Nobody likes a kitchen that feels messy and cramped, especially if yours isn’t huge. It’s surprisingly easy for clutter to take over, but a few smart adjustments can make a real difference.
These 30 suggestions will help you get your counters back and make your cooking area much more useful.
Keep Spices Visible and Accessible with Clear Pull-Out Racks
Clear, tiered racks slide out from inside your cabinet. These narrow shelves hold numerous spice jars.
Layered Wooden Shelves for Displaying Mugs and Decor
If you have an often-underutilized kitchen corner, staggered wooden shelves can display mugs and decorative items. This L-shaped unit has two distinct levels for patterned mugs on the lower tier and a vase with greenery on the upper.
Chicken Wire Cabinet Doors Add Rustic Charm to Pantry Storage
In the pantry, replace solid cabinet doors with chicken wire fronts. This lets you see the stored items directly, which works best when your pantry is already tidy.
The wire mesh pairs well with wooden frames.
Pegboard Wall Organizes Pots, Pans, and Utensils
A blank wall can hold a pegboard system. Hooks and holders keep pots, pans, and essential cooking utensils like whisks and spatulas off the counter.
Hanging Pot Rack Keeps Copper Cookware Visible
Suspend a sturdy metal rack from the ceiling to hang your copper pots and pans, which keeps frequently used items near the cooking area and introduces a warm, shining material to the kitchen.
Open Wooden Shelving for Displaying Amber Bottles and Greenery
Open wooden shelving can display a collection of amber glass bottles and potted plants. The varying heights of the bottles sit next to the different textures of the plants.
It’s a way to use the shelves for both storage and decor in your kitchen.
Cabinet Door Whiteboard for Family Notes and Keys
On the inside of a cabinet door, a whiteboard surface is ready for notes or dates. Below it, a small key rack holds essentials like keys and sunglasses.
Corral Produce in Woven Baskets on Open Shelving
Within the cubbies of open shelving, square woven baskets contain items like fruits or snacks. The baskets are a natural material in the kitchen.
Tall Glass-Fronted Cabinets for Displaying Kitchenware
If you want to keep dishes, bowls, and serving pieces organized and visible, floor-to-ceiling cabinets with glass doors are a good option. These units, in a pale blue hue, add a soft color accent, and the clear panes make it easy to scan your collection.
Bright Yellow Crates as Open Shelving for Jars and Bowls
If you want colorful open storage, repurpose wooden crates by painting them a cheerful yellow. These crates have distinct compartments for pantry staples in glass jars, colorful mixing bowls, and can have utensils hung below.
Wooden Crates as Pull-Out Drawers for Pantry Items
Simple wooden crates slide into shelves as drawer inserts for organizing dry goods and produce. Their slatted design allows for ventilation, making them ideal for items like potatoes and onions.
Pull-Out Drawers With Dividers for Wine Bottles
You can turn a standard kitchen drawer into a wine cellar with custom dividers that keep bottles from rolling.
Cream Rolling Carts for Storing Produce and Pantry Staples
Cream rolling carts can store produce like bananas, oranges, and pineapples. A second cart works for dry goods, including jars, bottles, and packaged items.
Keep Pantry Staples Visible in Glass Jars on Narrow Shelves
When you want to see your dry goods, line up rows of clear glass jars on narrow white shelves. This holds grains, flour, and pasta, with a uniform look across the open shelving.
Vintage Mason Jars for Storing Dry Goods
Old blue and clear Mason jars can store bulk pantry staples like lentils, grains, and beans. Group them on open wooden shelves.
The clear jars let you see the contents directly.
Keep Cookware and Linens Visible with Olive Green Cabinets and Open Shelving
Install sage green base cabinets with open shelving. You can keep small pots and neatly folded towels there.
Wall-Mounted Rails for Hanging Pots and Utensils
When counter and cabinet space is tight, simple metal rails on your backsplash can hold frequently used pots and utensils. Install multiple rails at different heights for copper cookware, stainless steel pans, and other kitchen tools.
Keep Pots and Pans Accessible with Black Rails
If you need more cabinet space, install simple black rails on your kitchen wall for pots, pans, and utensils. You can group items by type directly on the rails.
Deep Red Plate Rack Keeps Dishes Organized and Accessible
Near a window, a deep red plate rack stands for dishes. Its upper shelf has vertical dividers for plates, and the lower shelf holds mugs.
Ladder Shelves With Woven Baskets for Kitchen Essentials
These leaning ladder shelves create vertical storage in your kitchen, with woven baskets on the lower shelves perfect for corralling bottles of wine or extra linens, keeping them contained and out of sight.
Keep Spices and Bottles Within Reach on a Narrow Wooden Shelf
Above the stove, a slim shelf offers a handy place for cooking essentials. This shelf holds a metal rack containing multiple spice jars, along with two small yellow bottles, making them all simple to get to during meal preparation.
Copper Pots Displayed on an Ornate Shelf Above a Doorway
If that spot above a kitchen doorway feels bare, a dark, ornate shelf can hold copper pots and pans. This creates a display for your frequently used cookware.
White Plate Rack for Displaying Dishes and Mugs
A tiered white plate rack stores dishes visually and keeps them organized. Below the plate shelves, hooks provide a spot for matching mugs.
Glass-Fronted Island Cabinets Display Dishes and Glasses
Glass-fronted cabinets in your kitchen island show everyday dishes and glassware.
White Pod Containers for Utensils on a Rail
If you want to keep kitchen utensils organized and within easy reach, hang these rounded white containers from a wall-mounted rail. The pod shape corrals whisks, spatulas, and brushes neatly.
Repurposed Pallet Wall Rack for Kitchen Tools
Mount a wooden pallet to your wall and outfit it with hanging rails for a rustic spot for cookware. This keeps everyday utensils, pots, and even a clock within easy reach, freeing up cabinet space.
Contain Linens and Towels in Woven Baskets on Open Shelves
Linens and towels can be stored neatly on open shelves by placing them in rustic woven baskets. These containers introduce a natural texture to the kitchen.
Keep Cookware Accessible Above the Stove with a Brass Pot Rack
A suspended brass rail system, featuring a polished metal finish, hangs directly over the cooking area to hold your most-used pots and pans, placing them conveniently while you prepare meals.
Copper Pots and Pans Hung on Wall Rails
Copper pots and pans can hang from wall rails. They display your collection along the kitchen walls.
Keep Pots Accessible Above the Counter with a Brass Rail System
If you need frequently used pots and pans out of drawers and off the stove, mount a simple brass rail above your countertop. You can hang them on S-hooks from this system.
