Storing Wine In Your Kitchen: Mistakes to Avoid

As a follow up to my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series, I want to share with you some mistakes to avoid.

1. Make sure the openings for storing wine is deep enough so that the wine bottle doesn’t stick out too far.

2. Don’t make the opening so tight it only fits the standard size wine bottle (750 ml). The 1.5 liter size wine bottle (magnum) is also very popular and I recommend that your openings be able to fit both sizes.

3. Pay attention to the location of the kitchen windows and make sure sunshine will not shine directly on your bottles of wine.

4. If you store wine behind a cabinet door and want to be able to lock that cabinet, inform your builder/cabinet maker before the cabinets are made.

5. Consider any physical restrictions you might have that would prevent you from stooping over to retrieve wine stored below the kitchen counter or reaching high to retrieve wine stored above the kitchen counter.

6. If you have young children, make sure wine stored below the counter is located behind a door which can be locked with a key or childproof locks can be applied.

7. Though in the series I showed some photos of wine stored above the refrigerator, it is important to make sure the heat generated from the refrigerator motor does not reach that area as it can dry out the cork and spoil the wine.

Source of photo unknown

8. Avoid storing wine above an oven due to the heat that escapes when the oven door is open.

9. Ice makers generate a lot of heat so make sure if you are storing wine near an ice maker it will not be affected by the heat.

10. Spend time calculating how many bottles of wine you will be storing so you do not end up not having enough storage or you end up wasting space with too much storage.  In the photo below over 100 bottles of wine can be stored under the island. If you do not have that much wine, a better use for some of the space would be to add  cabinets, drawers, or shelves for cookbooks.

Source: The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design by Susan Maney

11. Make sure if you use decide to have individual storage using the criss-crossed design that the wood is substantial enough so it will not split or break.

Source: Kitchen Ideas That Work by Beth Veillette

My hope is that you enjoyed this series- giving you ideas and preventing mistakes!  Blessings.  …susan

PS I forgot my laptop at home when I left town this past weekend so I skipped my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday Post.

Kitchen Utensil Storage: Mistakes to Avoid

As a follow up to my post on Kitchen Utensil Storage Options (which you can scroll down to read), here is a list of Mistakes to Avoid when designing your dream kitchen. By providing this list, it is my hope that I have stimulated your thought process and helped prevent avoidable mistakes. My goal is for you to end up with a functioning and aesthetically beautiful home, avoiding mistakes that might become a daily irritant.

Mistakes to Avoid

Before you begin designing your kitchen, identify all of your kitchen utensils. The best way is to lay all of them on your counter. Decide how they need to be grouped together, i.e. all wooden utensils, all baking utensils, etc. Then decide the type storage option you want to use and the location of the storage option. Will you store them in a drawer or drawers, in a container on the counter, hanging on the wall, hanging vertically behind a pull out cabinet door, in a basket under the counter, etc.  Next, decide the area of the kitchen where the storage option will be located. Keep in mind their use and then determine the location of the drawer(s), container(s), wall hanger(s), baskets, etc. so that the utensils are handy. For those items used when cooking on the stovetop, you would want the drawer or container near the stovetop.  For those items used when baking, you will want them stored near the counter where you will prepare the food for baking. I am sure you get the idea.

Storage in Drawers-Mistakes to Avoid

1. Make sure the drawer is tall enough so that the utensils will not jam when opening and closing the drawer. Don’t you just hate it when a ladle, large whisk, or rolling pin get jammed in your drawer and you cannot open it!  I usually add at least a half inch to the standard measurement for drawer height.. However, it is best to take the actual measurement of the tallest utensil you plan to store in the drawer.  I like how deep the drawer is in the photo under number four below.

I am a huge fan of having drawers in a kitchen instead of lower cabinet doors. You might want an extra tall drawer to hold items such as a sifter, four-sided grater, and other items requiring extra drawer height.  Perhaps you have a drawer for mixing bowls and a divider in the back of the drawer for some taller items such as the sifter.  I recommend putting the actual items you plan to store in each drawer on your counter and take measurements for your cabinet maker.  Then take a photograph of each group. Print the photograph on regular paper and fill in the measurements. 

2. Don’t waste valuable storage space with thick drawer dividers. Looking at both the photo below and the photo after item four, doesn’t it make you wonder why the dividers are so thick?

Source unknown: If you know the source of the photo above, please contact me and I will note it. 

