Welcome back! It’s time to pull open every cabinet, drawer, and door and take you on an in-depth tour of how we meticulously organized our newly renovated small kitchen. This space has undergone a slow but steady transformation over the past two years, a journey we’ve previously chronicled here. This updated peek into our kitchen storage will be particularly enlightening, as you’ll witness the significant improvements we’ve made since our initial organization efforts, which we first shared in this post almost two years ago. Expect a comprehensive walkthrough, complete with a video that vividly illustrates every organizational choice and even teases some exciting future plans, including the addition of two outdoor cabinets to our nearby kitchen porch. Get ready for a deep dive into functional and aesthetically pleasing small kitchen solutions!
To truly grasp the genius behind our new kitchen’s layout and how every item finds its perfect home, we highly recommend starting with our video tour. It offers the most comprehensive visual explanation. As a special treat, Sherry even managed to capture some delightful footage of Penny, because we know what many of you are really here to see! The video also offers an exclusive sneak peek into our utility closet, a space that has undergone a dramatic transformation from its previous role as a mere housing unit for our HVAC system and a bulky water heater.
Note: For your convenience, you can also view this video directly on YouTube.
Our previous deep dive into small kitchen organization was in September 2020, just three months after we moved into this house. At that time, we were incredibly proud of how quickly we had optimized the space using existing elements. The biggest triumph was successfully downsizing our belongings from our much larger previous kitchen and finding a functional system that truly worked for us. During the height of the pandemic, we were cooking nearly every meal at home, with two children engaged in full-time remote learning. This small kitchen bore the brunt of storing, preparing, and serving virtually every single meal for our family. To refresh your memory, here’s a glimpse of how it appeared back then:
Over the past couple of years, this kitchen has undergone a remarkable evolution. We’ve incrementally added key features that have transformed both its aesthetics and functionality. These enhancements include a dedicated floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet, stylish new (secondhand) appliances, updated cabinetry throughout, and a striking backsplash tile extended all the way to the ceiling on the back wall. As you might recall from our kitchen reveal post, the space now boasts a dramatically different and infinitely more efficient look, as pictured below:
Now, let’s embark on a detailed exploration of the three primary storage zones within our kitchen: the lower cabinets, the upper cabinets, and the dedicated pantry cabinet. We’ll highlight every organizational improvement we’ve implemented along the way. Remember, while photos offer a snapshot, the video provides a far more thorough understanding of each space, including discussions about those eagerly anticipated outdoor kitchen cabinets and how their arrival will subtly shift our current organization. So, whenever you have a moment, be sure to watch the full video tour.
Optimizing Lower Cabinet Storage for Enhanced Efficiency
One of the most surprising aspects of our kitchen renovation was the intentional decision to reduce our lower cabinet space. While this might sound counterintuitive on paper, it was a strategic trade-off that yielded immense long-term benefits. In exchange for fewer lower cabinets, we gained a magnificent floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet and four new upper cabinets (three along the back wall and one conveniently located above the fridge). This rebalancing of storage truly transformed the kitchen’s overall capacity. To jog your memory, here are the three slender bottom cabinets that were sacrificed for this greater good:
We purposefully removed these cabinets to convert the existing window into a functional door. This new doorway provides seamless and convenient access to our adjacent kitchen porch, which now hosts a grill and an outdoor dining table. The ease of access to this outdoor extension has made it an indispensable part of our daily lives, utilized frequently for meals and entertaining, particularly given our warm, year-round climate.
Our kitchen porch effectively functions as a generous outdoor extension of our kitchen, a truly valuable asset in a region blessed with almost year-round warmth. For anyone contending with a smaller kitchen, we wholeheartedly recommend exploring the option of creating a similar outdoor culinary and dining area. Equipping it with an outdoor table and a grill, and perhaps even one or two outdoor cabinets for storing grilling tools and other essentials, can significantly expand your usable space and enhance your lifestyle. It’s a fantastic way to maximize a compact indoor footprint.
The previous storage configuration, before the addition of the door to the kitchen porch, was notably inefficient. The old cabinets featured excessively thick wood framing, which created choppy, unusable spaces. It was a constant struggle to store anything wider than 12 inches, and accessing items, especially those hidden at the back or on the small half-shelf, required considerable bending and squatting. This starkly contrasts with the effortless access offered by modern pantry or cabinet drawers, which glide out to bring contents directly to you. This fundamental difference explains our strategic shift towards incorporating significantly more lower drawers than traditional cabinet doors in our redesigned kitchen.
