Cabinet Design and Storage: Features That Enrich Your Day-to-Day

Custom cabinetry opens a whole new world of possibilities in your home. The placement and capacity of your cabinets is the first obvious component, but the types of custom cabinets and the shelves inside can have a PROFOUND impact on how you move around your space.

Cabinets aren’t just storage space, they’re a work area. Everything you need to cook that next big meal is sitting in a cabinet somewhere. And every morning, you pull cabinets repeatedly open to get ready for your day.

Have you imagined what the right cabinet storage could do to make these processes simpler, easier, more enjoyable?

Get ready to do just that…

The Statistics: What’s Everyone Else Doing?

One quick way to look at the kind of cabinetry solutions you might want is to see what others are doing.

This recent rehash of a cabinet study by Houzz was compiled by KBB with some VERY enlightening insights, including…

• 41% of kitchens are installing pantry cabinets, whereas 15% are installing walk-in pantries.
• Homeowners opting to keep countertop appliances tucked away keep those appliances in mind in their cabinet design, because plugs and Wi-Fi connectivity are needed for the devices stored in kitchen cabinets.
• Grooming pull-outs for bathroom cabinets are the number-one bathroom customization.
• With 26% of homeowners reporting that they often work from their kitchens, custom standing desk built-ins are trending!!

7 Kinds of Specialized Storage to Consider in Your Cabinets

One of the basic tenets of custom cabinetry is that, when it’s custom, it’s designed for how you live. Designing to your lifestyle improves every moment you spend in your home.

…How do YOU store items?

…How do YOU use your space?

…And how WOULD you if you could?

Here are some of the custom features to consider.

1. Adjustable shelves – In custom cabinetry, cabinet uppers are fully adjustable. They’re designed for you from the start…but even when things change, you can adapt!!
2. Avoiding clutter – Custom cabinets also make better use of space. For instance, do you have a cabinet that’s cluttered with things that REALLY aren’t the right size or shape for that cabinet?! Common culprits that take up WAY too much space include…cookie sheets, spices, cans…Custom cabinetry eliminates clutter in two ways. First, with thoughtful types of storage (like specialized slotted cabinets for cookie sheets), you can store different things using the least required space.Second, instead of granny features like a lazy Susan that leaves unused cabinet space in the corners, there are new pull-out cabinet features that use EVERY bit of available space and provide practical access to everything!!Just watch this video FILLED with custom cabinetry, and Rob will show you how these pull-outs work in a kitchen…For more on clutter, we’ve also partnered with a professional storage and “declutter” expert who works with clients in our area…
3. Practical cooking – Are your spices somewhere you can actually access them while you cook?! Are they stored in a way that it’s easy to see what’s what, and retrieve everything you need? If any part of this isn’t true for you…custom spice storage is a GAME-CHANGER.
4. What’s your flow when you cook?! And are there multiple cooks in the kitchen? Think about where the trash can is above all else…this is big…are people crossing every time one needs to throw something away? The sink and dishwasher, too, need to be placed where they make sense in the flow of your cooking…
5. It’s all in the island! Do you use your island as storage? Do you have it wired with outlets, and does it have a dishwasher or a sink? Kitchen islands are essential prep, work, and social spaces…so, recognize what you like to use your island for and then ensure your cabinetry is made to support that!!By the way…island height makes ALL the difference. We’ve had taller clients who LOVE a 39” height island instead of the 36” standard…and the height of cabinets makes a difference, too! Can you reach everything you use on a regular basis? If not, custom cabinets can fix that…
6. ..especially that KitchenAid mixer! For those of you who TRULY love to bake, a pull-out mixer cabinet could be the BEST gift to yourself. This does require a lot of dedicated cabinet space for one appliance, so it only makes sense for the real baking fans…but just look at this!!Who of you wouldn’t LOVE to have this in your kitchen so you never have to lug your mixer around or store it on the counter again?!
7. What works, works – We’ve had clients with built-in coffee stations…built-in standing work desks…anything they’ve needed! The BEST part about built-ins trending right now is that you can have a dedicated space for ANYTHING, even if it’s not normally part of a traditional kitchen, because it can all get tucked away at a moment’s notice.

Keep on looking through these photos for more inspiration! These are just a handful of the ideas to get you going. Don’t forget to select the perfect cabinet hardware, too.

Which of these custom solutions would change YOUR world? Start the conversation in our private design community!!