3. Discuss with your cabinet maker if the drawer can be built so that the dividers can be moved around or removed to accommodate new items you might pick up. I can see grooves being cut in the drawer bottom and being able to lift the dividers and move them into another groove to change the configuration.

4. Think about the use of the utensils and the drawer being close to that area. If the utensils are for cooking on the stove, when designing your kitchen cabinet layout, put the drawer either under the stovetop or next to the stove so that they are an easy reach when cooking.  If the utensils are used when baking, put the drawer near the counter where you will prepare the food for baking. If  you own quite a few utensils, you might need more than one drawer stacked on top of each other that are designated for utensils.

Source: Tauton’s Home Storage Idea Book by Joanne Kellar Bouknight

5. Make sure the drawer runners you select are adequate for the weight of the drawer and the items you will be storing.  Decide if you want self-closing drawer runners. 

Storage in a Container-Mistakes to Avoid

1. Make sure the container when filled with utensils will still fit under the upper cabinets. I love using an urn in the photo below. The height  works because  it is located under the vent hood. 

Source: Great Kitchen Ideas

Storage on a Wall-Mistakes to Avoid

1. Hanging utensils from a wall rack creates the look of a professional kitchen and can be handy for the gourmet chef.  However, if you do not cook often, the utensils will gather dust.  

Source: Great Kitchen Ideas

Vertical Storage in a Pull Out Cabinet-Mistakes to Avoid

When looking at the photo below I can see several advantages of this type of storage. First, the metal peg board gives you the great flexibility in the configuration of the utensils. It also allows you to easily see the utensils.

For some reason, this option does not appeal to me. Maybe it is because I have not personally used this type of storage option? I keep imagining the utensils swinging around and clanging when I open and close the cabinet. I am not even sure that would actually happen.  The photo makes me think I would do a lot of stooping over or squatting to remove or replace the utensils. I would like to hear your thoughts in a comment if you have used or are using this type of storage option.

I do like the design of the cabinet front on the pull out in the photo below because when closed, it blends into the cabinet design. Because the design goes to the floor, it gives extra support when it is open. I like the idea of leaving it pulled out while cooking. Make sure if it is left pulled out there is room to walk around it.

Source unknown: if you know the source of this photo, please contact me and I will note it.

Blessings.  …susan

Mistakes to Avoid: Dinner Plate Storage

As promised in my recent blog DINNER PLATES: Options for Storage, I am blogging about the mistakes to avoid when designing where you will store your plates in your dream kitchen.

I. Upper Cabinet Shelf If you choose what is the most common method for dinner plate storage, the upper cabinet shelf, you will want to measure the diameter of your dinner plate and specify that the upper cabinet depth with the cabinet doors closed be that measurement deep. You would be quite surprised at how often a person who has remodeled their kitchen or built a new home with their dream kitchen moves in only to learn their plates are too big for the cabinet door to close tightly. The old standard measure for upper cabinet shelves was approximately 12" deep. With everything becoming oversized, including our dinner plates, the plates have grown but the standard cabinet shelf depth has remained the same. If you were to look at your grandmother's dinner plate, you would think it was today's salad plate!

II. Vertical Plate Storage If you choose vertical plate storage, (1) be sure to measure the diameter of the plate you are storing to make sure the plate will fit the opening specified on the drawings. Do not make this too snug of a fit as you will need space to lift the plate in order to clear the rail that holds it in place. (2) Use this same measurement for the depth of the storage slot. (3) Additionally, measure the height of your plate if it was place on a counter to make sure the distance between the slots is sufficient. (4) Identify the number of plates you will be storing making sure there are enough slots specified to hold your plates. (5) If using two tiers of vertical plate storage, decide if you want the upper tier a little shorter for salad plates or do you want both tiers the same height. I recommend if using two tiers that the larger plate be stored in the bottom tier.

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The location of the plates should be near the dishwasher for easy unloading or near the dinner table for easy table setting. Do not locate the vertical storage shelf too close to the stovetop lest all of your places will be coated by the odors emitted from the stove. (7) Do not store the plates too high for safety reasons. (8) Do not store the plates above a microwave or appliance garage. You want an open counter below the plates to be able to stack them when taking them down or to place a stack before individually putting them in the slot. (9) I would refrain from storing the plates over a sink, as shown in one of the photos, as the steam from using the sink will coat them. Also, depending on the plate size, you could bump your head.