Above those skinny former cabinets, the existing drawers suffered from the same design flaw: super thick framing that drastically reduced usable storage space. Like all the drawers in our old kitchen, they were shallow and narrow, severely limiting the types and quantities of items that could be stored within them. This lack of practical depth and width made effective organization a persistent challenge.
Here’s where the improvements truly begin. By removing those three narrow cabinets and installing the new door leading to the kitchen porch…
…we were able to introduce a new 24-inch base cabinet into what was previously an entirely unused and “dead” corner. As you can observe from the older photo below, the original cabinets lacked modern corner solutions like a lazy Susan or sophisticated swing-out shelves common in contemporary kitchens. The cabinets that once occupied the space where the door now stands simply obstructed any potential storage in that corner, rendering it completely inaccessible and wasted.
While we technically “lost” approximately 40 inches of old, inefficient cabinetry, we immediately recouped 24 inches of highly functional storage by installing a spacious new cabinet in that previously dead and blocked-off corner. This strategic reallocation of space demonstrates that quality and accessibility often outweigh sheer quantity in small kitchen design.
As strong advocates for drawers over traditional doors in lower cabinets – primarily for their unparalleled ease of access, reducing bending and enhancing user comfort – this new 24-inch base cabinet is an absolute powerhouse. It cleverly conceals four drawers behind what appears to be a three-drawer facade, making it incredibly versatile for organizing a multitude of kitchen essentials.
The uppermost drawer serves as our indispensable “junk drawer,” though its contents are anything but junk. We’ve optimized its interior with two of IKEA’s bamboo storage trays (this one and this one), which fit impeccably, maximizing every inch of space. Its generous capacity allowed us to centralize items like car keys, the dog leash, and my wallet. Positioned directly beside our most frequently used door, it’s incredibly convenient for quick grabs before heading out. This approach not only streamlines our departure routine but also contributes to a much cleaner, clutter-free counter aesthetic.
Descending to the next level, we find our critically important tool drawer. While seemingly unusual for a kitchen, maintaining a dedicated tool drawer has been a steadfast habit throughout our 16 years as homeowners. Although some lesser-used tools reside in our hall closet, having frequently accessed items here means we can effortlessly tackle minor household tasks – hanging a picture, taking a quick measurement, or taping something off – without disrupting our workflow. It’s a testament to practical, everyday convenience.
The deepest drawer at the bottom introduces one of our absolute favorite IKEA kitchen innovations: the hidden drawer! This clever design allows us to consolidate all our glass bakeware, containers for leftovers, and school lunch essentials into one organized location. This is a monumental improvement over the scattered and less efficient storage options available in our old kitchen’s drawers.
To further enhance the organization of our deep bottom drawer, especially for wrangling various storage containers, we incorporated IKEA’s pegboard organizer. While the anthracite color might appear a bit stark in photos against the white drawer interior, its functional impact is undeniable. It effectively prevents items from rattling around and significantly reduces the need to dig for specific containers. The open area in the back left is typically designated for the kids’ lunchboxes, though they were absent when these photos were taken, as school was in session. This system ensures everything remains tidy and easily accessible.
It might sound dramatic, but the addition of this single 24-inch cabinet has brought us immeasurable joy and functionality, far surpassing the utility of the old cabinets it replaced. It truly demonstrates the power of smart design in a compact space.
Optimizing the Under Sink Cabinet: A Functional Hub
Let’s turn our attention to the space beneath the sink. To give you a point of comparison, our old sink cabinet, while functional, presented its own set of challenges. The prominent wood divider running down the center of the two doors was a minor design frustration, somewhat impeding full access. Nevertheless, we managed to make it work, largely thanks to the strategic use of wire shelves mounted on the doors for additional storage.
Our new under-sink cabinet maintains the same generous 36-inch width, but its design with expansive, full-height doors significantly enhances accessibility. This improved access has, perhaps predictably, led us to utilize the space even more extensively! While it may not win any Pinterest awards for aesthetic perfection, this configuration truly reflects real-life functionality. We prioritize using our existing storage bins, even if they’re a bit mismatched, before investing in new ones. This pragmatic approach is evident in the current setup. Furthermore, several items previously relegated to our laundry closet (such as Sherry’s beloved Folex, our wood conditioning wax, and Lysol) now conveniently reside under the sink, consolidating our cleaning and maintenance supplies into a single, easily accessible location.
