Outfitting your kitchen cabinets with functional and specialty inserts is a great way to optimize storage space and make your kitchen work harder. Here are some ideas for increasing your kitchen’s usability.

Upgrade to Deep Drawers

Converting base cabinets with doors to base cabinets with deep drawers is one of the most popular ways our clients increase access to storage. Drawers provide more usable space than even pull-out trays, and they open with one step. This change is especially helpful in tight kitchen spaces, busier family kitchens, and for people who want to minimize bending over. According to Forbes, updating your kitchen storage is a key step in revitalizing your space.

Install Pull-Out Trays

Adding pull-out trays to a base or pantry cabinet is another way to increase access to the cabinet. In most base cabinets, we can install two—one sits at the bottom of the cabinet and the other about halfway up. Sometimes only one at the bottom is used if a client has tall items like a blender that they want to sit on the roll-out tray for easier retrieval. Many base cabinets have a shallow shelf at the back, and we can remove that to install a pull-out tray. In a pantry without pull-outs, we usually install three or four trays and leave the shelves that are at chest height or above. The trays and the hardware are designed to hold a lot of weight, so there are no concerns about storing appliances or canned goods. Better Homes & Gardens highlights how pull-out trays can simplify your kitchen organization.

Convert Cabinets for Trash and Recycling

Another favorite change is converting a base cabinet to a trash can pull-out. While this may require reorganizing where and how other items are stored, getting the trash and recycling containers off the floor of the kitchen is a huge win for clients who are tired of the trash can getting in the way of good flow or of always seeing the trash.

Optimize Corner Cabinets

Many kitchens have corner base cabinets that are hard to use. The spinning Lazy Susan insert is used in a square corner cabinet, and people tend to have strong feelings about their Lazy Susans! When they function properly, they provide a lot of great storage. We can update these with new parts to make them look and feel new. Blind corner cabinets are a bit more challenging. These are “L” or “I” shaped corner cabinets that are almost impossible to use without adding an insert. If the door opening is wide enough, then there are inserts that pivot to make the space usable for storage, pulling everything outside the cabinet for easy access. If the opening is not wide enough or if the corner is too tight, we can put in a pull-out tray or other insert that ignores the inaccessible part of the cabinet and just pulls straight out. Check out these other creative solutions for maximizing corner cabinet space.

Add Spice Pull-Outs

Spice pull-outs are gaining in popularity and can be used in both base and wall cabinets. These are great in those almost useless narrow cabinets found in a lot of kitchens. The inserts have adjustable shelves and can hold a variety of heights of seasoning jars, oil and vinegar bottles, and other cooking essentials. These are particularly awesome for those of us who are not super tall and find wall cabinets difficult. Installing one of these pull-outs near the cooking surface or the food prep area makes it super easy to access both our everyday and more exotic ingredients. Another great way to improve a skinny base cabinet is with a pull-out designed to hold trays. These inserts make it easy to access that baking pan, muffin tin, or serving tray you’re always struggling to find or put away.

Enhance Your Kitchen with Cabinet Refacing

If you're looking to give your kitchen a fresh look without a full remodel, consider cabinet refacing. This option updates the exterior of your cabinets while keeping the existing structure, saving time and money.

Upgrade Your Countertops

Pair your new storage solutions with updated surfaces by exploring our countertop services. A new countertop can dramatically change the look and feel of your kitchen.

At Kitchen Tune-Up we want to help you make the most of your home. We would love the opportunity to see your kitchen, show you door and hardware samples, and create a plan to update and upgrade your space to meet your needs. Contact us today for a free design appointment and estimate.

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