily lifted down.
Utilise wasted spaces
Many spaces go to waste in our kitchens without us even realising it, but with clever design, even awkward narrow gaps and corners can provide convenient and hidden storage.
Appliances, like ovens and microwaves, often create unusable gaps and spaces, but building these into the kitchen units means they take up as little space as possible and become a cohesive and stylish part of the overall design.
Make sure every nook and cranny in your kitchen is utilised. Even a very narrow space between units or appliances can provide a handy storage solution. Narrow cabinets can turn these small spaces into valuable storage areas for bottles and jars, with a minimum width of just 150mm.
Corner units can be another area of potentially wasted space. Standard units only use half the available storage and can be difficult to access. Make the best use of space in corners with an innovative corner unit shelving mechanism. The front panel and the front shelves can be easily swung to one side, allowing the back shelves to automatically slide forwards, making them ideal for storing tableware and groceries and giving you access to the entire contents of your units.
Don’t let windowsills sit empty, as these can be the perfect place for a selection of your favourite herbs to grow or for displaying cookbooks, meaning both are always within easy reach.
Out of sight, out of mind
While potted herbs, jars of pasta, and brightly coloured canisters make attractive features in a kitchen, some things are best kept out of sight.
Storage containers neatly fitted into your cabinets can provide the perfect place to separate your recycling waste or act as an organisational system for cleaning products. This approach keeps such items tucked away out of sight while making them easily accessible when needed.
At Granite and TREND Transformations, we focus on full functionality, so we also supply high-quality appliances that can be flawlessly incorporated into your perfect kitchen design. While a dishwasher is an obvious time-saver, it can also provide an extra storage solution. Stacking dirty plates and dishes conveniently inside, ready to be washed, means surfaces are left free of clutter and the room free of bad smells.
Surface tension
Many people make the mistake of using too much of the work surface space for storage. While awkward corners can be utilised for a bread bin, storage canisters or jars, it is vital not to compromise on the main surface area to ensure a clear, clean and hygienic space for food preparation.
For a quick and easy work surface makeover, our high-quality, durable and hygienic worktops can be conveniently fitted directly onto existing surfaces, providing you with a stunning new central focus that will delight your guests. Find out more about our unique ‘top that fits on top’.
A lack of storage space can leave a kitchen feeling cluttered, stressful and unhygienic, but it isn’t always necessary to start from scratch to achieve your perfect kitchen. Simple and clever changes can make all the difference to help you create a stylish and fully functional space that you’ll enjoy spending time in.
Try our 3D Kitchen and Bathroom Design Tool to explore how to make the most of your kitchen space with perfectly planned and designed cupboards, surfaces and appliances that fit your requirements. Or get in touch with our team of design consultants to discuss your ideas for your new space-saving kitchen makeover.
