This Small Kitchen Gets a Big Storage Upgrade, Thanks to an Underused Space

published Jun 1, 2022
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Credit: Jason Rampe

Whether you live in a small space or an average-sized space with a smaller kitchen, storage can always be challenging. If you’re looking to create storage out of nowhere, you might want to take notes from one crafty DIYer.

Josie and her partner Alec share a 330 square-foot apartment on the Lower East Side of New York City — so maximizing space is an absolute must. Josie is a software engineer, professional dancer, and self-proclaimed DIY enthusiast. Her love for handmade projects and eye for potential inspired her to give this place a chance. “I convinced my partner that we could downsize and compromise on some requirements, and somehow he agreed,” Josie says. “While the small size is not my favorite thing, I do like that it’s more manageable.”

Josie considers her design style to be eclectic and functional. “Eclectic, because I don’t always stick to one aesthetic style, and functional, because practicality always comes first,” she says. One room where function is mandatory in any home (especially a tiny one) is the kitchen.

Credit: Jason Rampe

While Josie and her partner have a decent amount of cabinets, they were lacking both display and counter space in their kitchen. “My inspiration comes from the needs and constraints of the space,” Josie says. What she needed was a space to store a few more things, so she DIYed a solution. The frame of the window above the kitchen sink was wide enough to add shelves, so she installed small pieces of white-painted wood to create mounts for two floating shelves. She also used the window sill to store a drying rack for dishes and a cup to hold utensils.

This DIY is genius because it makes use of rarely-used space, and this project is fairly cheap. The window in Josie’s home is frosted, so blocking the view wasn’t an issue, but even if you look out onto something lovely, a single shelf could be a storage win. This design decision allows Josie the opportunity to display dishes and plants without taking up any counter space.

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Here’s a Sneaky Way to Add Storage In Your Kitchen Without Sacrificing An Inch of Wall Space