House Planning: How to Set Up Your Kitchen

75yearplan Wow. Thanks, sis! I love all the perks that come with having a kitchen designer for a sister. I feel so much better now. I'm gonna run home and reorganize the kitchen with confidence. I already spent most of the day looking for a wall mounted pot rack. I have the space to store most of my pots, but I've always loved the way the racks look, and I found some cool ones for reasonable prices on Amazon. Also, we have so much more space in this new kitchen that I got my own cabinet designated for baking supplies, with my red kitchen aid situated on the counter directly below! It was actually Chris' idea :) I wonder how hard it would be to convince him I need a sprinkle drawer?

tburgener Like my favorite TV character Monk at a crime scene, I have to be in the kitchen until my intuition guides me to the perfect location for each utensil and oven mitt. I credit my parents, with their perilously nested mugs and stacks of mismatched plates that tested the strength of our cabinet shelves, for developing this innate desire and ability in me. The ways of organizing a kitchen are as varied as the cooks and grocery shoppers who occupy them. But, as you've suggested here, some general rules can guide the novice luxury apartment dweller who has finally been blessed with excess storage. Excellent job of expressing this art form in pictures and words.

Harrow Real Estate As I contemplate ordering cabinets this idea book was very helpful. It is hard to envision what I need to order. But this was an excellent visual.

PeconicBayHomeStaging A lot of good ideas except for the wine! NEVER put wine above the fridge, it's way too warm there.

skpk We never use our dishwasher (and we know many other people who don't like to, either), so placement of utensils and dishes is more a matter of easiest access for the most-used items. We have a galley kitchen so tableware is closer to the dining room and cookware is closer to the stove.

Barbara My mantra is "point of use" when determining a home for kitchen items. Glasses next to the sink; dishes between the place your wash them and the table you use them at; knives below the prep counter; any utensil you use at the stove should be in the drawer next to the stove.

newmouse I learned the hard way - don't store spices with the baking supplies. Oregano-scented cupcakes, anyone?

Home & Harmony Thanks for including our kitchen! I have to tell you that our silverware is at the left of the dishwasher. :) My children put the dishes away and this seemed like the easiest place for them, but now I'm second guessing! LOL

Commercial Interiors, D & D Inc. Take the doors off so you have more clutter showing? More places to clean? Store wine over the refrigerator so that it goes off from the heat?
Beware the source of advice.

Gail Great ideas. Another one is a dish rack. Mine is above my sink, I have no window there so it is a perfect place. In a friends just finished cabinets, we put the dish rack in place of a lower cabinet shelf. My MIL has a free hanging dish rack that is 3 tiers high. Just another way of storing dishes.

legallyblond Very interesting to see a different point of view. For the last 5 years, our silverware and everyday plates were next to our breakfast table - so the kids could easily help set the table, guests could grab their own forks, etc., while not getting in the way of the main prep... closer to the dishwasher. I'd rather take the extra steps of placing the silverware farther away from the dishwasher to get the added convenience of having those things next to where you USE them - which is your thought pattern for everything else (knives next to prep, spices next to oven). But you've given me something to think about as we embark on a remodel at the new house!

Rebekah Zaveloff I know, I know - it's not good to put wine over the refrigerator if it gets too warm up there, but truth be told, lots of people do it anyway when they're short on space and I thought that cabinet looked really cute. So, your advice is heeded, @peconicbayhome, and I agree, it's ideal not to store wine up there, however, technically, the ideal temp for wine can't be found anywhere in a kitchen (high or low) no matter what the season, unless it's inside a wine refrigerator. And @mamarie, too funny! I had a feeling the silverware would go there! I was just trying to throw out another way of looking at it - but I'm sure it's a perfect spot for the kids! Thanks for all the comments everyone!

Joanne Cannell Designs It's interesting to read another kitchen designer's perspective. The general rule for where to store things is either close to the sink or close to point of use. And for a larger household, point of use can often be the better choice for things like utensils to aid in traffic patterns, in my opinion. The cabinet right next to the sink is usually used for trash & recycling or composting & recycling here in California. I would never recommend wine over the refrigerator. If there isn't going to be a wine refrigerator, I suggest keeping wine in the darkest, coolest spot available, which is usually not the kitchen. I see your point about pots & pans in drawers, but I love the convenience of one motion to pull out the drawer, rather than opening doors & then pulling ut a roll out shelf. To avoid pans being stacked, I suggest the drop in cookware organizer by Rev-a-Shelf: http://www.kitchensource.com/cabinet-organizers/rv-5389.htm.

