My Kitchen Sucks

I wondered whether there are other people in the community dealing with less-than-stellar kitchen space. What kind of cool things have you done to create/save space, organize, etc?

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Emmett_Barton_12803

Oh man, I bet a lot us of are. I live in a 600 sq ft apartment in Seattle with a tiny galley kitchen that doesn't even have a proper oven. It's more of a microwave/convection thing that sits above the range.

I've been cooking in tiny kitchens for years, though, and found that two things are crucial: 1) This guy from Ikea and 2) hanging stuff on the walls. Whether it's long tools hanging from small hooks and nails or a magnetic strip for knives, it's crucial. That way all the stuff you need is right on hand.

Also, get rid of stuff you're not using.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I have that same cart, it served me well in my tiny apartment in DC but it now houses my chamber vac. I bought towel rack bars from ikea and screwed them into the sides of the kart and using the pot hooks hand all the pots and pans from the side of the cart as well.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Having a shitty kitchen was one of the things that pushed me towards sous vide and modernist techniques. I just didn't have the space or equipment to power through elaborate stove-top preparations so I turned to science in the name of efficiency.

Pressure cooker has become a staple and godsend for speed and really the quality of product I can coax from it with a little know how. I have the luxury of only cooking for two people regularly so grocery shopping isn't too difficult and prep isn't usually too hard either. I keep wire shelving in an adjacent room to store dry goods and bottled goods that don't need to go in the fridge. It also houses my bigger equipment like food pro, stand mixer, rice cooker, dehydrator, etc. I just move things back and forth when needed.

This xmas i'm looking to find a cheap standup (waist height) tool cabinet to house all of my knives, tools, gadgets, and then allow me to work on top of it with cutting boards.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Metro-type shelving to the ceiling.

Emmett_Barton_12803

I had this situation going in our old house.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Storage is a major issue in my kitchen, and these sorts of shelves help immensely. Here are my gadget shelves. It's pretty much to the ceiling... my chinois will graze it if I swing the shelves out (for cleaning) and don't move it first.

robert.c.brown15

This was my kitchen for over a year. Sorry it isn't clean.

Sous vide cooking helped a lot and managing my time and order of operations. I actually cooked TK's beef bourguignon with those two burners and toaster oven.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Photo taken from the MLS listing when we bought the house two years ago. (We've since replaced the fridge, and I'm looking to replace the range and dishwasher.)

Our house was completely renovated by the seller (who also happened to be our eventual neighbor), so it's a big and open space. Which I hate. When I cook, the whole house smells like what I'm cooking. When I run the vent on full chat, you can't hear the TV in the living room. I also hate that the microwave is one of those combo vent hood deals; I think those things suck out loud.

I get that when flipping a house you have to appeal to a mass market to maximize your selling potential. But the trend towards 'open concept' and granite counters is really off-putting to me.

The good thing is it has plenty of storage. But the layout kinda sucks; just a big horseshoe shape, with the fridge and pantry on the south facing side. Which means we have no windows at all on the south side of our house.

This is an incredibly 'first world problems' post - waaaaah, my kitchen is big and open!

Emmett_Barton_12803

Whoa, so fancy!

Emmett_Barton_12803

Love it, Robert. I lived in Japan for a year and cooked had a similar tiny set up. I was vegetarian at the time, which meant that I had to cook nearly every single meal at home. Being veggie (not eating fish) in Japan is difficult.

See that square foot of counter space? That's all there was.

Emmett_Barton_12803

#kitchen

robert.c.brown15

Oh geez I wish I took a pic of my counter space. You win, but only buy a little. Cutting a carrot was difficult because one wrong move and it would start rolling off the counter and onto the floor.