I got this gasteria as a normal looking offset from a monstrose G. nigricans... sure looks different from the monstrose form plus it's much bigger. The pot is about 18 inches long. Here are a couple of crested/monstrose forms: G. 'Warthog' G. carinata var. verrucosa

The practical pictures showing the stuff out and in use....those are the ones which help me. Pieter, you say "crowded and messy" but the organization shows clearly. All those things you have so conveniently stored beneath the bench, or turn around and there is more. I like ILoveToGrow's composter (Target sells it too) for its ease. It might have the mix at a convenient height. I get tired of bending over to reach the bottom of my collapsing barrel, and trying to mix a full barrel with a short handled tool takes a lot of muscle. PaulaB, what you have works, proper space or not. My current space is the round table of metal mesh, and the umbrella (always need one in my garden) is not in the middle but off to the sunny side. I have a wooden stool so I may sit while I prepare the mix. What I like about my collapsing barrel is I don't pick up the big bag of MiracleGro entirely. I swing one end of it over the squished down barrel. I slice it open with my razor knife. I tip the bag into the barrel, and grab the bag and begin pulling it up by its bottom, leaving the MiracleGro in the barrel. I do that with the mini pine nuggets too, add some crab shells, add some peat, and some vermiculite. Mixing is the hardest part since my back hurts from the low position of the barrel on the ground. Picking it up is a challenge. I must solve where/how to do the mix with my bench setup. Having mine outdoors and exposed to the elements can be the deciding factor in what works.

I had one once in an older kitchen where it was quite functional for shelving. I had cabinetry on two walls and a fridge sitting alone in the opposite corner. Stuck a baker rack against it and it housed the microwave, toaster oven, and canisters. Mine was meant for outdoor use--a baker rack-styled plant stand I think. Now that I'm in a more fitted kitchen it's outside and it's...taking up space and getting junk piled on it! But it can be pretty useful I think, if open storage works for you. And if it being there keeps junk from being piled up on other, more useful surfaces, then it's doing good!

KItchenKrazed: You can find several pictures of potfillers...centered or to the side on the finished kitchen blog, using the categories link to focus just on potfiller pictures. I've attached a link below. Note that many potfillers (including the one I'm installing soon) fold back on themselves. So...for example, the pipe for my faucet will come out of the wall 12" from the side of my 36" stove....one third of the way across the back. But it extends out 12", then folds back 12". So when not extended, but pushed back against the wall it looks centered....the pipes extending across the center 12" of a 36" backsplash. Of course, I can also fold it the other direction, so it goes across the left one-third of the backsplash instead of the center third. Here is a link that might be useful: finished kitchen blog potfillers