Cr*p. Now I remembered I need to find a place for two pasta-rolling boards. One is 24 x 36, the one I inherited from my mom is smaller. And what about the 3' long rolling pin? I used to store it the old fashioned way, hanging from a cup hook in the end. No place to do that in the new space. Perhaps a hole in the floor? LOL.

Marcolo - back on topic - sorry
My rolling pins are not that long - I might have to ogle for your rolling pin and pasta boards. -
24x36 - now that is a tough one based on only 13inches above the fridge.
How about a hall closet?
So, I guess the highjack helped you remember other items - I kept finding more things that I missed also - but since I can take out and put in dividers -it all works - except for that giant rolling pin.

When we were married - one of our friends gave us a 3 foot Bam Bam bat (plastic), so I could use it to get DH attention - fortunately, I haven't needed it - but we still have it standing in a Bedroom corner.

Hang in there - it will all come together.

On your one plan - is the total opening for the corner 12 inches or is that just one side - I think 12 inches is a bit small.

A THREE FOOT rolling pin?

The rolling pin is for pasta. It's really useful at that length. Normally it takes no space at all because it's standing up. It's in the basement now but I hate keeping kitchen things down there, and the garage is freestanding.

OMG! My apron! I'm almost hoping my fridge will require a filler at this point. A towering roll-out would solve lots of problems even though it would mess up the symmetry.

LOL
We added a giant pull out next to the fridge!
But no more cutting boards lurking.
Would you believe sports food and some tall bottles (use your imagination in what lives in tall bottles).
Aprons in a 14 inch narrow drawer with pit holders and lee valley inserts dividing the drawer and space for the apple corer, egg slicer etc.

Too bad you are not in the area or I could give you a tour de kitchen :-)

You will find space for all

Impressed that you make your own pasta- haven't tackled that yet.
Wow!

The best solutions depend one's unique circumstances, but, for me, by far the most efficient storage I hit on are the two three foot pot rack bookshelves mounted side by side high as a single unit on a plain wall with a passage way too narrow to allow cabinets. On the other side of the wall is a pantry, so I couldn't recess into it. And I couldn't stand 8 feet of wall that served no purpose.

Don't think it will work for you, but here is where my iron skillets (the biggest are a 12'' diameter round one and the 16'' long fish fryer), big (as huge) mauviel copper skillets, stew pans, and sauce pans live. The big copper skillet slightly to the right of center is 22'' long counting handle and 11'' wide. Plus the unit houses six shelf feet of cookbooks.

All those pots and pans would have taken up way more than a 36'' drawer cabinet. And every one of them is immediately accessible without opening a door or pulling out a drawer or stacking and unstacking.

I am not sure where your design has taken you lately, but I can't help wondering if there is not some AHA! solution that, like these racks, will invent storage space for you.

And an aside--are you SURE your cabinets are being built with drawers that are full depth? I was shocked to learn that most (including mine, darn it) drawers are inches shorter than their boxes. Usually 20'' deep in 24'' deep boxes. Shelves, on the other hand, do extend the full depth.

I use paper plates between the few items I nest.

Glass cabs? Think again. You got caught up. Keep all your stuff and ditch the glass or ditch some stuff.

I have 3 toekick drawers. Each of the toekicks is part of the large 3rd drawer. Ayr Custom Cab co. did mine, just like loves2cook4six-there is a clipping in this thread of her upper with pans lined up hanging-and the Ayr Cab. watermark.

I am sorry no pics.

I have 10 x 18 kitchen. No cd fridge for me as I need the space and have my fridge recessed. Gained 3 inches. My full fridge is 34 1/4 deep and has 25 c. f. French doors. Cabs built around unit and it looks built in. I guess it is but I didn't have to buy a cd or built in fridge.

northcarolina and gemini have nailed the solution.

I am all about function and storage and modern.

Marcolo, I can't remember why you're anti-potrack. Too OCD? We don't have one set up yet in the new kitchen and already it's a pain in the neck to have to fetch pots from drawers or shelves rather than just swing them down to the stove. So I'm speaking from Pure Function here -- do consider a pot rack.

Another vote in favor of potracks here:

I guess you can tell how I deal with storage issues.

Although I have nothing of use to add to the discussion, I can't believe I'm the only one that caught this in Marcolo's post at 15:14 :

"I'm sure something will go above the fridge. But if I have only 13" max to play with for crown and cabinet frame it won't be much. Maybe it's a good place for my binders full of women."

