Pots and Pans
Use pull-out drawers to store your pots and
pans so that they don't get lost or overlooked. Many kitchens are
equipped with such drawers, but if yours isn't, don't fret--they're easy
to add. Stock sizes are available for less than $50 at
home-improvement stores.
If your kitchen doesn't have pull-out drawers, you can add them in
one of two ways. Attach them with drawer slides to the top of your
existing shelves (which often limits the amount of storage space you
have), or remove your existing shelves, and add new ones with
side-mounted slides. If you don't feel confident doing this, a carpenter
or cabinetmaker can easily retrofit your cabinets for drawers.
To prevent pots from shifting when the drawers open, we lined the
Rutlands' shelves with sheets of vinyl flooring, which were painted to
match the colorful floorcloth. Separate stacked pots and pans with
inexpensive dishtowels to keep them nick free.
Drawers
You probably have one or more of these handy
dividers in your kitchen drawer already. Don't let them go to waste;
organize your drawers by task. For example, keep flatware and serving
utensils close to the dishwasher or heat-proof spatulas and whisks near
your cooktop. Never store knives loose in a drawer. For more information
on knives, see "From Our Kitchen" on page 126.
Spices
The logical choice for these items in the kitchen
is an upper cabinet within arm's reach of the cooktop. We found a mini
version of the stair-stepped can shelf used in the pantry. This allows
the rows of spices to be easily identified, especially if they are in
alphabetical order.
Glass Shelf
The Rutlands have a bank of windows above the
sink that helps bring natural light into the kitchen. Because they
decided to forgo drapes, they have the perfect spot to ripen fruits and
vegetables or to grow cooking herbs and small flowers such as primroses
or African violets. However, because the windows span almost from the
corner to the side of the cabinet, the couple had very little space to
mount a shelf.
To solve this problem, they engineered a simple glass shelf that is
suspended from the underside of the top cabinets. Because it's mounted
in a place that's hidden behind the decorative wooden valance, another
advantage is that the shelf can easily be removed if they want to add a
window treatment or open up the view.
For step-by-step instructions to build this shelf from easy-to-find
materials, see "Glass Plant Shelf Project How-to" on the next page. This project provides
a no-bracket shelf option; however, any glass shelf in a window helps
bring the beauty of your garden indoors.
To read more about this updated kitchen, see "Living in the
Kitchen," beginning on page 93 in the February 2003 issue of Southern Living.
