How to Make Your Kitchen Work? Share your Ideas,Tips, Photos ...

Well, I have flunked embedding images, but maybe I can describe things.

My kitchen has a cooking area and a scullery, both small and somewhat awkward. When we remodeled the scullery (the original cabinets were a really poor use of space and the doors opened into each other) I optimized for two things: a tall enough sink for my very tall husband, and storage space.

One was a success, one is a warning.

The sink and countertop were placed at a compromise height between what I wanted (I'm 5'5") and what we though would work better for my husband (he's 6'5"). It didn't work. He still has to stand with his feet apart like a giraffe drinking from a creek in order to wash dishes, and I get sopping wet raising my hands extra high to clear the edge of the sink.

The success was adding more cabinets. There was an unused wall in the scullery that didn't have enough clearance to put cabinets on. But on the other side of the wall there is a closet in the laundry room. The shelves in it were way too deep to be practical. So we removed the wall at the back of the closet and indented the wall from the kitchen. On the kitchen side we built shallow kitchen cabinets with their doors where the wall had been, and a shallow and short countertop, just a little bigger than will hold a gallon jar. The small size is not a problem! Very useful, easy access (closest area to the rest of the kitchen), doubles the usefulness of the scullery. The lower cabinets don't extend into the room any further than the uppers, so there's very little clear space above the counter, but it doesn't matter. The cabinets are just big enough for dinner plates, and nothing gets lost in the back.

Travis Johnson wrote:Naturally we have a big walk-in pantry...we are a big homesteading family after all (LOL). It is in the corner of the kitchen, between the breakfast area, and the wall oven/cookstove. It is big at 4 ft by ft and 8 ft high with lots of shelves.

Now that is exactly what I want in my kitchen when we refurbish it! I'll probably add some insulation so that it stays cool relative to the kitchen temperature - perfect!

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Cabinet Door Spice Rack

A small storage solution that I have really enjoy in my kitchen is mounting spice racks on the inside of my cabinet doors. I worried that I would be limiting the inside-the-cabinet storage space but I have only rarely had to reorganize things because two items are bumping keeping the door ajar.

Maybe 20 years ago we paid out the dollars and redid our kitchen.  Pretty cabinets, countertops, and all sorts of special toys.  Over the past 20 years it has been creeping back to look more like the kitchen we had before. It is just easier for us to function in a kitchen with lots of open shelving and stuff where it can be easily seen and reached.

Eight years later, lots of great suggestions.

My kitchen still works except for the puppy that likes to grab the table cloth and rip ...

I covered it with my MIL's tablecloth from their 25th wedding anniversary though dear hubby doesn't want to mess that up.

Looks like I'm late to the party, but I will second the idea of pull out shelves for lower cupboards.  I also love big drawers instead of some lower cupboards.  

A very simple thing that I got for an apartment that I used to live in was a hanging pot rack.  I put all my most used pots there and it was a pleasure to get them and use them.  They didn't get dirty hanging because they were always in use.  I loved it so much that I brought that idea into the house I now live in.  

When I was designing the kitchen, The peninsula was going to be a few inches shorter than the length of it on the back cupboard side, which I was thrilled about.  Between the extra freezer (topped with a butcher block as a great cutting board) and the stove, I had about three inches to play with.  This is the perfect spot to tuck my step stool.  Being I've "shrunk" to 4'11", I use that stool on a daily basis!  

I also have replaced a lot of appliances with an air fryer.  I no longer need a toaster, a toaster oven and mostly, I don't really use my large oven.  I've baked an entire chicken, many pies and other decent sized pans of food in the air fryer.  

I keep a stool in the kitchen, which I pull out when I'm kneading bread.  The height is much more suited to that activity than my counter top.  I use the largest size stainless steel bowl to both mix up the dough and then knead it in. It spins nicely on the top of the stool and I can push down on the dough rather than having to keep my arms elevated.  Much more comfortable!

I also use the stool when I cleaning fruits and vegetables.  I open the cupboards below the sink, and that way, I can pull up close to the task at hand.  The "floor" of the cupboards act as a footrest and my knees can fit under and into the cupboards.  Strawberries can take more than an hour of prep, so it's nice to settle in and be comfortable.

