Smart Storage in a Kitchen Remodel

When Thomasene and husband Stephen Collins bought their ranch house they recognized the house's urgent need for renovation to suit their lifestyle. The original kitchen and dining areas suffered from a chopped-up floor plan, which, although large, still managed to be inefficient.

Opening walls at both ends of the kitchen brightened the entire space. It also allowed convenient access to utility areas that had previously been closed off.

Thomasene likes to maintain a "10-minute tidy-up" rule for her house, so she can get things company-ready in a flash. "I wanted everything to have a place," she says. "We entertain a lot and often spur of the moment, so I wanted to be able to clean it up quickly."

Plentiful storage was a priority for their renovation, but it needed to be right at hand. A new square island, which is table-height, provides a spot for homework, projects and dining, with storage built in to the cabinet base. Bookshelves hold cookbooks, textbooks and homework. Drawers hold table linens. An extra trash built into the table speeds Thomasene's cleanup and eliminates multiple trips back and forth to the kitchen trash.