Five of the best DIY kitchen storage ideas

Create more kitchen storage with our top DIY kitchen tips

You can never have too much kitchen storage! However hard you try to organise everything, there always seems to be something that is not quite right. And, over time, things gradually descend into chaos again.

The good news is that you don’t have to have a kitchen refurbishment or spend a lot of money to improve your kitchen storage. With a bit of creativity and a few DIY skills, you can introduce a variety of additional storage solutions into your kitchen.

Here are five of the best DIY kitchen storage ideas:

Customise your kitchen cabinets

One of the best ways to improve the overall appearance of your kitchen is to store as much as possible away in kitchen cabinets. Would it be possible to add one or more new kitchen cabinets to your kitchen Perhaps in a small corner of wasted space maybe. Did you know that DIY Homefit supplies several ranges of kitchen cabinets in many different sizes, including custom built. So if you need more storage space and have a bit of floor space to juggle with, that could be an option.

And bear in mind that you can store pretty much anything in your kitchen cabinets. Most tend to be used for pots and pans, dishes, cups, glassware, groceries or cleaning products. But you can also house appliances behind cabinet doors : either add a cabinet door in front of the appliance to blend it in, or use a kitchen cabinet to nearly accommodate a variety of small appliances.

Another option is to customise your kitchen cabinets to store a range of utensils. With creative use of trays, dividers or a peg board, you can organise everything neatly so that it is easy to find and access without having to scramble through piles of other stuff.

And if your cabinets are beginning to look a bit jaded, why not add new life to them with replacement kitchen doors? This is a relatively easy DIY kitchen task that can transform your kitchen within hours.

Maximise your kitchen cabinet shelving

Another way to drastically increase your storage space is to maximise the shelving within your kitchen cabinets. Here are three easy ways to do this:

• Add new shelves

If there is quite a bit of space between your existing shelves, why not add a new one in between. Simply measure one of the existing shelves then see if you can find a new one the same size. You can then use mounting hooks to insert the new shelf between the others, creating instant space. If the sizing doesn’t work, another option would be to buy shelf dividers to double to capacity of parts of your existing shelving.

• Use pull out shelves

Much shelf space is wasted because there are bits of it you can’t get to. But using pull out shelves – or pull down shelves for higher cabinets – can make every inch accessible.

• Add shelving inside the cabinet door

Many kitchen cabinets have a bit of space between the inside of the door and the inner shelving. If this is the case, you could add either shallow shelves or spice racks to the interior side of the door, instantly increasing the capacity of the kitchen cabinet.

Add floating shelves

Of course, shelving is a great storage option for the rest of the kitchen too. A popular DIY kitchen option is to install floating shelves. Not only does this free up storage space in your kitchen cabinets, but it can also add a touch of style and personality to your kitchen, enabling you to display some of your favourite items.

If you are worried that your DIY kitchen skills don’t stretch to putting shelves up, there are alternative options to consider:

• Freestanding shelves;
• A pot racks or storage shelf suspended from the ceiling;
• Removing the door of a closed kitchen cabinet to make it into open shelving.

Be creative with kitchen drawers

When considering kitchen storage ideas, make sure you also make full use of your kitchen drawers. With a bit of creativity you can make them work harder for you. Let’s face it, a lot of kitchen drawers are badly used. We stuff them with lots of bits and pieces that we rarely – if ever – need. But in many cases they could do a lot more. 

Use drawer organisers or pegs in shallow drawers to provide storage space that is organised and easy to see. Or another option is to completely fill a shallow drawer with a thick butcher’s block, to provide a temporary pull out food preparation area.

Medium depth drawers can be used to house produce such as fruit and vegetables. Simply fill the drawer with either plastic boxes or small metal bins, and you can store all your produce in a way that is visible and accessible but that does not take up worktop space.

Deeper drawers are ideal for storing plates and dishes. But if you are storing plates in a pile, it’s a good idea to keep them in place with adjustable plate holders – ideally with carrying handles so that they can easily be lifted out of the drawers. Or another option is to use drawer dividers to store them sideways on.

Create a flexible kitchen island

If you have spare floor space in your kitchen, an ideal DIY kitchen storage idea is to install a kitchen island. If this seems beyond your capabilities, have a look around for a portable butcher’s block or kitchen trolley which can be placed anywhere you like in your kitchen.

A kitchen island has the flexibility to provide the additional storage space you need. Whether you need additional worktops, shelves, cabinets or drawers or a space for eating, drinking and socialising, a kitchen island could be an easy DIY kitchen solution.

We hope that the above ideas have provided some inspiration on DIY kitchen storage solutions. For more ideas take a browse through DIY Homefit’s gallery of kitchen pictures.

And remember to visit us again soon here at DIY Homefit for more home and lifestyle tips.