Your Kitchen, Your Way: Cabinet Accessories

One of the easiest ways to organize your kitchen is to add a few specialty cabinets and/or inserts. Whether you’re building new, remodeling, or rearranging, specialty cabinets and cabinet accessories help tailor your kitchen to how you work – you specifically – and increase functionality.

Of course, cabinet accessories can also be the easiest way to make your kitchen too customized, making it inflexible and actual hinder efficiency. It’s better to start small; add a few specialty items you know you’ll use in the initial design, then cook a while in your new kitchen. You’ll be able to figure out how you work, what accessories would actually be helpful, and what ones you can do without. Here are some ideas to consider for organizing your kitchens:

Tall Pull-out Pantries

This cabinetry is one of the most useful design trends we have seen. It’s the perfect way to utilize a narrow space for storage. It’s easy to access and easy to close.

Silverware/Knife Dividers

Having a silverware tray may seem like common sense, but it is a useful organizational tool we’ve taken for granted. Just like it sounds, it not only keeps your silverware contained in one area, but also separates it out by type. No more hunting for a fork among the knives! It’s also one of the easiest and potentially least expensive accessories to add to your kitchen (especially if you just buy a plastic one at a garage sale). Metal or wood dividers are also available for a nicer look but are more costly.

Cabinet/Tray Dividers

Adding slots for cookie sheets, muffin tins, and the like makes it are a great way to store these baking tools. Sheets lay on their side, rather than stacking, allowing for more shelf space. They’re also easy to slide in and out, making cooking and baking less of a hassle.

Pull-out Trash Cabinet

If you prefer to store your garbage and recycling under the counter, or if you just want to hide an unsightly aspect of your kitchen, add a pull-out cabinet! The cabinet acts like a drawer. Open. Pitch your item. Close.

Spice pull-out or cabinet drawer insert 

One of my favorite kitchen organizational tools, these pull-outs and drawer inserts provide space to line up your spices and herbs for quicker access while decluttered shelves and countertops. Do carousels, boxes, and storing them on the pantry shelf work? Absolutely! But it is nice to be able to open a drawer or pull out a vertical cabinet and grab a spice without hunting for it behind other containers.

Appliance compartments or specialty shelving

Some appliances, like stand mixers can be pretty heaving and thus lifting them up or down from a shelf can be problematic. The easiest solution is to store them at counter level so that no bending or lifting will be required. Talk with your designer to find ways to create shelving or cabinetry that will accommodate the weight of your particular appliance.

By Katie MacGillivray