Somebody requested me the opposite day for particulars on how we organized the seaside home kitchen, which is one thing we photographed and filmed this summer season to share with you guys, and once I went to ship them the hyperlink to this submit, I noticed that we by no means really wrote it! So sure, these photos sat on the digital camera for months as my tan pale, together with recollections of heat days spent with my toes within the sand (present standing: toes in my Ugg slippers as a result of it’s freezing!).
Years in the past you guys appreciated having a look inside our Richmond kitchen cupboards, so John and I had some enjoyable snapping numerous organizing pictures for this submit final August (and filming what is probably the WEIRDEST video of our lives – please watch it for those who can as a result of I can’t even actually clarify what came to visit me, however John finds it extremely amusing). Final summer season was the primary time we actually put this kitchen to the take a look at for greater than only a lengthy weekend, so it was our probability to verify it was environment friendly and arranged in a manner that really works. When the pantry is totally stocked and the dishes & home equipment are getting each day use – that’s a very good time to judge that type of factor. After which we realized we might make some adjustments to make it work higher, and people suggestions is perhaps useful for you (& your kitchen), so we’re sharing all of them proper right here.
If you wish to snoop inside actually EVERY drawer on this kitchen, you possibly can catch all of it within the video beneath. In full disclosure, this took us like 3 makes an attempt to movie as a result of it saved taking me 20+ minutes to get via after which the digital camera would shut off as a result of it was so lengthy. And we simply obtained loopier and loopier as we went. So it is a little “$herdog, Unfiltered” cupboard tour (or Untethered, you determine). Additionally it might be a ingesting sport for those who chug one thing each time I make John gasp/yell/interject.
Observe: If the video participant shouldn’t be displaying above, you possibly can watch it here on YouTube.
For individuals who can’t watch the video proper now, let me offer you some highlights – however actually, return & watch it as a result of suggestions which you could see in movement together with “reside” commentary = rather more useful usually than only one nonetheless shot with phrases making an attempt to explain what’s happening. All the cupboards in the primary a part of the kitchen have three drawers in them (aside from the sink cupboard) and our hardest-working one is to the left of the range. Within the high drawer we’ve obtained our flatware and knives, within the subsequent drawer down are our plates and bowls, and the underside/deepest drawer homes our pots & pans (extra on that in a second).
Storing our flatware and dishware right here was a method primarily based on dishwasher unloading. When the dishwasher is totally opened, one among us can plant our toes in a single spot and unload just about every thing – no trekking forwards and backwards throughout the room or bending up and all the way down to load a wall cupboard. The truth that the dishwasher door cuts into the strolling aisle? A non-issue! As a result of the ol’ toes are planted and we don’t must stroll anyplace.
I do know some folks suppose the thought of stacking dishes or bowls in a drawer is bizarre, however we’ve been doing it for years and like it (we obtained the thought from John’s sister who has been doing it over a decade with no single concern). A pleasant deep comfortable shut drawer stuffed with dishes = perfection. We did it at our Richmond home, right here on the seaside home, and in each duplex kitchens. Typically it helps to place a grippy drawer liner in for those who fear about issues slipping round or into each other. We’ve by no means had a single damaged dish or chipped bowl. Not a one.
The factor I needed you to see concerning the pots & pans in that backside drawer is that we took benefit of the “hidden” drawer that Ikea affords as a part of their commonplace kitchen system. It’s a shallow 5″ drawer (simply as deep because the flatware drawer above) that may tuck inside a bigger drawer – type of nesting inside on the highest quadrant of the drawer area.
You possibly can see two of them in motion within the video so watch that for a significantly better thought of how they work. We use a second one to retailer reducing boards in the identical manner in one other zone of the kitchen (additionally proven within the video). They’re such a good way to earn further storage and prevent from having to dig one thing out from beneath one thing else (think about how rather more annoying that backside drawer stuffed with pots can be with these two pans on high of them – you’d must dig out so many issues to get to the stuff on the underside).
Throughout from that drawer, the island has one other hard-working drawer: the pullout trash can. We didn’t have a spot for one among Ikea’s commonplace trash can pull-outs (they require a wider base cupboard and we solely had 15 inches right here) so we form of hacked our personal. It’s only a single tall drawer-front that conceals a tall trash can that we discovered on the native ironmongery shop. We screwed the underside of the can into the drawer in order that it doesn’t wiggle or bang round, however it nonetheless may be simply unscrewed if it must be eliminated (I can clear it in place, so within the final 2.5 years we haven’t taken it out but). Additionally, please maintain whereas I add “trash can mannequin” to my resume.
One in all my favourite drawers is the little “drink station” we made subsequent to the sink within the island. Not solely does it retailer our cups and mugs (some had been within the dishwasher after we shot this, however all eight mugs and glasses slot in right here simply fantastic once they’re stacked two excessive). And we additionally use the area to wrangle tea and different drink mixes like my beloved dehydrated lemon packets.
As a sidenote, I’m not loopy about making all of my bins and containers and trays match once they’re hidden inside a drawer, so that is fairly a mish-mash: a leftover plastic bin from Goal, an oblong dish that labored for holding my lemon packets, and an outdated velvet jewellery organizer for my tea stuff. The principle tip right here = containers can up your cupboard sport for certain, however don’t run to the container retailer and spend your life financial savings – go searching and attempt to use no matter leftover issues you might have readily available for those who can.
Beneath that drawer is what now seems to be an absurd quantity of cloths and towels, however principally those on high are each kitchen and tub hand towels for all the home, and down beneath are our microfiber cleansing cloths to go together with the cleansing provides which might be housed beneath the sink. We’ve additionally obtained Ziploc baggies and to-be-reused plastic purchasing luggage in right here too. Watch the video for a useful (unhinged?) demonstration of that drawer’s organizational methodology.