Joanne Cannell, CKD, CBD
http://kitchendesignbyjoanne.com

candle The Rev-a-shelf looks like it would work a treat. For all those bottles of oil, vinegar, etc., I use a couple of lazy susans in the upper cabinet next to the stove (above my prep area). I also use two double-tiered lazy susan's in the same cabinet for storing my spices (alphabetized, I'm afraid).

Renee Well my wine goes in the bottom of the pantry, partly because it's cool (or should I say cooler?) and dark and partly because I hate bending over to look at my food and I don't drink much. I also put potatoes there for the same reason of being dark and dry.

As for the ease of use. You could try leaving the dishes and things you use most out on the bench until they find their natural homes. You use them then wash them and then put them away considering all those things.

And if you ever have to trot to the other end of the kitchen and cart something back and then trot back and put it away, move it! Even if it means not putting your salt and pepper with your other spices, who cares. If you use them all the time put them near your prep bench or stove.

Well that's my two cents worth! :)

KITCHENS BY DESIGN This idea book sure brings back memories to when I had my first apartment in New York while attending design school. The kitchen consisted of 8 feet of linear space on one wall with the sink, and opposite it was the same length with 1 pantry and cabinets. Of course no dishwasher and only 4 drawers. Ironically, I became a kitchen designer and after all of these years I rewind in my mind how I would now configure that space. Blow out the wall would be in the forefront of my mind. Now, I am configuring my own home ~ and again this time I have a galley kitchen. Plan and more planning even for a professional designer; however this time I am 35 years older and am planning everything to be convenient with as little bending as possible and lots and lots of drawers. Some of my favorite convenience necessities are can racks on tall doors - I especially love the dry pantry you featured, I also am keen on a lower cabinet with 5 drawers of equal height; which I use to store Pyrex casseroles along with lasagne pans etc. and other decorative pasta bowls. Another one of my favorites, space allowing is to design or purchase a separate Armoire as a dish cabinet; of course decorative glass or antique mirror on the doors. Anyway, you slice it the more cabinetry one has the more we will find to fill them.

smittycdm Wow, this has helped much! I just moved back in to a wonderful new Downsview kitchen & discovered I had so much space that I didn't know where to put everything. I knew a lot from before (remodeled our 1st house) such as pots & lids, on a roll-out under cook-top. However back then (10+ yrs) no one thought about dishes in a lower drawer across from d/w, which makes sense. Thx so much for all the kitchen designers contributing, really appreciate it. And thanks Rebekah, for starting this Ideabook, also for the list of counter/bar stools, really needed those too! Alexandra

lindalou1026 Thank you so much! this was great. My husband and I just closed escrow on our home, and now have to begin the kitchen remodel... I've been pouring over Kitchen Idea books, and reading about the "work triangle" I love to cook, and I've never had a kitchen with alot of space, so I'm so excited about it; at the same time I want to think about what's near the range top and what's in the pantry... I LOVE the idea of a spice drawer next to the stove, and definitely will do that. Thanks again for alot of great ideas

Kristin Potenti This is AMAZING!! Thank you so much! We just finished remodeling our kitchen and this will be very useful.

Nancy Sloop We are in the throes of renovating our new-to-us 1982 house, with the kitchen being first and foremost. This article has given me a lot of good ideas, thank you! We have removed the upper cabinets, and will be taking out the rest this week. Our plan is to install cabinets around the perimeter, and have an island in place of the now-pictured peninsula.

tararita Where should I put the trash bin? Next to the sink or can it be right across. I have a small galley kitchen, does that matters?

Gail On the trash. Locate it where it is most convenient to use. Mine is under the sink as I did not want to take up my short on space cabinets. If I had the space for in cabinet I would put in to the left of the sink, with the dishwasher to the right. That way it is near the sink for easy clean up.

Joanne Cannell Designs If you don't compost you have more wet trash & it would ideally be next to the sinkm wuth the dishowasher on the opposite side of the sink. But if you do compost (along with recycling), you will have very little trash & it could be on the other side.

Carla I have the space so this works well for me: Pull out trash bin (actually I have one cabinet door which opens to 2 bins, one for trash, and one for recycling) to the left of the sink. (Underneath the sink is too tight for me with all the pipes.) Double-bowl sink...smaller bowl on left side with the garbage disposal to rinse off dishes. If I need to soak anything I then place it in the larger right bowl. Dishwasher to the right. To the right of that I put the plates above and drawer for silverware. To the right of that is the kitchen table - it FLOWS!
Great article by the way!