I'm an 'out of sight, out of mind' kind of person, so when it comes to my kitchen, I have a lot of open shelving to store my pantry items and various bowls and platters. I keep it as neat and contained as possible because at the same time, I also appreciate the simple, pared down look of a modern kitchen. There's always a bit of tension, though, with hodgepodge/chaos pulling on one end and sterile laboratory at the other, but I like to think that I strike a good balance (most of the time.)
When I recently put up some open storage shelves in my kitchen and stocked them with my pantry items, I was surprised at how it changed my cooking style. When I could see at a glance what I had on hand, it felt much easier to pull together a meal - easier and more creative. Suddenly I was using ingredients I'd forgotten I had when they were hidden in the back of a cupboard.
It's a little extra work keeping the shelves tidy, but I discovered that a few baskets are a great solution for the various bits and bobs that create clutter.
What's your storage style? Do you keep everything hidden behind closed doors? Or do you have open shelves? If so, how do you keep the chaos at bay?
Related: Open Shelves? Try This Double Duty Storage Trick
(Image: Design Squish)
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I have opwn shelving that reflects a functioning and well-used kitchen. It's neither chaos nor is it curated (I hate that word) but it definitely is organized. I use my shelving for frequently used spices, bulky cereal boxes, and vegetables that don't have to be in the fridge.
In most rooms I dislike closed shelving but in the kitchen I prefer it closed. In general I like big, chunky dark wood shelves that are nice for displaying organized items with some flowers or statues in between (books, for example). In the kitchen I like big hooks as long as the items displayed are both attractive and functional.
Can someone tell me the name of the vintage mixing bowls in the picture?
Organized closed cupboards here. I do have stuff in daily use lining the back of the counter. Don't have any trouble keeping stuff neat, but I do have trouble keeping it clean. I assume those who have posted in the past that this is not an issue for them do not have animals & do have air conditioning. They must not begin every dish by saute-ing onions, either--I find the resulting mix or grease, dust, & hair particularly icky.
Still, it does look nice.
We have both open shelving and closed cupboards, and both are pretty organized. The closed pantry, on the other hand, is chaos.
I have to agree with 3dogma that keeping things clean is more important than looks. Most of our kitchen storage is cupboards but we have a large pot rack hanging from the ceiling and if a pot doesn't get used for a few weeks it has to be washed again before using because of the greasy dust. It's very tempting to buy a laboratory fume hood to install around the cooktop to keep that gross, greasy buildup off the rest of the kitchen. And yes, I have a vented range hood and even installed a booster fan in the ducting to increase the airflow but it still only captures a fraction of the smoke and fumes.
still broken....
Our cupboard & counter space in our rental is impossibly minimal, so we bought the 5 x 5 cubby expedit shelving unit from ikea (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00208646/) which houses many of our dishes & serves as open shelving. The 2 cupboards below the counters house pots & pans & storage containers, with the 3 drawers above them containing the lids to said containers, cutlery & misc utensils. It's a mix of all of the survey options without the chaos, really.
The chaos lies on top of the counters where the dirty dishes take up with little prep space we have... what I wouldn't give for a dishwasher in this place...
Can I choose Disorganized closed cupboards with ample countertop spillover?
Survey still broken.
Closed with mild chaos is my style. I wish it were Gangnam style instead.
Glass front doors for my carefully arranged pretty dishes (life is too short to have ugly dishes). Closed front for the chaos that is the canned/bottled/dry goods department.
If I'm not mistaken, they're vintage Cathrineholm from Norway. They're usually found on EBay or Etsy or if you're really lucky, your local thrift. they're enamel & of good quality. If you search for enamelware you should find them without difficulty.
Closed and tidy is essential for me, though my kitchen did come with a few open shelves which I use for minimal display. I can't stand clutter and I don't like a mess, so I'm pretty ruthless about getting rid of anything I don't use all the time.
Haha Gangnam Style! Yes, that sounds much more awesome than my organized adult plus disorganized plastic kid style that is my kitchen.