;-) Yes, a good belly laugh and tea everywhere.

This might work:

IF you can make the cab over the fridge frameless (by cheating as someone showed previously and making the rails and side trim part of the doors?), slots like those used for vertical dividers in pot drawers could be cut into the sides and back at 1'' intervals.

Then 1/2'' adjustable shelves (save an inch or more by not using 3/4'' shelving which you won't need for light objects stored flat on shelves that are supported on 3 sides) can be used. Place the shelves close together and slide in the big cutting board, cookie sheets, and anything else flat and large. Because this cabinet will probably be 24'' deep, most of the shelves will take two or three items side by side. Stack the cutting boards and cookie sheets two high when possible. You will want maybe 1 1/2'' to 2'' between shelves.

I think you could have at least four 1/2'' shelves and the bottom for a total of 5 narrow storage spaces in a 13'' high cab.

If you can't make this a frameless box, you can still use four or five shelves and a conventional system of shelf supports, but you probably won't be able to remove the shelves from the cabinet or add new ones.

Advantages of this are obvious.
Disadvantage is that an item stuffed to the back will be a PIA to retrieve in that narrow spacing. I think I would give up 1/2'' of vertical storage and line the shelves with Cushy Cupboard shelf liner, cut into two pieces on each shelf. With this particular shelf liner, if something gets pushed back, you can easily pull the liner forward to access the item, then slide the liner back into place.

My aprons are folded in a pile in the same drawer with the piles of clean dish towels.

Can you hang the rolling pin in a nearby closet, or do you need it at hand because you make homemade macaroni all the time? If the latter, where in Boston do you live? Homemade macaroni is worth a six-hour drive. I'll bring the wine!

Binders full of women - LOL!

I just realized that I am assuming the cabinet over the fridge will fit the footprint of the fridge. That it will be as deep as the fridge, not 13'' or 15'' deep like wall cabs usually are.

If that isn't the plan, I strongly recommend that you consider it.
FWIW, Here is mine, which is designed to solve a different problem. A pull out tray to allow side and front access, 28'' deep, 18'' high, 36'' wide. I store big stock pots and such up here.

With the pull out tray, I can reach almost everything except the back center without a step stool.

a2gemini--Prep junk will live in the island, so I think I'm OK there.

Bellsmom (first comment)--My cabs are custom, so yes, I will spec them with full-depth drawers.

westsider40--I first had all glass uppers starting in 1995 and love them. There's a lot of kitchen junk I don't mind seeing at all. It's a kitchen. But I should ask whether at least some of the toekicks can be incorporated into the bottom drawers. Might be tricky with partial inset lipped overlay drawers.

circus and kitchen detective--No room for potracks, even if I didn't detest them.

Bellsmom (2)--Actually the entire fridge wall will be frameless except for the over-the-fridge cabs, which are indeed full depth. But that's a very interesting idea--make them fake inset. It's certainly possible.

Ginny, "homemade macaroni?" That's what we called it growing up! "Pasta" was for yuppies unless it was part of the actual Italian name for something, like pasta al pesto. Where are you? I grew up in Upstate NY.

Bellsmom (again)--how cool?

OK, I haven't had any direct comments on my graph paper drawing above. Seems like it would work, no?

BTW, because my drawers are partial inset lipped overlay, they aren't even as roomy as inset. So in cabinets where the drawer width has to be on the narrow side I may actually be much better off going with ROTs. I've had ROTs before and don't mind them.

Well, I prefer reaching up to reaching down, but I'll support your ROTS choice because I dislike bending over and lifting weighty objects from drawers more than I dislike bending from the knees to accomplish the same goal. However, I seem to be in the minority on that one. Have you tried both motions to see which is more comfortable for you. (Please, no jokes here. I am serious.)

Question: Not sure what you mean by "lipped." Have you a photo?

This is from Bay Area Francy's kitchen:

I'm having knobs, not latches, and there are some other differences--I'll try to avoid stiles between cabs where possible, and I'll have toekicks. But regardless, that's a partial lipped overlay drawer. It's what would've been in my house when it was built.

In my case, the edges of the drawers line up with the cabinets below. That means the actual drawer opening has to squeeze in just a little to make room for that overlay.

