6 Useful Vertical Storage Ideas for Your Kitchen

September 26, 2019

Sometimes, it seems like there is never enough storage space available when and where you need it. When you build a custom home, you can make sure there is plenty of storage space wherever you need it. The kitchen is often one of the rooms where storage can be an issue. But, with a little bit of planning and some creative storage solutions, you can make sure your kitchen has all the storage you need. Implementing effective vertical storage solutions can help you make the most of all the space available in your kitchen. Here are a few useful vertical storage ideas for your kitchen:

1. Add More Upper Cabinets

Upper cabinets can seriously expand your available storage space. Once you’ve added the standard upper cabinets to your kitchen design, take a closer look at the overall design. Think about where else you can add upper cabinets for some extra storage. You may be able to add some cabinets above your refrigerator or even high above the sink.

Cabinets in these places may require a stepladder in order to get easy access. But, they can be a great place to store seasonal items or other items that you only use occasionally. By creating this extra storage, you also free up space in lower cabinets and more easily accessed cabinets for the things you need to access and use more often.

2. Include Hooks and Racks

Strategically-placed hooks and racks can help you make the most of the storage within your cabinets. It can also help you add some vertical storage to unused wall space or the open sides on the end of a row of cabinets.

If you don’t want to install hooks directly into the wall, a sturdy pegboard allows you to customize and switch up hook placement more easily; this is one of the most useful tool storage ideas that you can repurpose for the kitchen and other rooms.

Hooks and racks can be a great solution for hanging pots and pans, cooking utensils, spices, coffee mugs, and more. They free up cabinet space for other items, keep these items out of the way when you’re not using them, and also keep them within easy reach when you do need them.

3. Implement a Plate Rail

Plate rails are a type of horizontal wall trim you can include in your custom home. Usually, a plate rail runs along the upper part of a wall. They are typically narrow shelves used for displaying knick-knacks, decorative plates, or other items.

However, if they are further up the wall and won’t get in the way, they can be built with a deeper shelf. A plate rail with a deeper shelf can give you a little bit of extra storage for decor or other items that you only need to access occasionally. In fact, displaying vintage items on a plate rail is one of the vintage kitchen decor ideas.

4. Use Sliding Shelves

Sliding shelves and pull-out pantry carts can be a great way to add a lot of storage into a seemingly small space. Shelving units can be tall and narrow and fit directly between your built-in cabinets and your refrigerator or other large appliances. They can also be the perfect end to a row of standard cabinets while adding a little extra storage to your kitchen.

Although this type of shelving can be built to be any size, it is typically a set of long, narrow shelves, which allows it to fit into narrow spaces. This makes them a great fit for storing jars of spices, tea, and other small kitchen items. By storing these items in sliding shelves, you can free up space in your kitchen drawers, in the cabinets, and also on the counter.

5. Put Magnets to Use

Strong magnetic strips can be applied to areas of the wall to create easily accessible storage for your metal kitchen objects. A magnetic strip can be used to store your knives, which makes a big knife block unnecessary and frees up counter space as well as space in your kitchen drawers.

You can also use magnetic jars for some of your most commonly used spices and keep them within easy reach of your prep space with a well-placed magnetic strip. You can also put magnets to use in other ways by sticking or gluing small magnets to other items you want to “store” on a magnetic strip.

6. Consider Built-In Corner Shelves

Another one of the vertical storage ideas for your kitchen is to think about built-in corner shelves. Carousels can help you get more storage out of a corner cabinet, but what about the upper space of the rest of the corners? You may have upper cabinets that meet in a corner, but you may also have other corners that are empty and could potentially add more storage to your kitchen.

In cases like this, consider including built-in corner shelves along the upper portion of the wall. Not only will these be out of the way, but they will also add more sturdy storage space to your kitchen and help you better organize kitchen cabinets. They can be a great option for storing lighter items or they can be reinforced to handle larger items like a blender or mixer.

Vertical storage is a great way to make the most of the space you have and to eliminate wasted space in your home. These vertical storage ideas can help you customize storage and add more storage to your kitchen. But, great kitchen design is about more than just storage.

An experienced custom home builder with an in-house design/build process can help you get the look you want and all of the details you need in the kitchen and every other room in your custom home. If you’re ready for your own custom home, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090 to start making your dream home a reality!