Indeed, this principle of consolidation applies to a multitude of miscellaneous items. When we first shared our initial kitchen storage post, just three months into living here, we were primarily focused on simply finding a home for everything. This often meant stashing items in the laundry closet, hall closet, or other auxiliary spaces due to limited kitchen room. It’s an immense relief to now have everything centralized in one spot, eliminating the frustrating “are the magic erasers under the sink…? No, they’re in the hall closet!” mental gymnastics. However, some organizational staples remain. We continue to rely on lazy susans under the sink – particularly loving this clear divided one – for effortlessly accessing our daily cleaning supplies. Moreover, the same wire shelves we’ve owned for years still play a crucial role, creating a practical two-tier storage system that allows us to condense items previously dispersed across various areas. This adaptable setup provides exceptional flexibility for our evolving needs.
Efficient Storage for Utensils, Pots, and Pans
To the immediate right of the sink cabinet, you’ll find the dedicated home for our flatware, a collection of essential pots and pans, and various baking dishes like our brownie and cinnamon roll pans. This strategic placement ensures everything is within arm’s reach, directly next to the stove, maximizing cooking efficiency.
In our quest to create space for a more efficient cabinet on the other side of the stove, this particular new cabinet became slightly smaller than its predecessor, by merely an inch or two. Yet, thanks to the superior design of IKEA drawers, which eliminate the bulky wood framing that often steals valuable space, this cabinet works significantly harder. It allows us to store a surprising amount more than before. The top drawer is perfectly tailored for our utensils, where another of IKEA’s bamboo trays fits flawlessly, preventing wasted space and keeping all our cutlery, serving spoons, and various gadgets neatly in place.
We understand it might seem peculiar to dedicate an entire drawer to a single pan, but this truly reflects our daily usage. This specific pan is our most frequently used, and should our needs evolve, this drawer offers ample room for additional items or the pan can simply live on the stovetop. It’s always beneficial to have room for growth and flexibility, wouldn’t you agree? For those curious, it’s this pan, and since many will ask for our take: we genuinely like it. It’s a breeze to clean, we appreciate its aesthetic color, and its non-toxic/green credentials are a bonus. We reach for it almost every time we prepare dinner, though given its widespread acclaim, you might already be familiar with its charms.
The bottom drawer, being the deepest, accommodates our deeper pots and saucepans (a more substantial collection than just one, unlike its upper counterpart – the video offers a clearer view of all these drawers!). Critically, this drawer also features another ingenious hidden drawer, perfect for storing our metal baking pans for cinnamon rolls and brownies. This multi-layered approach to storage is a significant upgrade, eliminating the frustrating jumble of bakeware that used to accumulate in a single, unorganized space.
For a quick comparison, recall what the old cabinet in this spot looked like. While we certainly made it work, it demanded far more bending and rummaging, as nothing was designed with the convenient pull-out functionality that now defines our kitchen. The transformation is genuinely remarkable.
Now, allow us to gush about our absolute favorite “transformation,” one we’ve enthusiastically praised before. To experience it is to truly understand its genius.
The Revolutionary “Oil Drawer” Cabinet
We’ve frequently highlighted this image as a stark illustration of the profound inefficiency of the old cabinet situated to the left of the stove. This cabinet measured a mere 7 inches in width, but the actual usable storage space within its drawer was a paltry 4 inches due to bulky wood framing. After numerous failed attempts to store spatulas, spoons, and dishcloths – all proving too cumbersome or leading to instant clutter – it earned its infamous moniker: the “oil drawer.” Because that was genuinely all that could fit within its narrow confines.
Given IKEA’s limited selection of truly small cabinets, we approached their 12-inch, two-tiered drawer with a degree of skepticism, wondering if it could truly make a significant difference in such a compact space. The answer, unequivocally, is YES. It has been nothing short of awesome. The top tier is generously deep, allowing us to neatly store a comprehensive array of oils, vinegars, cooking sprays, and small kitchen gadgets – including our can opener, peeler, and citrus squeezer – all standing upright and easily visible.
Many of these items were previously scattered across the three cabinets we removed to create the new door on the opposite side of the room. Centralizing them here has been a revelation, eliminating the frustrating routine of opening multiple drawers in search of a single item, a common issue when similar things are housed in disparate locations. And this is just half of the brilliance of this new pull-out cabinet, as the entire bottom section offers even more incredible functionality!
The old cabinet configuration was not only tiny but also suffered from poor accessibility; the door couldn’t even open fully due to interference from the existing door molding. Although its vertical orientation hinted at potential for storing baking sheets and cutting boards, it invariably became a dark, hard-to-see clutter-fest. Retrieving a single item often meant squatting down and removing everything else stacked in front of it.