III. Drawer Storage I like the idea of a device such as a peg or dividers to hold plates in place in a drawer so the stacks don't move when opening and closing the drawers shown in the picture below. Look at the bottom of the drawer and you can see the peg board which gives you the flexiblity of moving the pegs to accommodate your plate sizes. You will want your plates stored in the top drawer underneath the counter so you will not have to bend down too far. Also, do not make the drawers too large because in time the weight will stress most drawer glides. Instead of one large drawer consider two or more smaller drawers depending on how much china you are storing.

IV. Pull out Shelves Behind Cabinet Doors I am not a fan of pull out shelves for one main reason. In order to pull them out even a short distance, the cabinet door or doors must be fully open. If not fully open, the shelf will ram into the cabinet door creating marks. See photo below how the door is fully open.

Storing Glasses in a Drawer

My last blog discussed options for storing dinner plates. Linda from the blog Lime in the Coconut commented that she stored her glasses in a drawer. I wanted to share two tear sheet photos I have showing glasses stored in a drawer.

There are several reasons that come to mind why a person would want to store glasses in a drawer instead of an upper cabinet.

1. No upper cabinets. One client who was building a home in the mountains of Colorado wanted a large window in his bar as the view was magnificent. This particular bar was two parallel counters; one where guests would sit facing the window with the view and the other counter was under the window. This left no upper cabinets or upper racks to store glasses without interferring with the view. The solution was to put the bar glasses in drawers under the counters.

2. Handicapped people. A person in a wheel chair or with shoulder problems would have easy access to glasses stored in a drawer.

3. Dwarfs and shorter people. Dwarf people (4'10" and under) are unable to reach for a glass in an upper cabinet in the common kitchen. Some people who are relatively short in height also have a difficult time reaching for a glass in an upper cabinets. In both cases, drawer storage for glasses and other items is a perfect solution.

4. Children. Storing plastic cups for children to use in a drawer allows the child to get his or her own cup and if old enough, they can fill it from the refrigerator door or water dispenser on their own.

May your day be filled with Blessings. ...susan

Warning: If you store glasses in a drawer and you have children in your home or children are frequent visitors to your home, make sure you have a child safety latch on your drawer.

Disclaimer: Pictures used in this blog are from tear sheets I have collected for years. Unfortunately, when collecting these, I did not note the source of the picture. I will be happy to add the source of the picture if contacted or remove it if necessary.

DINNER PLATES: Options for Storing

The most common location for storing dinner plates is to set them on the shelf in the upper kitchen cabinets usually located near the dishwasher or close to the eating area. However, dinner plates can be stored vertically in a plate holder usually located in the upper cabinet, in a lower cabinet drawer, or in a pull out shelf located behind an upper or lower cabinet door. Depending on possible limitations a homeowner might face, especially in a remodel, knowing you have options is a good thing.

Reasons for deviating from the common upper cabinet shelf location could range from wanting to add windows in a kitchen thus eliminating the upper cabinets on that wall to demo-ing a wall in order to open up the kitchen into the existing family room, again eliminating the kitchen cabinets on that wall.

Enjoy scrolling down through the pictures of dinner plate storage options I have torn out of various magazines over the years. In my next blog I will discuss mistakes to avoid no matter which storage option you choose.

May Blessings Come Your Way. ...Susan Lang

Dinner plates stored in a double tier vertical plate holder Dinner plates and salad plates stored in a vertical plate holder

Dinner plates stored in a vertical plate holder

Dinner plates stored in a built in plate holder located above the kitchen sink

Dinner plates stored in a built in a vertical plate holder

Dinner plates stored in a lower cabinet drawer

Dinner plates stored in a lower cabinet drawer

Pull out shelves located behind lower cabinet doors

Pull out shelves located behind upper cabinet doors

Read This Before You Drill Holes in Your Kitchen Counter...

Kelly Morisseau, a certified master kitchen and bath designer posted a blog on her site KITCHEN SYNC titled "A Quick Tip For Faucet Layout". The main point in her blog is to make absolutely sure you have the correct specifications for the faucet, soap dispenser, etc. or the actual products in hand before anyone drills a hole into your kitchen counter. Go to the manufacturer's website and look for current specifications if you do not have the actual product in hand. I posted a comment on her blog to also consider the location of the sink. You want to make sure there is adequate room between the faucet and the backsplash for your hand to fit when cleaning. You may need to move the sink template forward a little to create some space. ...susan