Kitchen Before & After: A Corner Storage Area Goes Vertical With Dramatic Results

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was the founding Design and Lifestyle Editor for Kitchn and the Managing Editor for Apartment Therapy’s green living site, Re-Nest (RIP). After a few years offline and then working elsewhere, she’s back to share ideas about design, kids, and family life. It’s helpful that she now has two little kids and lots of thoughts about all those things. She lives with said kids and their father in St. Paul, MN.
updated May 2, 2019
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(Image credit: Gunnar Larson for Refinery29)

Christene Barberich, editor-in-chief of fashion and shopping site Refinery29, decided to get serious this spring about the storage issues in her small Brooklyn kitchen. “Having everything piled on this one butcher block table was really taking the zen out of my kitchen,” she told Refinery29 recently. But how do you get more space in such a tiny corner, you ask? You go up…

(Image credit: Gunnar Larson for Refinery29)

…and go red! This, friends, is the LACK wall shelf from IKEA ($49.99). Doesn’t it look fantastic here? Christine tells Refinery29 that it’s made all the difference:

By replacing the small table with a bright wall-mounted bookshelf, we were able to take advantage of this narrow corner. It looks fantastic, and I can actually see everything. To avoid covering up our very essential electrical socket, we hung the bookshelf right above it. It goes all the way up to the ceiling while leaving an opening below for a stool and a few other larger items.

We love IKEA’s BEKVAM kitchen cart, and still believe it’s a great piece for small kitchens, but in this case we’ve got to hand it to the LACK shelf. Going vertical (and so colorful!) made this kitchen corner much more pleasant and functional.

See more of Christene’s apartment makeover → 13 Ways to Turn a Tiny Pad Into a Palace at Refinery29

Filed in:
Before & After
Interior Design
renovating