As a friend always says, I'm a master stasher!  Beside the refrigerator and up against a wall, there is some space.  In the late fall, when it's time to take out the screens, this is where I tuck them.  They are out of sight, but easily accessible with the change of seasons.  On one of the first warm days of spring, I can easily take them right outside and dry brush them to get the dust and cobwebs off.  If needed, I can wash them and then hose them down and leave them to dry.

Here's another tip that I learned the hard way.  I discovered that my sink was leaking after having it repaired less than two years ago by a professional plumber (who's business rate was $175 and hour...standard in these parts; supply and demand, I guess.) Anyway, the new plumber I called asked if I canned.  "Yes," I replied.  He told me that by pouring a huge pot of near boiling water down the sink, it had warped the PVC piping they all now use.  I showed it to me.  Sure enough...He said that I could let it sit and cool for a bit longer or just run cold water as I'm pouring out the canning water.  Hope this helps someone!

Canning and pasta water are extremely bad for modern plumbing!  You can still get metal drain pipes but they will cost you. Might be worth it for a canning kitchen.

My uncle Glenn was a contractor.  He built the last 3 or 4 houses he and my aunt lived in.  The last one had an unusual floor plan.  The foundation was an equilateral triangle.  The roof was 2 triangles with the long sides meeting at the ridge-line.  2 corners were 2 stories tall and the 3rd corner was 1 story tall.  The 1 story corner had the kitchen.  My aunt loved that kitchen.  She said it had must as much counter and cabinet space as a square kitchen.  But, being a triangle there were fewer steps involved when working in that kitchen.
Years after my aunt and uncle's passing my brother and his wife had the chance to buy that house.  They did and got it back in the family for awhile.

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I asked the plumber about it.  He didn't seem to think that metal was a good solution.  He suggested that I just run the cold water while draining something like that.  That will require that I remember to do that because it is so ingrained in me not to waste water. You would think that plastic would not be "code" in a kitchen where dealing with boiling water is  a constant!  

R Scott wrote:Canning and pasta water are extremely bad for modern plumbing!  You can still get metal drain pipes but they will cost you. Might be worth it for a canning kitchen.

Phil said, But, being a triangle there were fewer steps involved when working in that kitchen.

Having a work triangle to me, is one of the best tips for a kitchen.

Having a layout connecting the sink, stove, and refrigerator will reduce walking distances and makes prepping so much easier.

Barbara Simoes wrote:I asked the plumber about it.  He didn't seem to think that metal was a good solution.  He suggested that I just run the cold water while draining something like that.  That will require that I remember to do that because it is so ingrained in me not to waste water. You would think that plastic would not be "code" in a kitchen where dealing with boiling water is  a constant!  

R Scott wrote:Canning and pasta water are extremely bad for modern plumbing!  You can still get metal drain pipes but they will cost you. Might be worth it for a canning kitchen.

Boiling water is not a constant in an “average” kitchen anymore, and only a few cups at a time when it does happen.

Another option if you have the space is to close the drain and leave the water in the sink until it is cool enough to reach in and open the drain. Not a great option in the summer.

If anyone is installing or replacing your cabinets on a budget make sure to look for architects salvage places. Habitat for Humanity has “ReStores” if you are in or around Maryland/DMV there’s
Community Forklift nearer to the DC suburbs and The Loading Dock in Baltimore city.
Forklift has complete kitchens as low as $500 as well as very reasonably priced appliances. We got a GE wall oven for $125 when our oven died.

William Bronson wrote: My kitchen is long and narrow, know she style.
The changes I've made that I like best:
-No cabinets, just open shelving and containers,fewer places for pests to hide,easy to find stuff.
-6' long counter. Wish I had more.
-Dishes kept  in wire closet shelving over my sink, skip the drying rack.

I want to add:
-Large spice racks on the fridge/freezer doors.
-Second sink.
-Purified drinking water tap
-Exhaust hood
-Pass through to dinning room.
- Floor Drain

Hi, William, would you share a picture of the open shelving, drying rack, and spice racks on the fridge?

Yes, please.  A picture is worth a 1000 words.