I'm in Rochester. Where did you grow up?

Did you call it "sauce" or "gravy?" I'm half Sicilian and half mainland, and we always call it sauce. But apparently "gravy" is common around here.

Do you actually roll out and cut linguine by hand? Do you drape it over racks to dry, or cook it fresh? I cheat. I have a 1980s Takka electric pasta machine that mixes and extrudes the dough, which I cook fresh. I keep it in the basement, along with the pizzelle iron, because I only use it a few times a year.

I keep more commonly used small appliances, like the food processor, blender, mandolin, and french press on a pull-out shelf in a lower cab. I find it easier to get them in and out than in a drawer. I do nest things like pie plates, 9x13 pans, and mixing bowls in drawers. I also nest skillets with thin bubble wrap between them. I don't find it bothersome, and I managed to get a lot of stuff into my smallish kitchen.

I keep cake and muffin pans, racks, and the onion and potato bins on shelves in the broom closet around the corner. Do you have a closet you could use for overflow?

"Pasta" was for yuppies unless it was part of the actual Italian name

Oh, gosh! I forgot about that. Yes, "pasta" was a foreign, yuppie term for us back in the day!

I am not Italian, but there were plenty in the 'hood. My best friend's family (and most other Italians near us, I think) were from Naples. They said "noodles and gravy." In my family, we did not have a generic name for pasta, but just said whatever the particular noodle was, like ziti or linguine, or whatever. If FORCED to have a generic term (as when, say, discussing a hypothetical dinner menu), we imitated our neighbors and said "noodles," but we knew it was an affectation for us. Interesting memories, thanks!

1) East Side.
2) Sauce--gravy is what you put on meat.
3) 1/4 Sicilian, 3/4 mainland.
4) Yes, by hand. The machine is down in the basement somewhere. I'm a little faster by hand than the machine. I'm not anywhere near as good as my mom, but still good enough to laugh at all the long threads on Chowhound where non-Italians examine YouTube videos of grandmas in action and then pontificate on what the right motion is. (They're always wrong.)
5) I drape it over broomsticks. Dry it a little bit but then cook it fresh.

No closet available, unfortunately.

Oh, got it. The ones I grew up with. Never knew that that's what they were called. (You found someone to do continuous face frames? Zowie!)

You are actually from Rochester, or Rahch'ster, as we natives pronounce it? I live in Brighton now, but I grew up in Pittsford. My parents grew up near Clifford and Goodman when it was an Italian section.

And yes, gravy goes on meat. Angie may be right - maybe it's a "napolitan" expression. I'm not napolitan.

My parents grew up near Clifford and Goodman when it was an Italian section.

I went to St. Philip's.

Anyway, do I have to pay people to get comments on my little drawing???

Marcoloo - I thought pasta grew on trees! Just kidding but one of DHs favorite pictures is harvesting the pasta from the tree. I think it was an old advertisement.
In any case, I think you have lots of ideas to fit all of your stuff!
Kitchendetective - Zowie? One of my favorite words on GW!

Gravy goes on meat - Sauce on pasta (but no one called it pasta)!

Island - I can take the ribbing! - but the count is off - there is another one that belongs in there for a total of 11!

Hi Marcolo. I have full overlay. My toekick drawers ARE part of the bottom drawer. Mine are just like the toekick drawer of loves2cook4six. I really really wish I knew how to post pics but as of now I don't. My cabs look like inset but they are full overlay. I have the same cabmaker as loves, Ayr.

My priority was as much storage as possible, easy to clean, and modern. Uncluttered, no decor, highly functional. I pivot in my new kitchen.

For example, I have my cutting boards in a flip up garage next to my sink so they are at arm's length. Vertical, not in an upper or lower. In that same garage are my coffeemaker, coffeemaking supplies (bag of coffee, filters, measure, creamer, water pitcher, stirrers), bagel guillotine, small food processor, and blender. The garage is 17+inches deep.

A utensil holder with 6 pairs of scissors, stirrers, and pens sits on the counter.
You cook a lot and I cook very little now but I could cook and even cater in my kitchen, easily.

