Short on kitchen storage space? A corner kitchen pantry makes

Short on kitchen storage space? A corner kitchen pantry makes a good solution!

Most of us never have enough kitchen storage space. Modern apartments and smaller homes usually don't allocate sufficient space in the kitchen. In the Victorian era, building materials were far less costly, so all of the rooms in these homes were fairly large and no one skimped on kitchen space.

Today, that's no longer the case. Homes built since the 1960s have downsized our living space and the kitchen is often one of the first casualties in the blueprints. Couple this with the fact that we've now got more gadgets and small appliances than the Victorian cook could have imagined and you've got a problem. Your counter tops, hosting the toaster, bread maker, mixer, blender and so on, soon reduce your work area to a couple of square feet. A corner kitchen pantry becomes a terrific space saving solution.

The corners of the kitchen are generally wasted space, to a degree. With standard counter tops, the corner area is difficult to reach easily and we may use them to store infrequently used small appliances, decorative items, or a ceramic jar with frequently used cooking utensils. This is a highly inefficient design. Let's see how a corner kitchen pantry can free up your cupboard and counter work space and take a look at the best features to look for when buying, or building, your corner kitchen pantry.

Depending on the layout of your kitchen, you may have a couple of options for where you can install a corner kitchen pantry for maximum efficiency in the use of available space. If your kitchen has an open design, where one end opens onto the dining or living room, you can create a corner at the open end and install your pantry there. All you lose is part of the traffic space, which is generally too large anyway. What you gain is a tremendous amount of attractive and tidy storage. If your kitchen design is of the long, narrow galley style, your corner kitchen pantry can be installed in one of the far corners. You'll still gain plenty of additional space.

So which features should you look for? Naturally, you'll want to look for materials that match your other cupboards and cabinets. These pantry units come in so many finishes and styles, that shouldn't be a problem. The best styles are those which have round shelves, with a lip at the edge and which operate as a lazy susan. Such a design uses almost every square inch of available space. Another great feature to look for in a corner kitchen pantry is spice and condiment racks installed on the inside of the doors. Think of how many canned goods you can store in a three foot wide, seven foot tall unit!

Another handy feature you might want is a unit with a pull-up shelf on one of the doors. You can pull up a chair and use this shelf to look over your inventory when making your shopping list, or just to set several items you'll be using to prepare a meal.

Some corner kitchen pantries have a shelf at the top or bottom to accommodate large items, such as flour, sugar, coffee and rice. You might also use such a shelf to store your kitchen towels and other linens. Depending on your personal collection of small appliances, this shelf might work well for your needs.

There's no question that the corner kitchen pantry is the optimal space saver and storage unit. Now, what will you do with all that free space? Be a happy cook!