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janine09_gw

Tray Divider Over Fridge

janine09
14 years ago

I think this is a great idea and usage of space! But are there requirements for height? I thought it was standard but DH made the point that it might not be high enough to store certain trays.

Comments (21)

  • eks6426
    14 years ago

    I did this over my fridge. I have a standard size fridge and slightly less than 8' ceilings. I left some extra space above the fridge before the cabinet started in case I ever get a taller fridge. A filler piece will go in to cover the gap. Inside my cabinet holds 16" tall trays. Works great.

  • janine09
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Sounds great! Do the tray dividers run the length of the cabinet as well? I'm hoping to do this with ours. Wonder where all the telephone books will go now ;).

  • jsweenc
    14 years ago

    Mine is not over the fr;dge but it is in a 20" high space. The dividers themselves are 20" deep in a 25" deep cabinet. No trays extend past the dividers, even my largest pans (probably 18" long). My cubbies over my fr;dge are a little over 18" high and 18" deep, but you can have that space built as deep as you need it. We have inset cab;nets and the guy made the frame pretty large, so you may be able to get as much as 20", depending on the kind of molding you use. Unless you have lots of oversized trays, it sounds like a great way to use the space. The few that don't fit can go elsewhere, especially if you don't use them often.

    This is assuming that your fr;dge is standard height, not taller than 70".

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    This is what we did over the fridge:

    We measured the height so that it would fit a half sheet pan on its side, which is the longest that we wanted to store in the dividers. The horizontal area on top is for full sheet pans and other large platters, etc.

  • janine09
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Looks great skoo! Did it pull out? Or was it not an issue reaching.

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    No, it doesn't pull out. I've packed pretty much all of my baking pans in that space, and that includes things like bundt pans, tube pans, various rounds, etc.

    I'm only 5'3", but I can reach the items I use most often (half sheet pans, the 13x9 pans), but for the specialty cake pans that are further back, I have to get out the stepstool. It's probably still safer for me to get out the stepstool - that Gordon Biersch magnetic bottle opener that you see at the top of the fridge is there because it's covering a dent I put in the fridge 1 week after we moved back in because I was lifting something heavier than I realized!

  • jeri
    14 years ago

    top is for full sheet pans

    Skoo  Can you fit full sheet pans in your oven?

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    Yes, a full sheet pan fits in my BlueStar 36" RNB range. I have to say, though, that I still use the half sheet pans more simply because they're easier to deal with!

  • Buehl
    14 years ago

    GW Tip...Instead of putting the trays & tray dividers on the floor of the cabinet and a shelf above, put the trays & tray dividers on the shelf and the have the smaller/shorter place for platters, etc. beneath sitting on the cabinet floor.

    In most cases (especially if your trays are over ovens), you can reach the bottom of things on a shelf a few inches up. For trays, cooking racks, cookie sheets, etc., you only need to get to the lower corner and pull, you don't need to reach the top of the item to remove.

    This setup allows you to be able to access not only the items in the tray dividers w/o a stool, but also the platters, etc.

    Like this:

  • doraville
    14 years ago

    Wow I wish I had seen these pictures earlier. What great advice!

  • alabamanicole
    14 years ago

    I really like buehl's idea but it was a little too high or me to reach, and I'm not short. The roasting pan and a couple of bigger odds and ends can live up there; the Vertical Equalizer is just a step away.

  • firstmmo
    14 years ago

    I think no matter if you put the trays over or under the pans, I will be too vertically challenged to get these out!! I will need a stepstool for just about every cab and I will take the advice of a fellow GWer who uses her lower tray area for a stepstool. Seriously, how could someone 5'2" every reach up there? Should have gone with toekick drawers for us who are down here.....

    Buehl...where did you get the rack dividers?

    From Menlo Farmhouse

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    Yeah, I just tried to see if I could reach up and still reach if we had done the shelf on the bottom. I think I would be able to barely touch (at highest tip toe), but definitely not be able to pull items out. Being short sucks!

  • janine09
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Good to know shorties can't reach the top..hmm. Anyone have the pullout divider?

    buehl: I also am curious where you got the divider?

    firsthouse: your kitchen looks nice so far..are those shaker cabinets? Do you have a page of all your choices?

  • Buehl
    14 years ago

    I got them at Walmart as temporary dividers until I could get nicer ones (like the ones in Skoo's pic). But, they fit and work so well that I've decided not to get the others. I have three of them side-by-side. They cost, IIRC, $6 each. The Rev-A-Shelf ones I was looking at cost $14 for two individual wooden dividers...and I would have needed several sets of two to match what I have now.

    On the plus side, no holes are drilled in my cabinets/shelves and it's not "permanent", so I can do something different later, if I want (probably not though).


    BTW....my trays are over my double ovens and are much closer to the floor than over the refrigerator!

  • kristine_2009
    14 years ago

    I think Buehl said in another thread once that she got her dividers at Walmart. I actually just got my dividers there too, but mine are chrome. Surprisingly they are very sturdy. They are 10" wide I believe, so it takes 3 of them. I love mine. I did have to put mine on the bottom shelf though. I tried Buehl's setup but I couldn't reach them when they were on the shelf. I don't think my shelf supports drop down as low as hers.

  • swspitfire
    14 years ago

    An additional note: I read somewhere here (cannot find it now) another GW'er had a filler between her fridge and the upper cabinet above. She had them install the filler on a piano hinge so she could also use the small space on her fridge for some slim items.
    I thought that was a good idea!

  • janine09
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Those are from Walmart--they look like they fit perfectly!

    I was going to have them custom done for our cabinet..but sounds like it's so easy to just buy them and insert. Probably alot cheaper too.

  • jsweenc
    14 years ago

    You vertically challenged people need to find a way to incorporate a sliding ladder in your kitchens!

    In case this would help anyone, here is mine over the MW, much more accessible if you're short. (However, something has to go up high... what will it be?) I didn't give specific directions and cab guy just put this in. I now see that I should have simply had him put in 3 shelves -- this tray divider is a little too tall. Don't know what the savings would have been; insignificant compared to the overall cab price. As it is, I will probably put a two-tiered shelf insert on both shelves to maximize the space.

  • alabamanicole
    14 years ago

    Hmmm. I usually avoid Wal-Mart but I'll have to look at those. I now have 4 of the Rubbermaid versions, but they have a little taper off to the side. No doubt for stability, and I'll probably keep those in the drawers, but over the fridge if I pack them in I won't need stability and can always screw them down.

  • janine09
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    So I'm now reconsidering built ins and going with a separate purchase to install ourselves (assuming it's easy).

    Would love some specifics on what people used/links.

    Thanks!