Welcome to Quiet the Clutter, part 3 of a five-part series on A Quiet Kitchen design.
We demand a lot of our busy, active kitchens: food storage, meal prep, cooking, cleaning, gathering, eating, entertaining, even homework. And storing sooooo much stuff! With today’s open floor plans, what happens in the kitchen is also happening in every living space in the house. For your new kitchen, let’s design a space that can do it all, without the clamor. Leave the noisy world outside and reach for calm in a quiet kitchen design. If you don’t think you’re ready to take this on alone, no problem. A professional UltraCraft kitchen designer near you will be happy to help. They’re the experts!
There are five parts to A Quiet Kitchen: Quiet Look, Quiet Motion, Quiet the Clutter, Quiet Lighting, and Quiet the Noise. In the next few weeks, watch for parts four and five. Read on for Part 3: Quiet the Clutter. Click here for Part 1: Quiet Look.
Part 3: Quiet the Clutter
If the first rule of kitchen design is efficient function, then the second rule must be effective storage. And for a quiet kitchen, effective means off the countertops. We love kitchen stuff: tools and gadgets, countertop appliances, cookware, cleaning supplies, cloth and paper towels, dinner ware and serving dishes, food storage containers and, of course, food. And every bit of it belongs silently stored behind a door, or in a drawer.
Countertop Hogs: Small Appliances
Never complain again about visible clutter or limited counter space. Plan for small appliances to have their own quiet places. Let’s begin with an Appliance Garage; an upper cabinet that reaches down to and sits on the countertop. Lift the lower door and park coffeemakers and super blenders out of sight, but within daily reach. That multi-tasking mixer that is too heavy to lift gets its very own base cabinet with a built-in lifter that becomes its own extra counterspace. Sexy, right? Where to put the food pro, the slow cooker, the pressure cooker, the rice cooker, the ice cream maker, the air fryer, …? Sorry Alton Brown, we’re keeping our unitaskers and hibernating them in handy pull-outs and deep drawers.
Speaking of Drawers
The first thing that should be put in a base cabinet is… as many drawers as possible. And inside every drawer should be the organization system that best suits its assigned task. With peg systems, moving box systems, cutlery systems, spice systems, even systems for storing knives and koffee pods, never suffer a junk drawer search again. We have drawers inside drawers (2-Tiers) or drawers behind doors (Pull-outs). There are also special drawers that hold trash and recycle bins. Instead of the overwhelmed decorative bowl on the countertop, reserve a “bread bin” drawer for bread, chips, and snacks. Bye bye carb corner.
Bye Bye Unused Storage Space
Waste not, want not. The far reaches of corner cabinets are just that: too far to reach. Make them serviceable with lazy Susans and innovative swing-out shelving. UltraCraft also offers a clever system to lower high shelves for easier access. How’d they do that?
Fancy Pantries
Don’t have a pantry? We have a cab for that. Spice racks that hide in 3-inch-wide spaces between cabinets. Storage racks that pull out of base cabinets to hold cooking oils, utensils, knives, and cookie sheets. Then there are PANTRIES. Tall cabinets decked out from floor to ceiling and on the backs of doors with storage racks or shelves that pull-out so you can see everything at once. Better than a walk-in pantry, these step out to meet you.
Of all the “noise” in a kitchen, clutter may be the hardest to hush. Stuff expands to fill a void and a clear countertop is an easy victim. But by creating a place in your new kitchen for everything you want to keep, you will be designing in order, peace, and quiet.
What are you waiting for? Visit your local UltraCraft designer’s showroom today!
Hero image is Piper door style in Sienna Textured Melamine; South Beach door style in Black Ops UltraMatte UltraLux Acrylic (or Adriatic door style in Coal SuperMatte Thermofoil); AF006 Metal door style in Onyx with White Matte backpainted Tech Glass. Wall panels are Sienna and Archicrete Textured Melamine.
Quiet Motion is just one part of a quiet kitchen design. Watch for our next installment, Part 4: Quiet Lighting.
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Here we’ll explore current design trends and ideas, look at UltraCraft products in ways they’ve not been presented before, and celebrate spaces created by UltraCraft kitchen and bath designers. We’ll build a reference library of ideas and information to inspire homeowners and professional designers to think outside the cabinet.
We’ll also introduce new products at least twice each year. We’re committed to living on the leading edge of fashion and function, and offering uncompromising quality, fit, and finish. Our in-house designers, engineers, and new-product developers are always searching for and creating better ways to bring you your dream kitchen…or even better than you can dream!
Hey UltraCraft kitchen designers…
Do you have professional-level photography of your outstanding kitchen designs? You can upload them to MasterBrand’s Media Hub and get them the recognition they deserve! Having your images on our Media Hub allows other designers to be inspired by your projects and your photos have the potential of being highlighted in our literature and on our website and social media posts. Other dealers (only those NOT located in your state) would be allowed to use your photos as long as they credit you and your photographer every time they use your image. Please share your pictures. We love your work!
