Space-Savvy Ways to Store Cooking Equipment

Keep the chef happy by making sure all the cooking equipment and utensils are in their proper places.

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Vertical Space Solutions

Drawers and Pullouts

Island Storage

More Creative Ideas

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Vertical Space Solutions

Tools on Parade

Good storage ideas often can be adapted from room to room. Even the workshop has some lessons to teach. Here's how to get this look:

-- Mount a pegboard on a backsplash to put utensils within easy reach. If your backsplash is otherwise occupied, consider mounting pegboard inside a cabinet door.

-- Repurpose metal pegboard accessories designed to organize tools to keep kitchen tools in line.

Vertical Space Solutions

Up and Away

Utensils are easy to find and never out of reach when hung on "S" hooks from a rod above the cooktop. No need to buy an expensive storage system -- a simple towel rack, tension rod, or dowel can be mounted near the food-prep area.

Find a professional organizer in your area.

Vertical Space Solutions

Flip a Lid

Use dividers to keep pot lids separate from pots and pans. Place the dividers above the range to keep lids out of the way, but within reach when cooking.

Find a professional organizer in your area.

Vertical Space Solutions

Steel Deal

Keep sharp utensils stored in a stainless-steel box mounted on the side of a counter or island, and they'll always be easy to find. Consider putting the box inside an upper cabinet door if your household includes small children.

Vertical Space Solutions

Hang On

If you don't have a spot for a wall- or ceiling-mount pot rack, recast one or two base cabinets flanking the range. This narrow compartment is just wide enough for favorite pots and pans, which hang from "S" hooks that fit a track on the pullout rack. Cookie sheets and fold-away roasting and cooling racks are also naturals to store in a narrow space.

Find a professional organizer in your area.

Drawers and Pullouts

Utensil Solutions

Drawer dividers make it possible to snag any utensil or piece of cooking gear the moment you need it. As an extra organizational step, group like items together.

Drawers and Pullouts

From the Block

A small drawer containing a knife block is perfectly placed beneath the countertop where food preparation takes place. Knife blocks with slots for a variety of shapes protect the knife blades and the user.

Drawers and Pullouts

Safe Keeping

Once you've had a built-in cutting board, you'll be smitten for life. Beneath the surface, knives are stored on a magnetic strip designed specifically to keep sharp blades from sliding around in drawers.

Bring it home: Look for these strips -- easily retrofitted into your cabinet drawers -- in housewares departments or storage-solution stores.

Drawers and Pullouts

Standing Tall

Disguised to look like the other cabinets, this extra-deep pullout drawer vertically organizes serving platters and shallow baking pans. Wooden dividers make the trays easy to identify and reach.

Here's a tip: Don't let other thin or shallow spaces in the kitchen go to waste. They're ideal for storing bakeware and platters.

Drawers and Pullouts

Smooth Operators

Pullout drawers rank with lazy Susans as among the most useful advances in kitchen storage -- making heavy baking pans and oversize cookware much more accessible. Plus, your back is saved from twisting and turning to see what's at the back of the shelf.

Save big bucks: To save money, try to find systems that can be retrofitted into existing cabinets.

Drawers and Pullouts

Rack 'em Up

To keep your shallow frying pans, saute pans, and lids easy to access (rather than stacked in an unwieldy pile), store them in a wire rack inside a deep drawer. Larger pots and pans can rest nearby.

Drawers and Pullouts

In One Place

A large drawer like this one is designed to store plenty of bulky cooking gear, a logical place to organize and store your hardest-working pots and pans.

Drawers and Pullouts

Deep Drawers

Deep pullout drawers that flank the range can ensure that the right cookware is never out of arm's reach.

Drawers and Pullouts

Swing-Out Storage

Corner cabinets are notorious for wasting storage space due to inaccessibility. Swing-out storage solves that problem by bringing contents to the cook.

Drawers and Pullouts

Corner Space

A two-tier pullout uses formerly wasted corner space to house small appliances behind closed doors -- instead of leaving them out on the counter to catch crumbs.

Island Storage

Center Stage

It's like one-stop shopping when you store your utensils and equipment inside the island that you use for food prep. Here a central cabinet holds colanders and mixing bowls in close proximity to a faucet, prep sink, and countertop.

Island Storage

All Dressed Up

If you don't have an island, create one. In its former life, this marble-top bureau kept clothes in order. Now, its drawers hold pots, pans, and bowls. Side panels pitch in with a paper-tower bar and large utensil hooks. The island also houses spices and other at-hand food-prep items.

Island Storage

Mobile Home

Take the equipment where you need it with a rolling baker's cart. This version includes plenty of space for large mixing bowls and serving platters.

More Creative Ideas

Microwave Solution

Move your microwave off the counter to free up valuable workspace. If you're replacing your cabinets, consider including a large cubbyhole like this one to house your microwave.

More Creative Ideas

Stoneware Style

Repurpose vintage stoneware pitchers to help with kitchen storage. Organize further by designating one pitcher to hold whisks and another to hold spatulas.

More Creative Ideas

Flea-Market Find

Found at a flea market, an old sled becomes a homespun pot rack. When replicating the project, make sure the support chains are anchored to ceiling joists or hang only lightweight objects.

Space-Savvy Ways to Store Cooking Equipment

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