This past weekend we moved to a new apartment! Well, new is a stretch. It’s new for us, but it is a typical old New York style apartment – complete with black and white subway tiles in the bathroom and a fire escape ladder out the window (very RENT-esq for those musical-theatre lovers).
Now while I LOVE the character of our place and the gorgeous Upper West Side neighbourhood, there is one big dilemma. THE KITCHEN IS TINY!! No. Bench. Space. At. All. So I did what every other small-kitchen-owning woman does… headed to Pinterest! I was on the look out for temporary bench space and storage for my cups and plates… I found some gems!
Exposed Vertical Shelving
Source: Herz-Allerliebst
We have very high ceilings so a cute set of vertical shelves could be a great way to utilize that space. Of course all my crockery will be on display, so it means I have a great excuse to go and buy a pretty new set! The one downside is the accessibility to the higher shelves – perhaps invest in a little step ladder or a tall hunky man?
DIY Island
Source: Better Homes and Gardens
Okay this Filing Cabinet Island totally rocks! I looked into making this myself and the trickiest part is finding cabinets that are the right height. 2-drawer cabinets are too low and 3-drawer cabinets are too high. BUT last week we bought a portable dishwasher that is on wheels and is the exact right height for a kitchen bench. So I’m thinking of finding a piece of butchers block or a pretty piece of reclaimed wood and attaching to the top of it. We would then have our own portable kitchen island! I’ll keep you updated!
Floating Horizontal Shelf
Source: Domino Magazine
A floating horizontal shelf is a simple way to add storage to your kitchen – particularly if you have a lot of blank wall space but not many cupboards. Again, you will need to be okay with having all your wears on display. A major benefit is being able to hang hooks underneath the shelf and hanging pots, pans, utencils and tea-towls off them. Unfortunately my little kitchen doesn’t have a lot of horizontal wall space so this won’t work for me – but I do love it!
High Bar Table
Source: The Hand Made Home
As often is the case – if you have a small kitchen, you most likely have a small living room. That’s why a bar table could be the perfect addition. We sold our dining table yesterday as it is too big for our new living area, which has us considering a high bar table like this one. It could act as a kitchen bench while cooking and a table while eating. A definite option!
Hanging Ladder
Source: Woman’s Day
I have posted about a hanging ladder before – but they are just such a brilliant idea! No more stacking and unstacking pots and pans or breaking your back trying to pull them out from the bottom shelf. I am on the hunt for an old ladder similar to this one in the coming weeks.
Will keep you updated on what I decide to do with our cute little kitchen!
– Penny xo