Today, all those items reside on the bottom shelf of this highly efficient pull-out drawer. To ensure optimal organization, we’ve strategically installed these metal partitions. These dividers prevent contents from rattling around and stop them from leaning haphazardly against one another. Now, we can effortlessly reach for a muffin tin or a cutting board without the need to extract other items that once blocked its path. What was once a dark, narrow cave of a cabinet has been transformed into a smoothly gliding pull-out, presenting everything clearly and accessibly. This simple change has made a monumental difference in our kitchen’s daily functionality.
A habit we’ll likely never break is storing our flat pans and skillets in the oven warming drawer; it’s a convenient and established system. While we may not boast a vast collection of kitchen gadgets (for instance, we don’t own a slow cooker because years of having one proved we simply didn’t use it), we do possess an exceptionally large skillet specifically for pancakes. It’s barely visible as the black speckled item at the bottom of the stack below, almost as wide as the drawer itself. What can I say? My pancake game is serious.
One final, yet impactful, tip I highlighted in the video: investing in a stylish knife block for your counter can free up valuable drawer space. By keeping knives out, accessible, and safely stored on the countertop, you instantly alleviate drawer congestion, making your kitchen feel less cramped and more organized.
Having thoroughly explored the depths of our lower cabinets, let’s now direct our gaze upward to the realm of our upper storage solutions.
Mastering Vertical Storage: Organizing The Upper Cabinets
When we initially purchased this house, the kitchen did feature upper cabinets. However, we intentionally removed them during our preliminary renovations, specifically when we had the soffit removed. Consequently, upon moving in, our kitchen was entirely devoid of upper cabinets. This wasn’t an oversight or a design flaw in our eyes. We had, after all, deliberately designed the entire pink house kitchen without them, and the two duplex kitchens only featured range hood cabinets above the stove and one over the refrigerator. It’s a design choice we’ve embraced in the past.
For the majority of our time in this house, leading up to the final phase of our kitchen renovation, we relied on various incarnations of open shelving. We wholeheartedly adore open shelves in a kitchen – our previous kitchen featured them, as did the one before that! However, over time, we concluded that the glossy white shelves adjacent to our kitchen table provided ample, functional open storage. We simply no longer required the additional open shelving along the entire back wall of the kitchen.
As the culminating step of our kitchen renovation, we made the strategic decision to install upper cabinets. This choice was driven by both aesthetic and practical considerations. Aesthetically, the upper cabinets surprisingly make the ceiling appear taller, drawing the eye upwards. They also contribute to a sense of expanded space, perhaps because clutter is neatly concealed behind smooth, simple fronts. Functionally, they offered a significant increase in closed storage, which became increasingly important as our family’s needs evolved.
The upper cabinet positioned on the right side of the room is a hub of essential items, with its bottom two shelves dedicated to everyday plates, mugs, and mixing bowls. Moving upwards, the top two shelves are reserved for Sherry’s more decorative objects – think fancier serving bowls, spare vases, and other entertaining pieces. Previously, these decorative items found a home in our bedroom cabinets flanking the fireplace. While vases in a bedroom cabinet aren’t entirely unconventional, it’s immeasurably better to have them conveniently located in the kitchen, near the sink! Moreover, relocating these items freed up valuable space in the bedroom for actual bedroom necessities… like our podcast microphone. It’s a win-win for organization throughout the house!
If you’re curious about the whereabouts of our everyday bowls and drinking glasses, those are conveniently located on the (still present and beloved) open shelves next to our kitchen table. As mentioned in the accompanying video, we certainly own more glasses and bowls; the dishwasher was simply in action when these photos and the video were captured! We particularly appreciate storing glasses and bowls on this bottom shelf because it makes them easily accessible for the children, whether they’re preparing their own cereal or grabbing a glass of water. Perhaps as they continue to grow (which seems to happen incredibly quickly!), we might consolidate everything into the upper cabinet, but for now, this arrangement perfectly caters to our family’s needs.
We are still refining the organization of the upper cabinets situated on the left side of the room. The largest of these cabinets primarily houses the cleverly concealed exhaust fan for our stove. Around this essential appliance, we’ve strategically tucked various bins containing extra spices, baking goods, and other miscellaneous kitchen items. The prominent black case currently stores our grill tools, which are slated to move outside once the two outdoor cabinets we’ve ordered finally arrive. This future relocation will free up valuable internal cabinet space, offering even more flexibility for storing additional bins and supplies as our needs evolve over time.
