Update in #1. If you don't have a pantry...

[BabbyO]

Wow! Great feedback so far.

To answer a few questions:

Yes, I did suggest moving the washer/dryer to the basement and taking over the tiny laundry room as a pantry. DH is intrigued, but we know this will be costly because we don't have the electric/gas/water hook ups in the basement. This could be a more long term solution though in the future.

We don't have any space in the garage. With kids stuff, 2 large cars, a lawn tractor, snow blower, wheel barrel, etc there's simply no wall space. We will eventually get a shed, but it isn't in the budget now. Also being in the northeast I'm not sure I'd want to store food outside with such large temp fluctuations.

We do have a basement with shelving that we store food on. So the pantry doesn't have to be large, but needs to be big enough for the currently used stuff...pasta, rice, bread, canned goods (1 of each), cookies, chips, cereal, baking stuff, crackers, etc.

I'm not opposed to a pot rack...I'll have to look into it. We do have a very large (almost too large) round florescent light right above that island so I'd have to figure out how to do the pot rack around the light.

On either side of the fridge is a lower cabinet, counter space, and upper cabinet. I'd love to turn one side into a floor to ceiling pantry but then we'd lose a square of counter space...and that creates another problem LOL. But maybe replacing that cabinet is cheaper than moving the laundry...hmmm...

Our kitchen was remodeled before we moved in and they did a floor to ceiling pantry on one side of the fridge...I think it had to be the best money spent. I know you'd be losing some counter space...but how much do you use that small piece of counter (maybe more than I would). Our pantry holds SO much stuff. The only thing we don't have in there is our spices.

[wendibird22]

Love the ideas for cubbies and Ikea cabinets. If only the space on the entrance wall was a few inches wider I could fit a cabinet there. I can't think of another place to put one elsewhere. The problem with modern open floor plans. The place where I'm standing to take that pic is our "great room" so there are no walls at all in the entire kitchen or dining area, except for those with the cabinets on them. Off to the right by the fridge is a small dining room. Space in there is tight. We only have a small buffet w/ no hutch. The buffet holds entertaining/serving pieces.

[twowhat?]

Our kitchen was remodeled before we moved in and they did a floor to ceiling pantry on one side of the fridge...I think it had to be the best money spent. I know you'd be losing some counter space...but how much do you use that small piece of counter (maybe more than I would). Our pantry holds SO much stuff. The only thing we don't have in there is our spices.

Hmmm, I like this idea for the space to the left of your fridge!

[roseyloxs]

I think your best and most reasonable options have been to get a pot rack or replace a refrigerator cabinet will a full closet pantry cabinet.

Another option would be to take out everything out of all the cabinets and start over. You may be amazed by how much space you can get by reorganizing. From what you have listed I would try and find a new place for the tupperware and your baking supplies also sound a bit greedy. Good Luck.

[american_mama]

eta: I did not look at your photos or other replies, so I hope this long response is relevant.

I've never had a pantry in the 4 places I've lived since DH and I married, so food is stored in a 2-4 upper cabinets. I choose upper cabinets because it's more visible than lower, plus the shelving is usually better. For me, canned goods/rice and grains/boxed foods and everyday spices are in 3 cupboards next to each other. Tall things like oils and vinegars are on one shelf in another cupboard. Cereal and crackers are in another cupboard. Exotic spices (of which DH has many) take an entire shelf up high, out of my way. Flour and sugar are stored in the small cupboards over the stove.

For you, these would be my suggestions:

As a rule, let the most convenient storage go to the most used items in the kitchen. You can mix dishes and food in the same cupboard or even same shelf, if need be. Food can be split into differnt areas of the kitchen and does not have to be in one adjoining area. Use cupboard accessories to improve storage, like lazy susan's, tiered shelves for cans, tiered shelves for spices, and little shelves to use your vertical space without making overly huge stacks. You didn't mention drawers in your description, but some small things could go in whatever drawers you (spices with labels on lids, possibly lids to anything, possibly plasticware). I have two utensil crocks on each side of the stove, which aren't beautiful, but they are practical.

>>> a center island which currently houses electric stuff (forman, griddle, mixer, blender, etc)
If the center island is prime time cupboard space, do these items need to be there? If I want my mixer or waffle maker, necessity means I don't much mind dragging out a stepstool or sitting on my knees and dig deep in a cupboard to get it. But doing that for macaroni and cheese, which I make once a week and want to do quickly, would irritate me.

