For those of you who have a small kitchen, I can sympathize on how hard it can be to squeeze furniture in. Our kitchen is very small and I have a lot of appliances, with very little counter space. The question became, “How can I store all my appliances, with the very little cabinet space I have, while allowing me to use my everyday appliances with only one counter top?” Well, have no fear! I found a solution that worked for me, and maybe, just maybe, it could work for you?! =)

Ok, here we go….

We bought some open book cases….like those Ikea ones. Here’s one similar, just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

Ok, turn the book bookcase on it’s side, against the wall, and now you have a counter with cubbies to put anything you like inside! The depth of these bookcases are only 14 inches each, so they really fit in our small kitchen.

We put two of these along two sides of our kitchen. One houses all my less used appliances, and one holds all my less used dishes. On top, I actually have our coffee station on one….you know where our two rebellious coffee machines are (see my other post)…and on the other, I house my vinegars, and cooking wines, etc. Now, I wouldn’t put my mixer, toaster oven, or anything that’s super heavy or that shakes heavily on these. I use these “counters” for light appliances. Please don’t mind my ugly wall tiles =)

Here are pictures of the insides so you get an idea of how easy storage can be.

……you can even keep the manuals along with their appliances this way too, instead of stacking them in a drawer =)

To add curtains for the front side, I just just anchored two screw hooks to the ends and two in the center, then added a long wooden dowel. To make the fabric: stitch the edges with a sewing machine or fold back and iron the raw edge using fusible bonding. Just make sure one side is wide enough for the rod to be inserted in before you fold back and stitch or iron.

Happy Organizing!

Wanita =)