The best kitchen storage is all about the details. Writer Amy Bradford explains how to get yours perfectly organised.
Which room in your home contains the most stuff? For many of us, it’s the kitchen. From pots and pans to food cupboard essentials, it has a lot of things to accommodate – which means storage needs to be super organised.
Whether a kitchen is big or small, you’re sure to fill it, so the same rules apply. Chloë Locherty, a Neptune kitchen design specialist, stresses the importance of planning your space. ‘A kitchen is a jigsaw puzzle,’ she says. ‘Decide on appliance placement first, then plan storage around it – spice racks and utensils near the hob, for instance.’ Every kitchen needs at least one deep pan drawer, she adds. ‘You can get so much more in them than cupboards, and you don’t need to get down on your knees to reach the back. Maximise space with dividers inside.’
Neptune kitchens have intelligent features with Tardis-like powers. Even something as simple as the zig-zag shelf fittings magnifies storage potential, letting you position shelves at precisely calibrated levels so none of the cupboard’s height is wasted. ‘You can use them in our base and wall cupboards, larders and broom cabinets, so they work with everything from mugs to the vacuum cleaner,’ says Chloë.
How to avoid the perennial problem of things lurking at the back of the cupboard? ‘Use our shelf risers,’ she suggests. ‘They raise storage towards the back, so things are visible and easier to reach.’ In many Neptune kitchens, you’ll also find small drawers concealed inside larger ones (useful for keeping cutlery organised alongside crockery) and larder doors that swing out with shallow shelves on the back and more racks inside. This is an excellent way to create a pantry – the dream kitchen feature – in a small room.
Making use of ‘hidden’ space is another tip. If you have high ceilings, consider a pantry cupboard that goes all the way up. ‘Our Chichester kitchen has an oak ladder that hooks on so you can reach the top shelves,’ advises Chloë. ‘If the cupboard is half-depth, you can still have worktop space in front. I’ve even created a corner arrangement with brilliant L-shaped storage.’ She also suggests hanging racks and pegs underneath cupboards – or on the sides. ‘Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. I love our Ashcroft baskets, which fit inside other storage to keep things organised.’
Even the humblest kit can be enhanced with smart details: drawer inserts for spice jars that let you see the labels clearly; drawer dividers and knife blocks that stop them knocking against each other so they stay sharp; narrow niches for chopping boards and tea towels; and the Orford wet store tray, which sits inside your sink cabinet and stops damp cloths cluttering the worktop. Think of it as elevating the everyday.
To keep your kitchen clutter-free, shop our storage edit that considers beauty and utility in equal measure.