Kitchen Design: 6 Innovative Storage Ideas

Say the word “storage,” and what comes to mind? Baskets? Boxes? Bins? Mad dashes to the Container Store? At Morgante Wilson Architects, our team thinks far beyond the obvious to make the most of our clients’ storage space – whether through planned-from-the-start architectural features, such as window seats that hide things away beneath their cushions, or furnishings that work hard to provide function as well as beauty. One of our favorite rooms to up our storage game is in the kitchen. Here are six innovative kitchen design ideas from award-winning Interior Designer Elissa Morgante that broaden the definition of what “storage” can mean:

1. Consider it display

There’s no rule that storing things means hiding them from sight. This nostalgic kitchen showcases the warmth and charm that come from leaving beautiful kitchenware out in the open. Note the oft-used copper cookware floating above the kitchen island, and the collection of wooden dough boards that act as functional art alongside the range. If it’s pretty and you enjoy looking at it, display it and reserve your cabinet space for less attractive things.

2. Question what you really need

Most of our residential architecture and interior design clients reflexively tell us they want as much seating as they can get at their kitchen island. But when we probe a bit deeper, we sometimes learn they actually prefer to sit in a chair at a table while enjoying morning coffee, snacks, and meals. When that’s the case, we like to offer just a few places to perch and then pack additional features into an island, such as cookbook storage and deep shelves that secret appliances like crock pots and air fryers behind closed doors.

3. Ignore your mother – don’t put it away

Or, I should say: put it where it belongs, but make that someplace readily accessible for the utmost convenience. Of course, I’m talking about open shelving. There’s no better way to stash the things you reach for constantly. Save yourself the repetitive motion of opening doors and pulling out drawers and instead take items off an open shelf with one quick, simple motion. It’s a game changer.

3. Allow yourself to dream

Who says extra seating has to come from folding chairs you haul up from the basement? Our design team (we TOLD you they’re talented!) had an out-of-the-box idea that really works: tuck additional seating right into the island. When company arrives, this bench easily swings out from beneath the island. When company goes home, it swiftly goes right back into place, and no one’s any the wiser. It’s not your typical solution for stowing extra seating, but it does the job - beautifully!

Rethink the obvious

Got walls in your kitchen? (I jest, but I’m also serious.) Use them to store pots, pans, and knives and you can free up a ton of space in your cabinets. (Pro tip: remove a few cabinet doors and give neat stacks of dishes and glassware an all-new look.)

Make it artful

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know we like to push the envelope when it comes to residential architecture and design. Case in point: this gorgeous island. Its curved shape and meticulous craftsmanship make it feel more like furniture than an island – and that was exactly the point.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know we like to push the envelope when it comes to residential architecture and design. Case in point: this gorgeous island. Its curved shape and meticulous craftsmanship make it feel more like furniture than an island – and that was exactly the point.

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Morgante Wilson Architects provides architectural and interior design services in Chicago, Deerfield, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Northfield, Ravinia, Wilmette, and Winnetka – along with Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.