30 Small Kitchen Storage Ideas

Make the most of your small kitchen with our strategic, space-saving organization tips.

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Corral the Clutter

Maximize the (minimal) counter space in your small kitchen and cut out clutter in one fell swoop with a single serving tray or basket. Use the tray or basket to corral bulky kitchen essentials like cookbooks and cutting boards. This approach ensures nothing is in the way or out of reach when working in the kitchen. Bonus? Serving trays come in every style and are an effortless way to add personality to your space.

From: House of Jade Interiors

Stealthy Storage

Petite kitchens call for creative storage solutions, and this secret baseboard cabinet fits the bill. The unexpected drawer tucks out of sight beneath the traditional lower cabinets, making use of the often-overlooked gap between cabinetry and the floor to store cutting boards between use.

More Ideas: 30 Potential Storage Spaces You're Overlooking

From: D2 Interieurs

Optimize Your Island

Don’t let a pint-sized kitchen keep you from living your island dreams. Invest in a custom or store-bought kitchen island that’s proportional to your space and features open-air shelving to store your everyday dishes and kitchen essentials. Not only will the kitchen island bring beauty to the space, but it will create easy-to-reach storage and extra counter space for dining and prep work alike.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Breezy Baking

Make baking a breeze with streamlined cookie sheet storage. Instead of stacking your baking sheets and cupcake pans horizontally, install a pull-out drawer in a lower cabinet and use a metal rack organizer that lets you separate and store the pans vertically. This allows you to pull out your go-to pan without having to pull five additional baking sheets and a pasta pot (or two) out of the cabinets to reach it.

Over-the-Fridge Shelving

Bridge the awkward gap between your fridge and ceiling with chic and functional open shelving. Use the space to store kitchen gadgets like your prized cake mixer, or take notes from designer Jessica McClendon and showcase your colorful cookbook collection and thriving houseplant overhead.

From: Jessica McClendon

Double-Duty Display

Floating shelves are our go-to for organizing small kitchens because they offer ample storage without creating visual bulk in the space. That said, don’t forget to utilize the bottom of your floating shelves to make the most of your space. Add discreet hooks to the underside of the shelves to dangle your coffee mug collection by your coffee bar or kitchen sink.

More Ideas: 26 Open Shelving Ideas for Your Kitchen

From: Jenn Feldman Designs

Kitchen Cure-All

Whether you attach 'em to floating shelves or secure them to the wall itself, hooks prove to be the cure-all for kitchen clutter. Designer Brian Patrick Flynn shows how it’s done with an expansive wood beam complete with black hooks that runs the length of the subway backsplash. The hooks are evenly spaced along the beam and provide the owners a designated spot for their most frequently used kitchen utensils.

Space-Saving Breakfast Bar

Skip the traditional kitchen table and opt for a space-saving console table and barstools, instead. Push the console flush to the wall to create a bar-like dining setup, and push backless barstools beneath the console to maximize floor space between meals.

More Ideas: Small Kitchen Seating Ideas

From: Braun + Adams

Flank the Stove

Lacking cabinet storage? Flank your stove with floating shelves to keep your go-to spices and baking ingredients close by while you’re whipping up family meals. Pro tip: Store dry ingredients in cohesive glass jars to achieve a polished, put-together look in the space.

From: Noz Nozawa

Frame the Door

Small spaces require savvy storage, so be sure to take advantage of every inch of available wall space in your tiny kitchen. Use Lauren Rubin Architecture as your muse and recreate this drool-worthy door frame shelving unit to store your kitchen wares, cutting boards and cookbooks.

From: Lauren Rubin Architecture

Cabinet Fruit Basket

Another foolproof way to keep counters clutter-free? Install roll-out produce baskets in your lower cabinets. Produce baskets offer ample storage for things like apples, avocados, potatoes and more without overwhelming your prep space or getting lost on the top of your fridge.

Within Arm’s Reach

Let location be your guide when mapping out your kitchen storage. Designer Brian Patrick Flynn installed a spice jar organizer in a drawer directly beside the cooktop to keep foot traffic to a minimum in this cramped kitchen. Follow his lead with a low-profile drawer organizer and cohesive glass spice jars.

More Ideas: 30 Creative Ways to Organize Spices

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Cunning Cutting Board Drawer

Brian Patrick Flynn uses strategic organization to free up floor space and keep counters clean in this dreamy kitchen design. Flynn installs an unassuming roll-out cutting board drawer directly above a pull-out trash can on the lower cabinets. This setup allows owners to chop, dice and mince to their hearts’ content and dispose of scraps with a single sweep of the hand.

Classic Crock

Keep your spatula, whisk and wooden spoons in check with a crisp and classic crock. This black-and-white version is universal in style and makes post-meal cleanup a breeze. Choose a similar white crock for a simple look or go bold with a kicky, colorful crock to showcase your personality in the space.

DIY Pegboard Wall

This DIY pegboard wall offers unique kitchen storage that adjusts to fit your ever-evolving needs. Follow our step-by-step tutorial, below, to recreate the pretty and practical pegboard rack to store pots, crocks and houseplants in your small kitchen.

Get the How-To: Free Up Cabinet Space With a DIY Wall-Mounted Pot Rack

Show Your Stuff

Show off your copper cookware with a space-saving wall rack. The designers at Art Home Garden dangle the patinaed pots from the wall-mounted rack next to the cooktop to free up cupboard space and create a luxe, lived-in wall display.

