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Planning Your New Kitchen
Top 10 Cabinetry Special Features
The kitchen is the heart of the home. But an organized, functional kitchen takes extra planning.
We've put together a list of the top ten things you'll want to keep in mind for your new home or kitchen remodel.
1. Drawers
Consider adding a few extra drawers to your base cabinets.
Drawers are great for utensils, measuring cups, towels, hot pads, and even tupperware.
Balance the location of drawers throughout the kitchen.
For example, place one set of drawers beside the dishwasher (pictured here)
and another set in your island or beside the range.
2. Spices and Cooking Oil
Remember your spices - they can be part of your cooking routine.
Even if you are not a gourmet cook, there are probably a few essential spices you'll want to keep handy.
There are some great ways to organize spice containers of all shapes and sizes, like a
pull-out pantry, set of spice drawers (pictured here), or spice drawer insert.
3. Recycling and Trash
Keep your kitchen open, uncluttered, and clean with built-in recycling and trach bins.
Think about where you'll need these recycling and trash pull out centers most often.
Next to the sink? Refrigerator? Range? Pantry?
A 15" or 18" wide base cabinet can hold both a trash and a recycling bin, making sorting easy.
If your home location requires sorting of recycles ahead of time, you may even want
two pull-outs, for a total of four bins.
4. Wine and Dine
Store all your favorite wines (and wine glasses) - and add some visual appeal to your kitchen.
If you enjoy a wine with dinner, consider adding a wine rack either in the upper cabinetry or perhaps
integrated into the island.
A built-in wine rack can be a great place to store room temperature wine, and can even be combined with a
built in wine cooler in a
Butler's Pantry.
5. Pull Out Shelves
Don't bend and reach when you can pull.
Pull out shelves can be helpful in base cabinets for hard to reach items.
But they do cut down on storage space just a bit, so keep that in mind when selecting.
Pull out shelves can be included in all base cabinets, or in selected cabinets, depending on your needs.
6. Easy to See
Keep things visible.
Glass Doors on upper cabinets can lighten and brighten the kitchen - and make it easier to see where everything is stored.
Glass doors are often recommended for easy living universal design kitchens.
But glass cabinet doors can be costly, depending on the style of glass and the number of doors.
7. Lower Cabinets
Don't get too high. Standard upper cabinets are 18" above the kitchen countertop surface.
But cabinets can be as low as 15" above countertops.
Ask your builder about lowering the upper cabinets if reaching for common items is challenging.
8. Glasses and Dishware
Also keep your routine in mind.
For many people, glasses are located near the refrigerator, and dishes near the cooktop.
Think about what you'll use each area of the kitchen for, and design the cabinet layout accordingly.
9. Under the Sink
Don't stuff those bags under the sink, or worse, in the garbage.
A plastic bag door storage unit keeps those plastic bags tucked away and ready for reuse.
The plastic tray is perfect for hiding away sponges and cleaning pads without damaging the cabinet.
10. Pots and Pans
Organize your pots and pans, keeping them within easy reach.
A base pot and pan organizer is perfect for easy placement of all those cooking utensils.
The entire unit pulls out. Large pans sit in the base, and upper shelves are perfect for lids, frying pans,
and smaller sauce pans. The unit is easy to use.
Planning ahead with your kitchen design will make your new kitchen that much more functional and enjoyable.
Ask your builder what types of features are included, and what you might want to think about adding based on your cooking and entertaining style.
Learn more about other new home trends with these popular articles:
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