Re: your drawing, doesn't take full advantage of the cabinet depth. Too much of what is pictured is less than 15" deep.
Combined cab, 22-23" opening door and drawer to left with dividers and rollout for large trays and large fry and sauteuse, 33" opening 3 drawer base. You can get all the smaller (up to 11") fry pans in paired by tilting them slightly. Move saucepans out of susan and into drawers (up to 4qt ones) now put vertical plate racks in susan for the smaller cake and tart pans AND have the height set to take your cuisinart.

About the diagram: do the dotted lines indicate anything about the space available or is all the space indicated in the vertical and horizontal space available for use? In other words do the dotted lines indicate trim that will interrupt the spaces? Also please describe the 12-inch Susan. I planned to do a matrix of spaces to utensils but my nearly total lack of sensation function may be getting in the way of understanding your rendering.

I did get as far as this:
Stack 1: about 11 pieces, with a need for a combined space 15 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 27 inches high
Stack 2: about 10 pieces, with a need for a combined space 15X24X18
Stack 3: about 10 pieces, with a need for a combined space of 15X24X20
Also need room for 36X24 pasta board (and one smaller board) and for 36 inch rolling pin

That means a total of 34 pieces (19 in vertical and horizontal storage) much of remainder in pull outs and Susan. Remember to account for loss of space to dividers. Even more is lost for drawers and pull outs. The pull outs and drawer make sense to me - nice space for deeper, round or odd shaped things like your bunt pans but I don't understand the 12-inch Susan. I would think more vertical or horizontal space would get you more useful storage.

Seems the toe kick drawers could be sized to fit the pasta boards (one 36 inch+ drawer). Perhaps the rolling pin would fit on the diagonal in a second toe kick drawer.

I am enjoying seeing your progress.

Comments on your graph paper drawing:
-looks like a nice mix of vertical and horizontal storage
-I don't understand the dotted line overlay, is that supposed to be one 36 inch door with panels to make it look like separate spaces? Seems like it would be inconvenient
-if you don't plan on leaving it as open storage, maybe make the top row all the way accross two sections of horizontal storage side by side and then the whole bottom half can be vertical storage slots. Then you can make the top a false door panel with a flip down hinge for access and the bottom a drawer from that flips down or is the from for a pull out with the slots.

Nice to see so many real upstaters here! I'm from the Albany area, so unless it's north of about Hudson it's not upstate. Then there's most of the rest of the state that's upstate, then way up north is the North Country.

Anyway, do I have to pay people to get comments on my little drawing???

Well, I am entertaining offers... what figure you got in mind? ;-)

Okay, here is your drawing. I think it may help if you talked us through it a little more. What are you planning to put where?

I am not sure I follow what the dotted lines signify. Will these be truly open, or will there be faux drawer and cabinet fronts on the dotted lines to hide the shelves?

I suppose the vertical storage is pretty obvious -- anything that looks roughly like a cutting board or cookie sheet goes there. What goes in the horizontal? One skillet per cubbyhole? What goes in the ROTS?

jakuvall, your posts are as densely packed as your cabinet designs! I'll have to think about this a bit more. Most of my pans seem narrow enough to fit into the slots I've drawn but I'm going to think about the setup you recommend. I'm trying to get general ideas in place for the architect's drawings and then it's on to the cabinetmaker. I just want to nail down my options first. Will circle back after more thinking.

orcasgramma, you bring up the same points as a couple other folks so I'll clarify.

The 12" susan: The left side of my sketch hits a corner. A 36" corner lazy susan cabinet projects 12" down the inside of each cabinet run, and that's what I've drawn. There's a corresponding 12" on the perpendicular run that's also part of the susan. So that 12" represents lots of storage.

As far as the dotted lines: I don't really know what I lose to trim. Remember these are custom continuous face frame--not separate boxes. So I lose less between cabinets than boxes would take. Yes, some of the trim space would be lost but I don't know how much. I just sketched that in there as a reminder to consider.

Yup, the toe kick is where the pasta board might go, if it's long enough. I don't think it can really go under the susan, though.

williamsen, yes, that would have to be two doors, not one big one.

Angie, I love the idea of frying pans on horizontal shelves, and that's what most of those would be for. I could stack 2 if need be for the smaller ones. A lid or two would also fit (I keep pot lids right on the pots in the susan). Those shelves should adjust. The horizontal dividers should also be adjustable, and that's where I put baking pans and cutting boards. The ROTs is for the Cuisinart and other oddly-sized junk. Or whatever. My one big worry with this scheme is lack of flexibility.