From: Art Home Garden

Reach New Heights

Our failproof tip for small kitchen storage? Take your upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling. Not only will this technique provide more storage space for kitchen wares, but carrying the cabinets to the ceiling will draw the eye up and create an illusion of a taller space.

From: Terracotta Design Build

Handy Spice Rack Drawer

Tight on space in the cabinets above your stove? Squeeze a small pull-out spice rack drawer directly next to the stove to keep seasonings on hand and organized while cooking.

From: Tiffany Brooks

Create a Floating Wall Unit

Don’t let a free wall go to waste! Use this compact kitchen by Lauren Rubin Architecture as your inspiration to create a custom, wall-mounted cubby system to organize your kitchenware and tools. These floating shelves include hanging racks, cubby units and leaning ledges for cutting boards and cookie sheets.

From: Lauren Rubin Architecture

Pull-Out Pot Rack

Skip the drama of searching for your favorite pot by creating a pull-out pot storage cabinet. This innovative design keeps pots organized and easy to see without having to unstack multiple metal pots to locate the one you actually need.

From: Design Bar Detroit

Wall Paper Rack

Pluck your paper towels off the counter and stick them on the wall with some stylish, storage-savvy mounted racks. This rack provides a space for paper towels, hanging utensils and an open-top shelf for cookbooks, salt-and-pepper grinders and pint-sized plants.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Art-Worthy Herb Storage

Keep your windowsill clear from cluttered pots and install an herb garden rack on the wall near the window, instead. We’re obsessed with this one because provides easy access to herbs, and the lush greenery enlivens the otherwise blank kitchen wall.

More Ideas: Indoor Gardens That You'll Want in Your Home

Storage With a View

Create more storage space in your petite kitchen by installing a couple of sleek and stylish shelves across your kitchen window. Use the unexpected shelves to store your fresh herbs, go-to recipe books, stacked bowls, hand soap and more.

From: Jenn Feldman Designs

Flank the Peninsula

Many of us have kitchen peninsulas with storage cabinets flush to the wall, but what about the other end of the peninsula? Maximize your organization and storage opportunities by creating counter-to-ceiling shelving on both ends of the peninsula. This modern kitchen design by Christine Donner features open brass-and-glass shelving to store stemware and glassware. Pro tip: Use transparent or metallic materials for your shelves to avoid adding visual bulk or clutter in the space.

From: Christine Donner

Fill the Gaps

Fill the gap between your floating shelves above the sink with a built-in plate rack. The slatted design adds charm and function to this cozy kitchen and takes the chore out of putting away clean dishes.

Broom “Closet” Cabinet

Elevate your cleaning game with a stealthy and savvy roll-out broom closet by your fridge. Design blogger Jessica D’Itri Marés installed this inspiring pull-out cabinet with enough space to store multiple rows of spray bottles, cleaning products and two standard brooms.

From: HGTV Magazine

Space-Saving Wine Rack

Whether your kitchen is big or small, wine is always a must. Make sure there’s room to store one (or three) new bottle(s) at all times with a vertical wine rack. Install a similar, space-saving rack in your kitchen wall, or secure it to the outer corner of your upper counters to achieve a custom, built-in look.

More Ideas: 30 Creative Wine Racks and Wine Storage Ideas

From: Kristina Crestin

Sink-Front Storage

Hijack that useless faux drawer by your sink and create a hinged, pull-down storage spot to organize your dishwashing essentials. This secret compartment features a stainless-steel tray to hold sponges, scrubbers and gloves between use.

Wine That Wows

Looking for a more permanent, statement-making wine storage solution for your small kitchen? Do us both a favor and recreate this striking floor-to-ceiling display by Susannah Watts so we can live vicariously through you. The unit sits flush to the cabinetry, floor and ceiling and works double-time to hide the unsightly refrigerator profile and show off the owners’ impressive vino collection.

From: Susannah Watts

Secret Sink Storage

Farmhouse sink infringing on valuable storage space in your small kitchen? Not to fret, friend. Build in a petite, pull-out cabinet like the one pictured above to keep cleaning supplies close to your sink. This sleek, easy-to-hide cabinet design is outfitted with two shelves for rags and towels, and a roomy bottom shelf for tall spray bottles and dish soap.

More Ideas: Plan a Small-Space Kitchen

From: Design Bar Detroit

30 Small Kitchen Storage Ideas

Related To:

Shop This Look

Corral the Clutter

Stealthy Storage

Optimize Your Island

Breezy Baking

Over-the-Fridge Shelving

Double-Duty Display

Kitchen Cure-All

Space-Saving Breakfast Bar

Flank the Stove

Frame the Door

Cabinet Fruit Basket

Within Arm’s Reach

Cunning Cutting Board Drawer

Classic Crock

DIY Pegboard Wall

Show Your Stuff

Reach New Heights

Handy Spice Rack Drawer

Create a Floating Wall Unit

Pull-Out Pot Rack

Wall Paper Rack

Art-Worthy Herb Storage

Storage With a View

Flank the Peninsula

Fill the Gaps

Broom “Closet” Cabinet

Space-Saving Wine Rack

Sink-Front Storage

Wine That Wows

Secret Sink Storage

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