Expert Advice: 7 Storage Needs to Consider Before a Kitchen Remodel

deVol bespoke traditional English kitchen, York, England.

Over on Remodelista, Margot wrote about the joys of visiting her old friend Laura Jones in her beautifully renovated home in Kitchen of the Week: A ‘Dreamiest Dream Kitchen’ in Yorkshire, England. Laura’s Regency-style house is large—and fittingly, so is the kitchen she and her husband, Richard, designed for their family. But despite the generous size (the kitchen alone could quite possibly fit the entirety of the NYC apartment Margot and Laura once shared as twentysomethings), the couple still had to be clever and thoughtful in planning their kitchen storage needs.

Above: When you have extra-tall cabinets, consider having a ladder handy for when you need to grab something from the upper storage areas (a.k.a., land of the forgotten toys). “Things like Richard’s fish poacher go in the upper cabinets,” says Laura.

“Just as we were about to approve the final design, after which no changes could be made, and write our last nonrefundable check, I looked at the plans and realized I hadn’t fully thought about our storage needs,” she told Margot. “For instance, on close examination, none of the shelves in the pantry had enough height to fit our vast cereal collection.”

Here are seven storage needs you may not have thought to consider—but should (including those pesky cereal boxes).

Photography courtesy of deVOL.

1. Kitchen Towels

Find a dedicated spot for kitchen towels, and you’ll be far more likely to use them. “I just didn’t want to hang my grubby tea towels on my pretty Lacanche,” says Laura. “Also, we needed them near the espresso machine. Margot clued me in to Labour and Wait, and when I saw the rack there I was delighted. It’s great because not only does it fold neatly out of the way, but helps wet towels dry quickly.”

2. Infrequently Used Small Appliances

“We’re really lucky to have generous deep storage for all of our small appliances, which keeps them out of sight but always easy to get to. We gave deVol all the specs in advance so they could accommodate for height,” says Laura. Tip: Consider counter-height shelves for storing the heavier machines; hauling out a KitchenAid, for instance, from a top shelf is no easy task.

Jones-Hunt deVol bespoke traditional English kitchen, York, England. — Above: “We installed outlets at the backs of the shelves so technically we could use them inside the cupboard, but, apart from the microwave, never have because it just seems like it would make a big mess,” reports Laura. “If I were to do it again I would omit the outlets, except for the one for the microwave.”

3. Bulky or Tall Food Packages

Do a mental checklist of what’s in your pantry. Are there any extra-bulky items or super-tall boxes? If so, make sure the shelves can accommodate them. “Cereal boxes can be very tall and are also quite wide, so if you’re storing them in a pantry they’ll need deeper shelves than the ones you put your canned and other dry storage on,” says Laura. Ditto for pet food: “We made sure there was enough height for the dog food underneath the pantry shelves.”

4. A Coffee Station

“We already had the espresso maker and grinder when we started the kitchen design process so were able to put a lot of thought into the coffee and tea area,” explains Laura. “Coffee-making can create a mess, but the nearby butler’s sink helps contain it.” As do the kitchen towels hanging from the towel rack right next to the machines.

5. Cutting Boards

Yes, you could simply rest your cutting boards on the counter against a wall, but there’s something so satisfying about a little slot in your cabinetry that’s meant just for them. “Just make sure your kitchen designer has the measurements for any large cutting boards. When I told our designer at deVol that we had an 18-by-24-inch cutting board, he had to slightly redesign the whole ‘run’ to accommodate it,” says Laura.

Lacanche range, Emery & Cie Moroccoan tiles. Jones-Hunt deVol bespoke traditional English kitchen, York, England. — Above: Notice the pleasing built-in slot for cutting boards, just to the left of the butler’s sink.

6. Knives

Make sure to figure out if you want your collection of knives hidden away or on display. Knives, which can be expensive, should be properly stored. Laura and her husband opted to have a horizontal knife block inside a cutlery drawer.

7. Cookbooks

Got a sizable cookbook collection? Make room for it in the kitchen, where you’re most likely to need them. Laura keeps hers on the bottom shelf of a glass-fronted cupboard. “I like to be able to see them.”