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Our house was built in the 90's when having a kitchen counter that extended into the living area such that one could sit on a stool and eat there was in fashion. Maybe it still is. I'm not even sure what this feature is called. But we have an empty nest, the stools are gone, and every time I look at it all I see is wasted space that could be used for storing things. Our small modest house has no pantry and few closets and I would love to put some storage solution under the counter overhang to conceal some of the kitchen clutter.
I did an internet search and discovered that I'm not the only one with this problem and most of the solutions have been geared towards putting shelves there. But we have dogs and need a solution with doors. Plus our stuff crammed haphazardly onto shelves visible from the living area would look like crap and defeat the purpose of getting it off the counters etc.
I'm not a cabinet maker or a person of wealth, I am looking for a very affordable solution. Also I am located in Hawaii so getting things from Ikea etc are not an option. Since I'm not wanting to re-invent the wheel I'm asking the community for ideas/suggestions/solutions/etc.
Take good measurements and start haunting used furniture stores for a credenza or similar piece that has the correct dimensions. Look for things with legs that you might be able to cut down a small amount to get a better fit
And if you have regular base cabinets- the height should be about 35". This means (unfortunately) that a regular 36" wall cabinet will not fit. But a 30" wall cabinet will with some creative fillers.
What you have is a peninsula. I think your best shot is to find a cabinetmaker to fashion you something to fit.
I have drawer units under my peninsula, that face into my kitchen. I gather you want storage that fits under the overhang?
Decide what things you would store there. Is there a way to put those things in canisters or jars, so dogs cannot get into them? I do think your best choice would be shelves. Perhaps you could store napkins or rolled placemats, or cookbooks, or wineglasses there.
I'm not worried about the dogs taking things, just shedding on them.
I would agree any solution could look junky, which is why I'm asking for help.
"I have drawer units under my peninsula, that face into my kitchen. I gather you want storage that fits under the overhang?"
EXACTLY.
I'm not looking to DISPLAY things. In fact, I'm looking to conceal things. So displaying wine glasses, rolled napkins or whatever pretentious type HGTV type solution is not what I'm looking for. I don't drink wine very often, but when I do it's usually out of a coffee mug. I also think displaying coffee mugs is junky. So I keep them in a cabinet.
I have a small, modest home with no storage.
Last edited by terracore; 11-12-2019 at 08:23 PM..
I'm not worried about the dogs taking things, just shedding on them.
I would agree any solution could look junky, which is why I'm asking for help.
"I have drawer units under my peninsula, that face into my kitchen. I gather you want storage that fits under the overhang?"
EXACTLY.
I'm not looking to DISPLAY things. In fact, I'm looking to conceal things. So wine glasses, rolled napkins or whatever pretentious type HGTV type solution is not what I'm looking for. I don't drink wine very often, but when I do it's usually out of a coffee mug. I also think displaying coffee mugs is junky. So I keep them in a cabinet.
I have a small, modest home with no storage.
What do you want to store there specifically? And storing napkins or wine glasses is hardly pretentious.
In my apartment there is a breakfast bar that juts out into the living area. It's become a "dumping station" for mail and clutter which I've tried to control with a mail sorter and some baskets. Underneath is quite a bit of wasted space. As the counter extends between 2 walls I put up a heavy duty tension rod and put a curtain across it. Since the area below the solid wall is so narrow, and I needed someplace to put my purse and gym gear, I put up a wall mounted coat rack underneath the counter and hang everything there. I can slide the curtain over so the messiness doesn't show.
I'm attaching pictures to give you a sense of what I'm talking about. The "curtain" which is overlapping the rod is actually a shower curtain picked up from Home Goods for under $20. If I cut the shower curtain width-wise in half that would give me just enough material to extend the curtain over the entire rod. Unfortunately, the stripes on this particular curtain are variegated and don't line up. I can't find another shower curtain like it so the project is in limbo while I look for different curtain(s). It's a relatively inexpensive solution and keeps the space flexible.
Normally the craft cart wouldn't be there, and the counter wouldn't be that cluttered (I cleaned it up in the 3rd pic) I guess it's time for me to do some housekeeping
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