Throughout from that drawer, again on the range facet of issues, is one among our weirder drawers – however we’ve constantly created this sort of drawer storage in each kitchen we’ve ever owned: device storage. Up high we’ve obtained our junk drawer with pens, batteries, bandaids, and many others – however beneath which might be numerous instruments and DIY provides that we’re continuously grabbing (or that belong on the seaside home, however felt like they’d get misplaced out within the shed). The center drawer is form of miscellaneous stuff (shims, wooden glue, climate stripping) whereas the underside is all of our portray stuff: brushes, rollers, trays, and many others.
That takes care of a lot of the “important” a part of the kitchen (aka, the range space and the island) though the video exhibits you every drawer & system (and my complete thought course of on why we put one thing in a sure spot) so if you’d like extra particulars or have a query positively attempt to watch that for what I hope will likely be some further readability (additionally you possibly can see me go loopy and make two drawers devolve into chaos in about 3 seconds on movie simply to make some extent – BECAUSE I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT DRAWER ORGANIZATION).
Okay, now onto the again wall of cabinetry by that again door that leads outdoors (it’s behind the photograph above). This space was initially alleged to be our pantry as a result of we bought all of our cupboards earlier than we determined that just a little room off to the facet of the kitchen can be a MUCH BETTER walk-in pantry than a breakfast nook (which was what we had initially deliberate). Every cupboard again right here is 15″ deep as an alternative of the usual 24″ and has simply two 2 drawers (as an alternative of three) as a result of we pictured issues like huge containers of meals or luggage of chips moving into right here when the aim in our heads had been: pantry.
However as an alternative, they’ve turn into actually helpful for different normal storage for the home, and so they’re properly disguised as kitchen cabinetry which is a win-win. We’ve stashed every thing from further vases & candles to pet food and even sizzling tub provides over right here. Additionally please watch the video to see what I preserve within the candle/vase drawer that’s INCREDIBLY RANDOM however clearly brings me a lot pleasure as I maintain it and swish it via the air.
It’s kinda the identical story for the cupboards on the opposite facet of the again door, though I needed to verify everybody was reassured that these are useful drawers. I assume in some photos and movies folks have frightened they don’t open due to the door molding to the left of them, however you possibly can see from the photograph beneath that it totally opens simply fantastic. There’s a filler piece on the facet in order that doorway trim doesn’t catch it in any respect.
The underside drawer does hit the thicker plinth block on the doorframe earlier than it’s 100% pulled out, however it’s just some inches shy of being all of the wsy open when it bumps that. So it hasn’t made the drawer any much less useful for us (as I exhibit so gracefully within the video – OMG you guys, insert the monkey protecting his eyes emoji right here please).
We knew this nook cupboard can be tight, however Ikea solely has a sure variety of inventory drawer sizes. This can be a 30″ base and the subsequent measurement down would’ve been a 24″ and we needed to keep away from having to do some 6″ filler piece or one thing as an alternative, so the truth that I can nonetheless pull this out to the plinth block and simply attain all the way in which to the again of the drawer is a-ok with us! Bear in mind these drawers are shallow so that you’re seeing principally all the backside drawer uncovered right here even with it hitting that plinth block.
Now let’s transfer into the pantry, the place we’ve continued the identical shallow wall of cupboards alongside the again wall. As you may guess, the drawers primarily retailer meals objects and the counter acts as a pleasant prep area for easy stuff like sandwich-making, cereal pouring, or grocery unpacking.
You possibly can see these drawers just a little extra within the video, however as soon as once more it’s a hodge-podge of baskets and bins that we use to wrangle numerous snacks, breads, and different dry items. We usually prefer to “unbox” meals like snack packs of peanuts or granola bars as a result of it’s loads sooner to seize them out of an open bin. I additionally preserve one drawer as my “Mommy Drawer” that has a few of my nutritional vitamins, coconut oil, and different morning routine objects multi function place. You understand I’ve obtained an higher cupboard in our Richmond kitchen like this, so after all I needed to make one on the seaside too! I like grouping issues that you simply use collectively in a single spot for an autopilot morning routine that’s loads simpler to recollect and observe.
The stack of drawers on the far facet of the pantry isn’t meals, it’s really extra DIY stuff – like mild bulbs, spackle, caulk, and small paint and stains. Once more, it would look like a bizarre spot to retailer these items however even at our most full factors in the summertime (with company and tons of meals), we didn’t have sufficient meals overflow to want these three drawers.
That’s partly as a result of we nonetheless have the entire different facet of the pantry to retailer extra stuff. We DIYed these pantry cabinets round our fridge and over the summer season we purchased a couple of extra bins to profit from every shelf – particularly the decrease ones that we had been utilizing daily.
We initially solely had one white bin per shelf, however we realized that if we turned them 90-degrees, we might take full benefit of the depth of the cabinets – thereby squeezing in a second bin on every shelf. DOUBLE THE STORAGE WITH ONE SPIN MOVE! These bins largely home bigger objects that gained’t match within the drawers, like paper towels, huge chip luggage, cereal containers, our huge bottle of white vinegar for cleansing, and many others.
If you wish to see extra of what’s within the kitchen (and even within the fridge – I open it Cribs-style) that’s all within the video on the high of this submit. However hopefully that offers you an thought of how we made this area work for us!
Now for those who’ll excuse me I’m off to have a look at what different pictures and movies reside in purgatory on our digital camera that I believed we already shared….
P.S. To see how we created this kitchen, this submit covers a number of the progress and this one is all about brainstorming the backsplash, and this podcast covers what we obtained incorrect within the seaside home kitchen (and the way we fastened it). Oh and right here’s how we saved $1350 on kitchen home equipment!
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