Look overhead

If you have a narrow kitchen, lots of cabinets at shoulder height can make your space feel even more cramped. However a row of cupboards slightly higher, just above eye level, moves them out of your immediate sphere of awareness and gives you the feeling of more space, while still having adequate storage space in a reachable position.

Add class with glass

While solid cabinet doors often look more sleek and minimalist in modern kitchens, they can diminish the sense of light in a smaller space. Cabinet doors with glass panes reflect light, brightening and opening up the room. You even have the option of installing LED lights inside the cabinets to further lighten the cabinets and create a display feel!

Pull-out to reveal

Create a cabinet that’s more than it seems, with a narrow cabinet that pulls out to reveal rows of shelves. This is handy for putting spare gaps in your cabinetry to use, and the pull-out element makes every item much more accessible than a static narrow cupboard. Pull-out storage for kitchen cabinets can work really well as a spice rack, or for jars of ingredients.

Rack it up

Instead of traditional cabinets with doors, consider storing plates or other crockery in a rack, allowing you to display a pretty crockery collection with easy access. A rack can also help break up what would otherwise be a solid block of cabinet units, adding a little variation along your wall.

Hide mess up high

Don’t forget that you can fit storage above kitchen cabinets! If your cabinet units don’t meet the ceiling, this is a great nook to stash items you don’t use very often. The magic of this space is that it’s mostly hidden from view, so you can embrace your messy side without judgement. But if you do want to maintain some order, buy a set of decorative baskets to keep items tidy.

Storage on all sides

Ever thought of how you can use the outside of your cabinets for storage? Attach wire racks or hanging storage baskets to the end of your cupboard unit, and these can be used to store anything from pans and knives to keys and bills that inevitably get left around the kitchen.

Keep it flexible

In some kitchen layouts, it can be useful to have a freestanding kitchen storage cabinet to give you some flexibility that fitted units can’t offer. A kitchen island on wheels gives you the option of repositioning as needed for different social occasions, or in a smaller kitchen, a butchers block-style trolley with a worktop and cupboard space underneath provides handy storage space that can follow you around the kitchen.

Impress with a pantry

Got extra space to play with? Keep all your groceries in one place by recreating a traditional walk-in pantry. Floor-to-ceiling shelves will allow you to store all your cooking ingredients and more besides, or you can combine shelving with some drawers at a low level. This large mass storage space will reduce the demand for storage around the rest of your kitchen and give you more freedom of design.

Organise your zones

Finally, when you’ve chosen all your kitchen storage cabinets, set up a zonal approach to your organisation! Start by arranging utensils, crockery and ingredients closest to the work area they’ll be needed at, for ultimate efficiency.

Consider other touches like keeping dining utensils in the base of a kitchen island breakfast bar, or in cupboards at the edge of the kitchen so they’re easy to reach for setting the table without having to go into the middle of the kitchen.

Want more information? Start browsing our ranges, or check out more kitchen storage ideas.