Adjacent to this larger cabinet, a narrower upper cabinet (clearly visible in the video) efficiently stores our strainer, vitamins, and a variety of other baking and cooking essentials. This includes Sherry’s extensive stock of coconut oil and apple cider vinegar – because, as anyone who knows her understands, she is who she is! For a more detailed look into this compact but mighty storage area, be sure to check out the video. Furthermore, we’ve ordered additional shelves specifically to maximize the utility of our corner upper cabinet, so prepare to be excited for even more optimized storage there. Update: The shelves actually arrived before this post went live, so Sherry might share a quick glimpse on Instagram Stories soon!
The Game-Changing Pantry Cabinet: A New Era of Food Storage
Without a doubt, our new pantry cabinet represents the single most significant addition to this kitchen in terms of functional storage. This expansive, floor-to-ceiling unit provides a level of organized space that simply did not exist in any previous iteration of our kitchen. Its presence is nothing short of thrilling, marking a new era for our food storage capabilities.
Before the installation of these dedicated pantry cabinets, we creatively repurposed two IKEA Fjalkinge bookcases as our “pantry storage.” These units were positioned on the opposite wall, where our refrigerator was then located. All our shelf-stable food items were neatly organized within their lower drawers. While it certainly wasn’t the most spacious or flexible solution, it effectively served our needs for many months, demonstrating our commitment to making the most of what we had.
Today, those two versatile bookcases have found a new purpose upstairs in our family room. Their relocation paved the way for a dramatic expansion of food storage on the other side of the kitchen, thanks to these impressive new floor-to-ceiling IKEA cabinets. We meticulously built them around our refrigerator, which we strategically moved to that wall (you can read more about that process here). This integrated design has not only maximized storage but also created a cohesive and polished look.
The upper half of our pantry is entirely dedicated to shelving, where we’ve employed a variety of bins and trays to keep everything perfectly wrangled. This section houses a diverse array of pantry staples, but its most notable feature is how it allows us to stock “backstock” food on the highest shelf. This means we can grab a few extra boxes of cereal or jars of Nutella (you know, the truly important stuff!) when they’re on sale, knowing we have a designated space. That top shelf acts as our “surplus” zone – we glance up there to refill whatever needs replenishing in the lower, kid-accessible shelves. If it’s not up top, it goes straight onto the shopping list. This area also efficiently stores items like paper towels, various coolers, s’mores supplies, and even our microwave, which is neatly housed in the cabinet directly above the fridge.
However, the real action and daily functionality primarily unfold below, within the three lower drawers of the pantry. This section is essentially the snack and dry food headquarters of our household. Both of our children independently prepare their own school lunches, and keeping these drawers consistently well-stocked makes that process seamless and fuss-free every weekday morning. While this photo might show the drawers looking a tad bit stuffed, that’s merely because we had just returned from a major grocery run. Perhaps this abundance compensates for having only four glass cups on the floating shelves, with the rest awaiting their turn in the dishwasher!
This comprehensive tour covers nearly all the kitchen cabinets in our newly organized space. By implementing smarter, more efficient storage solutions here, we’ve inadvertently fine-tuned the organization throughout the rest of our house as well. For example, keys and the dog leash no longer reside in the laundry closet; they’re now conveniently located in the “junk drawer” right by the side door, which has become our primary entry and exit point (we park on that side of the house, making it the most practical route for walks). This seemingly small change has a ripple effect, streamlining our daily routines.
As for our completely revamped utility closet within the kitchen – which is genuinely such an incredible upgrade – we are eagerly planning a dedicated blog post to share all the details soon. It’s truly astonishing to reflect on how a massive water heater once dominated that space, rendering almost the entire closet unusable. The transformation is monumental!
Should you wish to identify the sources for any item showcased in our kitchen – from the charming fruit bowl and the sleek toaster to the cozy runner and the elegant pendant light – you’ll find them conveniently linked and listed right here in this dedicated post. Additionally, for a comprehensive guide to sourcing everything throughout our entire home, we’ve curated this extensive resource page for your convenience.
For those eager to delve deeper into past kitchen organization strategies or simply enjoy a virtual peek into our other kitchens over the years, feel free to explore these related posts:
- A Cabinet Tour Of Our Previous (Much Larger) Kitchen
- How We Organized The Beach House Kitchen
- How Much Did The Duplex Kitchens Cost?
- How Much Did Our Recent Kitchen Reno Cost?
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