Creative Ways to Store Dishes

Show Off

If you are showcasing your family's precious silver, consider a nested approach. Here, cabinets have been outfitted with drawers featuring divided pullout trays. This way family and friends can admire the delicate artisanship, but the pieces are protected from scratches.

The Great Divide

No cutlery drawer should be without divided storage. Before shopping for inserts, take into account what needs to be stored, along with the inside dimensions of each drawer, including height, width, and depth.

Easy Reach

Adapt restaurant-style equipment to keep everyday utensils handy and organized. When entertaining, take caddies and contents to the table. If a skinny pullout is unavailable, adopt the same vertical storage principles by keeping flatware organized in jars in cupboards.

Within Easy Reach

Deep pullout drawers ensure that the right serving pieces, linens, and flatware are never out of arm's reach. This drawer includes a modified pegboard approach that uses oversize pegs to keep dishes from sliding and chipping.

Open Storage

Open storage ensures an easy reach for often-used items. Baskets corral linens and other items used infrequently.

Here's a tip: Choose baskets with built-in handles for easier transport from one location to another.

Plate Rails

Plate rails offer a straight-forward way to show off collections of dishes. With only one row of storage, it's easy to retrieve plates to put on the table. The rails may be painted or stained suit the room.

See-Through Storage

When installed in front of a kitchen window, a plate rack lends a colorful, yet open, airy feel to a kitchen.

Pullout drawers

Pullout drawers give easy access to stacks of plates and bowls in deep cabinets. They make it a breeze to put clean dishes away and protect your back by eliminating the need to lift a stack of dishes into the back of an upper cabinet.

Close to the Dishwasher

Install a drawer next to the dishwasher for frequently used dishes. This prevents you from carting heavy stacks of plates across the kitchen after every wash.

Cooped Up

Decorative bowls and platters don't need to be hidden away in a closet. Instead, use niches and glass-front cabinets to showcase beautiful dishware.

Here's a tip: Arrange items by height -- standing platters and serving dishes in the back, bowls and pitchers in front -- to utilize every inch of space.

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