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| Because of my hubby's love for coffee, and not wanting the coffee pot and canister setting on the counter again, I decided to incorporate a hidden area for not only the coffeemaker, but for all that went with it. The usual appliance garage wouldn't go with the style of our home, but a furniture style kitchen would work perfectly.
I couldn't get the consept accross to my hubby completely, so we compromise and came up with this.
I love this area of our kitchen since the bottom of the "upper" cabinets set on the counter. The center and right of those having outlets for small appliances including the coffee pot, blender and toaster. Works great for breakfast. I have to mow the front lawn before it gets any later, but I'll be back and take a picture of the insides. This is the only one of that area I had on my computer and wanted to post it before I forgot about it. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I love that. I have to remember that if I ever get to do my kitchen. You can put all kinds of small appliances in there and so easy to get and don't have to stay on counter. Do you have outlets in there? |
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| Could you post another photo with the doors open? I don't see how you have room to use the appliances. |
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| I always wondered why new homes didn't have kitchen counters as deep as we're used to but still have appliance "garages" further back, going along the wall. Just like you did. I love it. |
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- Posted by justgotabme (My Page) on Sat, Aug 16, 08 at 17:03
| dd50 Yes, there are outlets in the middle and right cabinets. garywings, I finished mowing a while ago and tried to add inside photos as promised, but lost internet connection so took a shower. Marie, These are not further back than regular upper cabinets are so they do take up counter space. Amazingly you really don't need all the space that's normally open under the the upper cabinets. We do alot of prep work here and there is no lack of space needed at all. Well here's pix I just took of the insides of the two cabinets with the outlets. I also opened the one with other breakfast and drink items to show how it's all there and handy. Not pretty in the normal sense of the word, but it works for us.
We bring the appliances out on the counter to use them.
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| I saved counter space in my kitchen by having under-cabinet mounted appliances-can opener,coffee maker, and microwave. I can't post a pic,sorry. Don't own a digital camera. |
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| I have always kept only dishes and utensils in my kitchen cabinets, and all food and drinks in the pantry. For some reason, it seemed taboo to ever mix them. I have a small counter next to my refrigerator where I installed an undercabinet coffee maker. I keep cups, filters, and coffee & tea in that upper cabinet. It isn't nearly as pretty as the appliance garage in the pictures above, but the efficiency is similar. It really makes that morning chore easier for me, and it's easier for overnight guests to assemble their morning java, too. |
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| What a handy set-up, Becky! I love the way everything just closes out of site, but is ready and waiting when you need it, and all organized into separate areas for different things. Great use of those wire racks too - I've been thinking about getting some for my cupboards, but holding off until I have a definate plan of "attack". All of my "most used" appliances are lined up on the counter against the wall. I can't actually put them up and away, because if they aren't right there, I won't use them (or I will use them, and won't put them back, so they might as well just stay). I think it would make my kitchen feel too small to have the cupboards down on the counter like that, but if I had a bigger kitchen, I'd definately be considering something like that to close them off... As for organizing my mornings - I have my tea in the cupboard right above my electric tea maker (much like a coffee maker, with a timed steeping chamber for tea), with my travel mugs and our vitamin organizers in the same cupboard. It's very easy when everything is right there in the same spot, since I'm normally stumbling around bleary-eyeed before work. I also have a big bowl of oatmeal bars on the counter we pass by to head out the door, and a basket of bananas sitting right beside it. That way we can just grab one of each as we head out the door in the morning for breakfast (neither of us are big breakfast eaters). |
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- Posted by talley_sue_nyc (My Page) on Mon, Aug 18, 08 at 11:42
| I love the idea of those cabinets w/ the bottom door in the counter. But in my house, we'd end up w/ stuff sitting in front of the door. It would take about 40 seconds to be unable to open the door. If I really wanted one, I'd have to do it w/ a pull-out counter only. Aren't those wire racks great? |
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- Posted by lynninnewmexico (My Page) on Mon, Aug 18, 08 at 11:54
| I love that! What a wonderful idea. Gosh, I wish I'd been able to talk my DH into something like that when we redid our kitchen last Fall. Lynn |
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- Posted by justgotabme (My Page) on Mon, Aug 18, 08 at 14:31
| Jannie, my folks had undermounted appliances too. They had a good sized kitchen with solid wood cabinets made on site, (fifties) but very little counter space. It was an eat in kitchen so there was always the table for workspace, but still the undermounts made a big difference. Quandry, I grew up without a pantry so I've always had both food and dishes in the cabinets until our last home. It had a smallish, coat closet sized, but very workable pantry once I got ahold of it. What gave me this idea was my hubby's love for coffee and my love for Victorian homes. Their kitchens were furnished and this idea came from the Hoosier cabinet and my dear hubby not wanting a litteral "furnished kitchen". Jamie, your current kitchen sounds a lot like our last kitchen where we had our toaster, coffee maker and blender all on the counters under the wall cabinets. We had loads of counter space since we had a custom six foot wide garden window behind our sink which gave us about a foot depth of space, but for plants. Our toaster did set at one end of it though. We also had what is usually called a penninsula now, but a breakfast bar when we had the home built in 1989. Oh Lynn, you have such a beautiful kitchen though. I didn't think you could top the one you replaced, but you did. ~Becky <>< |
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| Oh, I get it! Thanks for posting the extra photos. How much counter depth do you have with the doors closed? My guess is about 12 inches? |
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- Posted by justgotabme (My Page) on Mon, Aug 18, 08 at 23:28
| Yep, about twelve inches. Hubby uses this areas when making salads and there's plenty of room when we have the doors both open to not only bring out the toaster, but to lay our toast to one side and slather on whatever we want. Makes so much more sense than going to the ceiling like they did in the fifties for storage you needed a step stool to get to. |
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| Is it bad that the first thing I spotted was the blue Air Force coffee mug! HURRAH AIR FORCE!! :) |
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