One double size upper cabinet (all plates, bowls, serving items)
>> Are you nesting all that you can, especially the serving items? Can you keep a core of accessible serving dishes and put the rest up in a high shelf to free up a more accessible shelf for food? If you have lesser used dishes, like dessert plates, or a more plates than you use on a regular basis, can they be moved? I have my cereal bowls in a stack and a little shelf over them with lunch plates. I also stick to cereal bowls that nest as tightly as possible, not the big ones that dont' nest tightly. I had to move 4ish cereal bowls that made the stack too tall, in part because they aren't part of the set, to a china cabinet in the adjoining dining room. We only need them if we've been lazy about doing dishes, and then I don't mind walking to get them if it means I have a clean bowl.

>>> 3 single size upper cabinets (two hold drinkwear/mugs/stemwear, the other holds spices, small baking items, measuring cups, etc)
Again, nest the drinkwear and measuring cups, possibly hang some on rails installed along your backsplash (IKEA does this all the time, although I'm not a huge fan). Put whatever stemware you might need on a weekly basis in an accessible place and put the rest up high for when you need it. I got rid of teacups and saucers because I never used them, they took up room, and the teacups couldn't nest. I also got rid of a few perfectly good coffee mugs because we didn't need all of them and did need the space. More coffee mugs always seem to show up anyway, so pruning those comes up repeatedly.

>>> 1 narrow upper cabinet which holds liquor and cooking spray/oils etc
I have the same thing but in a different location.

>>> 1 upper and 1 lower corner cabinet. These easily become black holes because they are so deep. The upper holds all tupperwear/plasticwear/food storage and the lower holds all the pots and pans

Nest the plasticware and buy organizers for the lids. Don't keep more than you need on a regular basis. I once rented in a place where we threw it all in a jumble in a big cupboard, which was great for easily putting it away, but work when you needed to use it. I remind myself of that when I spend time nesting it all.... you spend your time somewhere, either on making it organized or finding it in the mess.
Buy organizers for the corner cabinets. Maybe a tiered go-around, maybe a blind cupboard oganizer (see http://www.kitchensource.com/cabinet...cornersystems/, Magic Corner looks awesome in this video http://www.hawaiihomeandremodeling.c...y/magic_corner), maybe pot lid and cookie sheet/cutting board organizers to keep things visible and upright.

>>> 3 lower single size cabinets. One holds bakewear/casserols/mixing bowls. One holds all baking items (racks, cake pans, muffin tins, loaf pans, etc). One was holding baby food and baby feeding stuff and is now EMPTY and could be used for something.
What's in your stove drawer? I keep bakewear and casserole dishes there. Mixing bowls are on top of the fridge, although I hate that because they get dusty.

>> 2 tiny above appliance cabinets (one above microwave and other above fridge). These hold the stuff we rarely ever use because they are so inaccessible.
Maybe some of that stuff could be moved elsewhere to make room for stemware or servingware that is also rarely used, but more often than other items. I have serving trays, tablecloths, glass pitchers, ice bucket, etc. in a china cabinet in my dining room, the ugly stuff hidden behind the solid lower doors.

One thing I didn't mention was installing pull out drawers to easily access lower cupboards,because I've never had them. There are DIY kits or you could hire a carpenter to modify your cupboard.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Just in the cabinets.

[khalloc]

Insanely jealous! I think that kitchen/living area is as big as my house!

Don't ever move to a desirable area of Southern California or the Bay Area because you won't get that for under a million bucks!

LOL! Thanks. I wont be making any cross country moves to Cali if I can help it. I do love the size of our kitchen. We are pretty lucky! I hate the diagonal island though, that will be going as soon as DH gives me the OK to remodel. And I hate the stovetop in the island as well. AND while we're at it I hate the little desk area that just gets used as a dumping ground for junk!

[SASM]

I haven't read all of the replies but we looked at one house that didn't exactly have a large kitchen, however, they really utilized the space well with cabinets. Try to find the manufacturer of the current cabinets and see if you can have customs made to fill the empty space ABOVE the cabinets up to the ceiling. You can do this with your other cabinets as well. Store least-used items up there do you can shift your food lower. I also second the washer/dryer relocation downstairs. Good luck!! I love reading about other PP's storage solutions and kitchen configurations...eye-opening!

[ssjarrett]

We had this pot rack with a light in our previous home and it worked great over the island (we replaced a flourescent tube light that was there previously.

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1

There are many options of pot racks with lights that aren't too pricey and they would free up some of your cabinet space. Good luck!

[candaceb]

I thought of this thread when I saw this blog post about organizing a laundry room. How is the laundry room set up? Do you have room over the washer and dryer to do something like this?
http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com...e-laundry.html