18 Custom Carpentry to Maximise Kitchen Storage

Instead of limiting yourself to standard carpentry, incorporating personalised solutions such as specialised corner cabinets or custom spice racks can provide a big boost for kitchen storage. To get you inspired, we tapped on a few of our favourite interior designers for ideas. Reinvent or replicate these solutions for your next kitchen reno!

1. Corner Drawer

Kitchen corners can be tricky for cabinetry. Rather than keep it empty, or worse, awkward, consider doing up specially designed corner drawers. These are perfect for stowing away larger pots and pans with the extra corner space!

Design: Comfort Home Interior

2. Spice Racks

Have an ever-growing collection of spice jars? Can never find the spice you need when cooking? The homeowners of this home faced similar problems and their designer came up with the perfect solution: creating shallow shelves (in a dead zone, no less!) that allowed them to organise their spices and reach for them easily whenever they need them.

Design: Brickwood Studio

3. Top-of-the-Fridge Pull-Out Tray

The space above the refrigerator is often an under-utilised space, largely because it’s such an awkward, hard-to-reach spot. Consider customising a pull-out tray to slide things in and out easily from above.

Design: BuildBuilt

4. Dry Produce Baskets

Use pull-out baskets to store produce that aren’t meant for the refrigerator. These woven receptacles aren’t just for the aesthetic though, they also allow for ventilation to prevent humidity build-up. Line them with washable cotton or linen, which you can simply throw into the washer whenever they are due for a cleaning.

Design: Country Concept

5. Double-Door Larder Unit

Larder units like this one below function similarly to a pantry, although they are on a smaller scale and primarily store food items. Work in a double door to store more, with shelves behind the doors for space maximisation!

Design: Fifth Avenue Interior

6. Walk-In Pantry

For kitchens with the space for it, a pantry is the ultimate dream organiser. Here, a kitchen corner is raised and refashioned into a walk-in pantry, turning it from awkward to multipurpose.

Design: Charlotte’s Carpentry

7. Dish Rack Side Compartment

If you have a built-in dish rack, chances are it’s mounted above the sink. But here’s a thought: have it installed next to the sink instead to make it easier to stow away hand-washed wares without having water dripping all over you. And heart eyes to the extra convenience when emptying out the drip tray!

Design: Lemonfridge Studio

8. Flip-up Shelf

Need an extra shelf to prop up your recipe book? This pop-up shelf is just the thing. And it never gets in the way; collapse it back down when you’re done with cooking.

Design: Starry Homestead

9. Baking Tray Slots

Home bakers, level up your kitchen organisation with dedicated slots to segregate your baking pans. Not only does it make it easier to see where that 13x9 sheet pan is at one go, you can also reach out for what you need without collapsing an entire tower of trays.

Design: Country Concept

10. Pull-Out Tray

Placing everyday appliances such as air fryers or microwave ovens on a pull-out tray within a tall kitchen unit can be useful for smaller homes. It offers easy access to the appliance and also frees up countertop space.

Design: Yang’s Inspiration Design

11. Breakfast Cupboard with Pocket Door

Loading your breakfast essentials behind a one-stop breakfast cupboard keeps the kitchen clutter at bay and makes the morning rush a less stressful affair. Have it behind a pocket door that can be folded inwards so that it doesn’t get in the way of traffic flow in the kitchen.

Design: Aiden T

12. Open Shelves at a Corner

The designers didn’t let a structural beam get in the way of things in the corner of this pale-blue kitchen. Rather than continuing the line of upper cabinets, they incorporated open shelves that not only maximised storage, but also help to lift the visual weight of the space.

Design: House of Chais

13. Small Appliance Compartment with Flipper Door

Convert part of your lower cabinets into a compartment with a flipper door that lets you store smaller appliances you need regular access to. A flipper door’s similar to a pocket door (see point 11), where it can be tucked out of sight so it doesn’t get in the way of kitchen traffic. Adding in power outlets here means you get to use the appliances where they are, without having to lug them around.

Design: Yang’s Inspiration Design

14. Drawer in Drawer

A drawer-in-drawer system has a ton of advantages. It helps maximise drawer capacity and keeps your drawer more organised. It also supports a cleaner, sleeker kitchen with fewer cabinet openings so clean-up becomes less taxing.

Design: Yang’s Inspiration Design

15. Around-the-Sink Storage

We often overlook that space around the sink, but it actually holds plenty of storage potential. Customise a drawer that wraps around the sink, providing a catch-all for dishwashing liquids, hand soaps and other cleaning supplies.

Design: Arcadia Design Group

16. Countertop Appliance Garage

Say goodbye to visual clutter and greasy appliances with this storage idea. Sitting on the counter, this appliance garage houses your everyday appliances behind a bi-fold door, providing convenient access and a way to quickly hide the mess when guests drop by unexpectedly.

Design: The Alchemists Design

17. Toe-Kick Drawer

The toe-kick/kickboard located at the bottom of your kitchen cabinets is usually covered by a decorative plinth, but you can turn it into a usable drawer for storing items that lie flat, including boxes of cling wrap and aluminium foil, baking trays, or even pot lids.

Design: Aiden T

18. Side Shelves for Condiments

Extra shelves were incorporated to the side of the tall kitchen cabinets near the stove, providing storage space for and easy access to cooking condiments.

Design: Starry Homestead