Help me design the ultimate entryway storage cabinet
Greetings, organized people! I'm working on a redesign of my tiny bungalow kitchen which will include carving out a space dedicated to all the non-kitchen-specific mess that arrives in the kitchen via the back door. The steps up from my back door lead into my kitchen, and I am trying to create a designated space for back-door-related stuff and non-food-type pantry items, to keep all that stuff out of the very limited storage and traffic area in the kitchen proper. (See attached sketch.)
I will have a space 44" wide and 9' tall (to the ceiling), and maybe 18" deep to devote to the Magical Entryway Cabinet. The idea is that this cabinet will be directly ahead when you arrive at the top of the back stairs, so it'll be easy to avoid bringing stuff that should stop at the back door any farther into the house. At the same time, I need to leave enough space in front of this area to manage the coming in/getting ready to leave routine with dogs swirling underfoot, and preferably have room to feed the dogs there as well.
Your challenge: how would you allocate space in a hypothetical 44" x 9' x 18" cabinet for:
Outdoor shoes (crocs, boots, whatever I've just worn in and want to kick off). Main shoe storage is elsewhere, but I always end up with 3-4 pairs of shoes in a heap in the kitchen.
A coat or two (main coat storage is elsewhere, but if I come in wet, I'd want to be able to hang a coat on a peg here
Hanging up keys
Reusable shopping bags
The stuff that goes in the kitchen junk drawer: twisties, rubber bands, screw drivers, etc.
Dog leashes
Dog food storage
Recycling that's on its way from kitchen to alley
The vacuum, because otherwise it has to live in my bedroom closet :-(
Storing kitchen/cleaning whatnots: cleaning supplies, bags, etc., plus outdoor misc. like bug spray, garden gloves, etc.
Given the odd dimensions, I am quite prepared to have this storage area custom built and not try to do it from stock cabinets, but I'd be happy to have ideas that use stock components, too.
Ideas and sketches welcome! Thanks!
Comments (26)
AnnKH
8 years agoMy "wall of tall" faces the dining room. The right side is 12" deep; the left side goes behind the fridge, and is 20" deep. Each side is about 30" wide.
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Help me design this area--a cabinet hutch?
Comments (10)I have a hutch just like you're describing to the right of my dishwasher and sink. I use the glass wall cabinets to store all my dishes, glassware, and tea and coffee items and the drawers for cutlery, tupperware, plastic wrap, baggies, and all non-cooking dry goods (cereal, soup, tuna, etc.). The coffee maker and toaster will also live here. Although it's the same color as the rest of my cabinetry, it has a different countertop (wood) from the rest (marble), and it will have corbels. Sorry these photos aren't great, because we're not done yet: This was the inspiration: I'm not sure how a single wall cabinet attached to the side of your hutch area would look. Would you consider putting your mismatched glassware in a drawer in your hutch? Good luck! Erika...See More"Please help, husband's design - fridge next to wall and at entry!"
Comments (53)Detailed Analysis: . General: First, note that I expanded the Kitchen a bit into the Nook space. With the configuration you appear to be forced to stick with, you really need more counter space. You don't want to try to combine the Prep Zone workspace with the Cleanup Zone workspace. It's an exercise in frustration when you try to prepare a meal while dirty dishes are in the same space. So, you really need plenty of space on both sides of the sink. The zones are nicely separated for allowing more than one person to work in the Kitchen at the same time - prepping and/or cooking and/or cleaning up. In addition, you don't want your dirty dishes "front and center" and on public display - so you need to hide them somehow - either behind a wall as in this design, or on the back wall where they're out of the way. Oh, and no one likes to sit at a counter with dirty dishes in their face - prepping OK, b/c you're working there, but not the day's dirty dishes. OK, maybe it's just me, but I find it very distasteful to sit at a counter with the day's dishes in my face. The peninsula is a more useful squared off design (similar to what your DH designer did - that was a good change, btw.) The counters on the bottom wall are 3" deeper than standard - this allows for more and better dish storage as well as enough counter space in front of the uppers - which are a Dish Hutch style and go to the counter. More on that in the "Dish Storage" discussion. The normal kitchen workflow is Refrigerator/food storage --> Sink/Prep Zone --> Range/Oven/MW/Cooking Zone --> Either Serving Zone (table) or Cleanup Zone. While the design doesn't follow the flow perfectly, it's actually pretty good. The cabinet on the peninsula end (left end) is turned 90 degrees. This gives you a better use of space than a corner cabinet. For cabinets - get as many drawer stacks as you can. Drawers are far more useful & functional than stationary shelves or even roll out tray shelves (ROTS). There are a lot of discussions about drawers vs ROTS on the forum; here's one: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2664194/drawers-or-doors-with-pull-outs The landing zone for the refrigerator is either to the right or across the aisle. With French Door refrigerators, landing space across from the refrigerator is usually more useful than next to it. The MW is mounted under the cabinet to the left of the sink. Alternatively, it could be in the corner - just be sure you can open the MW door. Or, you could make the Dish Hutch shorter (say, only 27" wide) and gain a bit of space to fit the MW in the corner. I put in a wider aisle b/w the peninsula and the range wall b/c the Cooking Zone and range are not only unprotected, but in the middle of a busy aisle. By making that aisle wider, it will allow people to swing around farther into the Kitchen and farther away from the range. Will they do it? I don't know, but at least the option is there. -- However, It doesn't address the issue of trying to cross a busy aisle with a pot of boiling water from the range to the sink for draining. Without changing the range's location -or- the location of the peninsula and the DR doorway, I'm not sure there's much to do to fix that. It's unfortunate