Details in the Kitchen: Part Three

This is a three part post so if you have not followed this and want to start at the beginning then just click the image below, the before photo.....

My one big concern was that our kitchen be functional as a kitchen should be....but more importantly that everything be organized according to the way we function in the kitchen.
So, that meant thinking about what we need from the kitchen.
We have always enjoyed entertaining, having friends over for small dinner parties as well as throwing larger soirées where we can entertain throughout the year on special occasions or holidays. That means, extra plates, wine glasses etc. that need to be stored and out of the way from day to day storage.

The Food Pantry:

I am still in disbelief at the amount of food we get in here.  The food pantry runs all the way to the ceiling and is nice and deep.  Of course that necessitates the need for sliding drawers.

One drawer is designated to pastas, boxed dry foods etc and another holds all the canned goods.

We had room for a shallow drawer so it allowed us a place for tea towels and dish cloths. This was in the plans as a must-have and I love it.

The top two shelves were designed as static shelves and house the 'extra' food. (spices, canned goods, sauces, jellies etc.) Almost all of our food storage is contained within this tall pantry making it very functional.

The pantry is the place where a lot of food prep takes place.  It is a great place to hide warming dishes during a party as well as all those extra glasses, plates and serving dishes.

All the small appliances that take up a lot of counter space in the kitchen are stashed in the pantry.  

Baskets are my secret storage space for more unsightly/less used items. The island below is another storage space.

A more traditional island, with drawers and closed in cupboards  was out of our budget, so this was built to hold baskets. The island costs 250$ to build. The large baskets on the bottom hold extra fry pans, salad spinner, shredders and other kitchen items.  The upper shelf baskets hold all our produce such as onions, garlic, potatoes and bread. Very handy! And all baskets are from Ikea.

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The cupboard above the fridge is my go-to storage for entertaining.  Extra bowls, large pasta bowls, baking dishes, chinese steamers for dumplings, dipping bowls, casserole dishes etc.

Yep, guilty.  These baskets have been around for many years but....they have always served a purpose beyond just looking good.

The one on the far right stores candles of all sizes.

The one in the middle stores fondue pots and the hot stone plaque that are all great at a dinner party.

So, that is it ....the finale...ending of course on a realistic note with the garbage,
compost bin and
recycling bin which all roll out
from under the sink...
now,
you have seen it all....my kitchen fully exposed.

 I hope this helps some of you that are considering a kitchen renovation. 
If you have a budget to respect, a small kitchen and lots of needs/wants....well, planning is the key. I read, before starting our reno, that you should write down everything you want, everything you need and then list and categorize ......
oh...
And a bit of purging along the way doesn't hurt either.




 A tantôt!


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