I planned to share this in April, but here we are, almost through December and I'm finally sharing some of the hidden storage in this kitchen. I really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of designing this kitchen. What did I need storage for? Where could I put that storage in a very small space? One thing I couldn't work around was the fact that there will only be three drawers. At first I was worried, but I had three drawers in the kitchen before I demo'd and one was completely inaccessible. We made due with just two, and after pairing down a lot of useless equipment, I realized that's all I needed.

We also spend all summer in an RV where we only have one drawer, so I think this helped to make me feel better about the design! That being said, two of the drawers in my design are really deep, and it felt like a waste (not to mention an organizational nightmare) to have them be left as they are.

I used an Ana White plan to create my own version of a double drawer. The double drawer allowed me to put baking utensils in the lower part, and smaller gadgets (peelers, presses, etc) easy to reach on the top. We've been using it for a few months and I really love it. Perhaps I will finally get rid of my potato masher as the only thing it does is prevent drawers from opening. Perhaps...

Here's how I did it.

I remember helping my grandother clean up after Thanksgiving on eyear, and she instsisted on putting everything away herself. At first I thought she was being stubborn, but one year she admitted, "if I don't stack everything just so, it doesn't fit." At the time I didn't understand, but I now have a kitchen built at roughly the same time as my grandmother's. If I don't stack everything "just so" it doesn't fit.

Prior to starting this kitchen remodel, I made a list of all the "problem" areas in my kitchen and vowed to come up with solutions to fix them. One such area was the fact that our pots and pans were stacked and you had to move them all to get at the one you wanted. As I began building the cabinets, I knew their had to be a better way. I turned to an Ana White plan, and I'm thrilled with the results.