as I think the cost would be relatively inexpensive (as opposed to changing later if you find it's an issue) and well worth it at this point – no walls are up yet, just frames. -- Do you have young children? That would be the biggest hazard – children (or pets) running around underfoot and you trying to dodge them without spilling the boiling water on them or you. I put in a 9" utility cabinet b/w the refrigerator and wall for a couple of reasons -- First, it pretty much guarantees you'll have enough room to open the refrigerator doors fully -- Second, it pushes the refrigerator out of the somewhat narrow aisle in front of the DR doorway. When the refrigerator is open, the person opening the refrigerator and the refrigerator door will block that aisle. It should only be for a short time, but it will block it. (I have a similar pinch point in my Kitchen - b/w the refrigerator and the end of one of my peninsulas.) -- Oh, and a third - it pushes the refrigerator into the Kitchen more it's even easier to access it from the Prep Zone. OK, it's just 9", but that's 9" closer! :-) Dish Storage: The dishes are stored in a Dish Hutch arrangement. The upper cabinet goes to the counter and gives you a lot of extra storage - something that I think you may need in this Kitchen. (It's also a nice look.) The upper cabinet is 39" wide x 15" deep - the extra depth will allow you to store wider dinner planes, platters, etc. Note that when a cabinet is stated as 12" deep, that is the total depth - including the back wall and the front frame. The wall & frame can shorten the depth by up to 1.5" - leaving you with a cabinet that's really only 10.5" deep. Adding 3" to the depth gives you 13.5" of usable depth. (If you have frameless cabinets, you only lose the thickness of the back wall since there is no face frame in frameless cabinets.) The 27" wide base cabinet below it is 27" deep - also adding 3" of additional storage. The location of the dishes will help keep people getting a dish or setting the table out of the Prep and Cooking Zones. It also puts them next to the DW and next to the DR. It's also a direct shot from the Nook to the dishes w/o wandering into the Prep Zone. Prep Zone: Utilizing the peninsula, the Prep Zone has a nice expanse of counter space - 27" immediately adjacent to the sink and another 30+ inches on the peninsula. The trash pullout is in the Prep Zone for easy access during prepping (prepping and cooking generate the most trash & recyclables than cleaning up - and for a much longer period of time.) When prepping on the peninsula, you are a bit closer to the range, which will help when you're carrying prepped food across the Kitchen to the range/Cooking Zone. Cooking Zone: The Cooking Zone contains the range and surrounding landing space. Prep work will (should) be done near a water source, so you will be prepping next to the sink across the aisle. However, you do need space for emergency landing space as well as staging food/ingredients for placing on the top of the range or in the oven. You also need landing space nearby when taking things out of the oven Post & Pans can be stored in the drawers next to the range. I would have like to include the MW, but there really isn't enough room on that wall. Cleanup Zone: I think I've covered most of the Cleanup Zone comments throughout the above discussions. To summarize, the Cleanup Zone is separated from the Prep and Cooking Zones and it's near the dish storage. ....See Morehelp me design ikea island to maximize storage and allow for seating
Comments (6)Susan, I also planned to build a small island using all IKEA cabinets (approx 48"X24"), and after adding in the panels and the additional support structure it looks like it is going to cost around $1K(!). This is the full workup with everything IKEA.. I have a pretty handy contractor and we've previously worked out some good solutions for the cabinetry in the bathroom and mudroom, so I am hoping we can figure this out too.....See MoreHelp with entryway storage
Comments (18)Sweetverve - the second photo that itsourcasa posted above is lovely and doesn't leave a space but incorporates the railing in its' depth. It looks intentional and well thought out. Some of the other options, address the function, but look as though you just placed a cabinet in the entry. As long as you're going custom, you should make it look intentional like the photo. They will probably have to remove a few vertical spindles and a section of the railing, but other than that, I think it's a very attractive solution, that won't look like an afterthought. Since it's your front door, you don't want it to look like a mudroom (even though you want it to function like one). I'd take the that photo to a carpenter and have him build it....See MoreAnnKH
8 years ago(stupid Houzz isn't letting me post more than one photo at a time, grr)
My "drop zone" is behind doors. The shelves hold doggy treats/supplies, a notebook that I use to track expenses, envelopes, scratch paper, other oft-used stuff. The shelves are not full depth. There are two outlets on the left side. This was when the kitchen was brand new - there is a lot more stuff on the bottom shelf (in addition to the dog food container)!
AnnKH
8 years agoJust like you, I analyzed my needs, and built the cabinet to fit. I had the shelf in this cabinet (which is below the file drawers) specifically spaced so beer and pop would fit, with no wasted head room.
maddybeagle
8 years agoAnnKH
8 years ago
Glad you liked it! I spent a lot of time figuring out exactly what I needed that space to do for me.Here's what it was like pre-remodel - lots of clutter, not enough storage. The kitchen table is just a few feet away, and I always sat there to do bills or whatever - I never actually sat at the desk (it's a bit to small). I am so happy to have all that stuff behind doors! I moved the fridge 8" to the left, which is why one half of the cabinet is deeper.
maddybeagle
8 years agomustangs81
8 years agoAnnKH, that is fabulous!
Cruff, I don't know if you have the setup to utilize space like I was fortunate enough to have. My BIL (not a professional) cut through the wall in the laundry room and installed some cabinets ($33 each at Lowe's and they match what I already had) into the wall jutting into unused space in the garage.
Good luck, sounds like a fun project.
talley_sue_nyc
8 years agomaddybeagle
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8 years ago
AnnKH