Every house can benefit from more room to store life’s essentials. But unfortunately, there are so many things that we need and use every day that it is nearly impossible to store everything in an organized way (hello, kitchen junk drawers). But with a creative eye, our designers have found unique solutions to common household storage problems.
Here are 10 creative home storage solutions we’ve built for homeowners in Northeast Ohio.
Kitchen Storage
1. Efficient Storage for Cooking Spices
Storing spices on upper cabinet shelves can be frustrating. The jars and containers don’t stack nicely, and it can be annoying to dig through a messy cabinet to find the spice you need for your recipe. Plus, because you can’t see items hidden in the back of the cabinet, spices are often overlooked and reach their expiration dates before they can be used. Storing spices on the kitchen countertop can be equally unorganized and cluttered, plus it wastes valuable prep space.
The solution: Narrow spaces between cabinets and appliances are perfect for custom spice drawers with built-in organizers. These easy-access drawers make product organization a breeze and can be installed next to the range for added convenience. In addition, these counter-height drawers offer even more storage capacity than cabinet shelves in many cases.
2. Cabinet for Garbage Bins
Free up valuable kitchen floor space and get garbage bins out of sight by hiding them in a kitchen cabinet. By putting them on hefty drawer slides, garbage bins are accessible for use while prepping, cooking and cleaning — but hidden away when you don’t need them. Installing a double-capacity drawer slide is a smart solution for keeping regular garbage and recycled items organized. Plus, if you have pets or curious kids, tucking the garbage cans away in a cabinet makes access more difficult.
3. Built-In Toe Kick Drawers
A toe kick is a recessed area between your base cabinet and the floor that allows you to move closer to the countertop so you can be more comfortable as you work. Toe kick drawers are genius storage hacks that transform the often-wasted space beneath your cabinets. These slim drawers can store awkward, oversized or seldom-used kitchen items, such as cookie sheets, cupcake tins, place mats, extra food storage wraps, etc. For inspiration, check out our guide on adding toe kicks to your kitchen.
4. Beautiful Displays
Design your cabinets to store — and show off — the things you love. Whether it’s your wine collection or vintage glassware assortment, upper and lower display cabinetry can be customized to meet your exact needs and store items safely and properly. Popular choices are wine racks, specialty glassware racks, glass display shelves and in-cabinet display lighting to add a bit of drama and a unique kitchen design element.
5. Storing Kitchen Utensils
Get rid of the dreaded utensil junk drawer forever! Custom drawer inserts are the perfect way to store your collection of ladles, spoons and tongs organized and out of view. Plus, they provide easy access to the kitchen tools you need to help improve your everyday cooking and baking experience.
6. Practical Storage for Countertop Kitchen Appliances
Declutter your countertops by hiding away those oversized appliances like stand mixers, blenders, rice cookers, air fryers and The InstantPot®. Instead, turn dead space behind drawers or underneath an island into smart shelving to store the appliances that don’t get used every day.
Some homeowners like to tuck away their everyday kitchen appliances to create a cleaner, uncluttered design aesthetic. That was the case for this project: we built a custom coffee bar hidden behind retractable cabinet doors. This made the coffee bar easy to access but equally easy to hide when not in use.
7. Easy, Everyday Access to Pots and Pans
If you’re like most cooks, you use your pots, pans and lids just about every day. But how often do you have to bend over and dig through a cabinet to pull out the size you need? It’s not an easy task; plus, those lids are a nuisance to store.
The solution: Use pull-out drawers, with lid racks, for easy access that’s a snap to keep organized.
8. Organize Plates and Bowls Using Drawer Inserts
If you store your plates or bowls in drawers, check out these sturdy, custom inserts our designers made to keep dishes safe and easy to grab and go.
Bathroom Storage
The same cabinet ideas we’ve shared for the kitchen apply equally well to bathroom cabinets and linen storage closets. In the bathroom, use cabinet inserts or shelving to organize your overflow bathroom supplies — toilet paper, toothpaste, cleaning products and supplies, cosmetics and medications and personal care accessories.
9. Easy Access to Styling & Grooming Tools With Dedicated Outlets
One of our favorite designs (borrowed from the salon) is adding a hair dryer insert to a pull-out drawer and installing more than one to accommodate multiple styling tools. In addition, power cables inside the cabinet keep cords off the counter and away from water.
We never seem to have enough outlets in the bathroom for all the tools we need to get ready in the morning: Chargers for electric razors and toothbrushes, hair dryers, curling irons, makeup mirrors and more.
The solution: Our designers add extra outlets hidden inside medicine cabinets, so you can charge those items while keeping them tucked away out of sight for a cleaner, more organized bathroom.
Laundry Room Storage
Laundry rooms can be messy places. But with the right design and creative storage hacks, keeping your laundry room clean and organized can be a breeze. When space allows, laundry rooms really benefit from extra countertop space to provide a comfortable area to sort and fold clothes.
10. Task-Specific Functional Storage
Beyond ample counter space, adding practical storage solutions purpose-built for laundry areas can actually help make chores a pleasant experience — think of an ironing board cabinet, fold-out drying rack, integrated clothes bins and accessible cabinet storage for essential laundry and general cleaning products.
Let’s Discuss Your Specific Remodeling Needs
Our designers at Dover can help you create the most thoughtful use of your space with some of these ideas or we can come up with new ideas that work for the way you live.
The best is yet to come,
Beth Orr