My sister suggests throwing all my pots and pans in a box along with a few ideas, bringing them to the cabinet maker and saying, make them fit! But I don't want something overcustomized to what I currently have now.

Yeah. I commented on your drawing re: flexible shelves. Where's the cash?

How does one have fake inset? Also, toe kick incorporated into bottom drawer sounds interesting!

the benches in the seating nook could probably get fitted with drawers that open out into kitchen for things not needed on a regular basis, if needed.Use flush mounted finger pulls or the like and they'll not look awkward with handles.

No salad spinner spot?

Yeah, the salad spinner is tough. Mine is in a deep drawer opposite the sink that also holds a large salad bowl and assorted other too-big-for-elsewhere stuff.

I love herb's idea for drawers in the benches. Great for cake pans. Easier to access than lifting the seat and reaching in.

You went to St. Philip Neri? My parents were married at St. Philip Neri Church, and my siblings and I were all baptized there. It was my grandparents' parish.

Ginny, I'm not for sharing names on the Interwebs, but I think it's pretty much impossible that our families don't know each other. We were on Clifford. My aunt lived next to the convent.

My original plan called for bench storage, but the niche is too cramped for easy access, and morgue drawers will make the seats uncomfortable. Hard to explain but we tried all this out and it's not going to work right.

I rarely use the salad spinner anymore. I buy pre-washed and just decided to ignore the multiple times I've bitten into broken pieces of farm equipment.

If Orcasgramma's counting is close, your plan is looking pretty promising. Your drawing has 12 vertical slots and 7 horizontal. I count about 11 things that look like they belong in vertical storage, and about 5 skillets/pans. The latter go in horizontal storage, as can some other things. If needed, you should be able to double up some of the vertical things and some of the horizontal things. The other items seem appropriate for the susan (perhaps with some of the dreaded nesting).

Looks pretty promising!

marcolo, I understand completely. What a small world, and how funny that we figured it out because of what may be an Upstate colloquialism. Enjoy your homemade macaroni!

I don't have any comments on your drawing, but I do have a couple other thoughts.
1. The rolling pin: Could it be suspended on a pair of coat hooks above a doorway or window like this quick sketch:(Now, I've tried to readjust this in photobucket at least 3 or 4 times. It's not cooperating. Hopefully you're on a laptop and can turn your screen so it's the right way. Sorry :/)

I think this could be great on display and it would be easier than using up your cupboard space trying to store it. It makes a big statement about who you are and your heritage. : )
2. Don't underestimate the storage space over your fridge. I have 14 1/2" of height in the interior of this cupboard in my current kitchen. Now, I'm a nester, but a lot fits in this area.
3. If it was me, I might be eyeballing the top shelf of the coat closet in the hall to house a box of kitchen items that I only needed a few times a year. Then I'd have more space for the stuff I used all the time in the kitchen.
4. This might be to kitchy, but how about keeping the cuisinart on the counter with a parrot print fabric cover? (or maybe not!) I think I'd put it into an appliance garage that doesn't look like one if I could. I don't like pulling my food processor in and out, but if it could live on the counter without looking like clutter, I'd use it more often.

I've copied a lot of the pictures posted on this thread, there's great storage ideas here.

Best wishes on your kitchen project.

Marcolo
I am astonished that it is better for you not to use the area under the benches for some kind of storage. That's a lot of cubic feet under there.

I am not doubting your decision, but trying to understand it.

I know you are swamped with planning and decisions now, and this is OT. But when you have time, please explain why ''morgue drawers'' aren't a good choice. I have no place to use them, but I have recommended them to friends. Why do they make for uncomfortable seating? Can that be avoided somehow?

And, FWIW, I am really enjoying following the evolution of your kitchen. What a joy it will be when you actually have all those new surfaces to stroke, those new drawers and shelves to organize, those new serendipities to discover.

I love the rolling pin holder. Clever, accessible, and even has self- defense applications. Seriously, I think it's a great idea.

Another off-the-wall idea:
I have a thread about this somewhere but can't find it. So, 3 quick pics:
I used to have a vertical tray storage cab beside my supersusan.
Here is what was in it (except for the dog)

Now, thanks to GW, those trays and stuff are stored in the existing waste 1 1/2'' space between the susans and the cab walls and under the super susan. All immediately accessible and nothing is stacked. The susans rotate as freely as they ever did.
Here the boards, trays, grill, and pans are pulled forward so you can see them. (the cab to the left is the old vertical tray storage.)

And, in the ''found'' space where the vertical tray storage used to be, there are now four full-depth pull-out trays that store numerous small sauce bowls, egg cups, individual syrup pitchers, ceramic platters,--a ton of little ''stuff'' that is now easily accessible also.

Don't know if your susans will fit all the way to the cabinet wall or not. But you only need 1 1/2 inches or less to slide in a tray or thin cutting board and most susans seem to have at least that much clearance on the sides.

If you find the idea acceptable, it would be easy to plan to have the space there.

Now that is very clever, Bellsmom. And I am glad to see that I am not the only one with battle scarred cookie sheets. I have some very old ones that bake great cookies but aren't so good looking any more...

Love all that storage, Bellsmom. I think morgue drawers aren't good because you can't tuck your feet back under the seat. There is a poorly designed restaurant near me (absolutely not a thing to mitigate noise from echoing around) that has booths with bench seats and while the underside might have a bit of a slant it isn't enough so there is a thumping noise every time someone tries to tuck their feet back and they thwack against the plywood.

onedogedie

Thanks. I bet foot clearance is the problem. Can morgue drawers be wedge-shaped on one side? Or be made a few inches narrower than the top of the bench? Even losing 1/3 of the space would still make the drawers worth it, I should think.

Interesting. How much of a difference in width is needed between the top and bottom of a bench for comfortable seating, I wonder.

Ah, the things we learn on GW! But probably best to let the morgue drawer topic die lest I stand accused of hijacking Marcolo's kitchen thread.

Ginny--Were you baptized in the new church or the old church? I remember when the old church burned.

Laughable--the rolling pin idea is genius. I can actually use that to display my mom's rolling pin that I inherited, and then hang the long one along the door next to it!

And the Cuisinart cozy? DOUBLE GENIUS. That can be my backup plan.

Bellsmom--yes, morgue drawers lose you foot space. In a more open banquette that's fine, but in mine I think I'll need the room. Plus my benches are going to look like traditional breakfast nook benches, so the drawers would be tough to integrate. Otherwise they're a great idea. And I'll be sure to check out spare room in the susan.

Oh, the idea of Mom's rolling pin displayed over the door and the long one hanging nearby makes me smile. Or stack them above the door, the used one and the treasured one united by proximity, the lower one taken down and used periodically, the upper one smiled at.
I love family pieces in the kitchen, love using them, seeing them, remembering them.
Seeing mom's rolling pin displayed over the door will make you smile every time you see it.
Somehow, more than any other room in the our house, the kitchen is about family history. Wish I could figure out how to work my father's miter box into the display!

Old church. I was 10 when the church burned. Poor Father Weinmann.

The Rolling Pin Solution (sounds like an episode of Big Bang Theory)is perfect.

Mama_goose actually has that rolling pin thing...

Here is a link that might be useful: rolling pin

That's perfect. Since it's my mom's rolling pin up there, on the doorway to the DR, I can also depend on it to dispatch any unwanted guests.

Ginny: Yes, his clothes were always threadbare. Never paid any attention to himself, always worrying about other people. And poor Sister Lillian Marie. I can picture her. I was in first grade. I guess the parish closed about ten years ago.

Back to the cabinet:

So I freaked out the staff at Williams Sonoma today by asking to borrow a tape measure and then measuring their displays. It was too hard to really judge what will fit, though. I'm going to have to go to the cab guy on this. If anybody can think of a completely different configuration from what I posted, let me know.

I find it's (very slightly) less disturbing to store staff if you bring your own tape measure. Lowes sells little ones on a key chain that are I think 8 or 10 feet.

Saw this on Amazon last night and thought of you! I don't want to think about what that says about my current social life...

Here is a link that might be useful: Extra tray storage!

I'm not convinced you a taking advantage of the full depth of the cabinet. What about two full height pull outs, one would have a board running front to back at the top with hooks for the frying pans to hang from as well as a shallow box at the bottom to line up all those smaller round items stacked on the right in your original pic. The other one would have a traditional tray storage rack on the bottom that pulls out, and in the cabinet space at the top maybe two or three shallow shelves that would be accessible when open. This would allow you to store the trays two deep for the ones that are small enough and still be able to see them all at a glance.