Comments on: Hidden kitchen storage from This Old House

By: E West

E West — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:58:31 +0000

I am intrigued by the design and mirror comments above about the incredible support needed for a roll-out shelf for books. I am reminded of a pull-out access pantry from IKEA. Looks similar to this: http://www.daveycabinets.com.a.....chen_5.jpg or http://media.rd.com/rd/images/.....-32-ss.jpg

Here’s a question for the group, would this add re-sale value to the home? Would buyers be attracted by this feature? Or would it be a little to “weird” or “unconventional” for most? Thoughts?

By: Jesse

Jesse — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:11:11 +0000

I’m with everyone else here – the width of that space begs for the books to be on the sides and the spices in the front. Of course, I’m not the type of cook who has such nice-looking spice jars, nor do I reference cookbooks so often (and really – Martha Stewart wouldn’t need to reference cookbooks either, would she? Can’t she cook?) that they’d need to be in the way of my spice rack. But finally, I’d worry that my child would want some cinnamon for her hot chocolate, pull this out, and be buried under the few books we DO have.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:08:47 +0000

Neat idea, but I agree that it should be applied to other items.

I’d use it for pots and appliances I don’t use weekly: my roommate’s special dish for making Louisiana Giblet Rice, the electric knife sharpener, the waffle maker, the emergency hot plate that can run off the generator, etc.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:07:04 +0000

What about all the dead space between the spices and behind the cookbooks? This thing just seems silly.

By: Barbara Tako

Barbara Tako — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:16:30 +0000

Cookbooks are heavy. Spices come in varying sizes and shapes. Microwaves sizes, style, and location of the controls varies over time. I’m not sure about this one.

By: Ran

Ran — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:54:03 +0000

A much more reasonable solution would be two narrower slide outs, one for the books and one for spice rack. They would carry less space and would require a simpler support system, and more importantly, they would provide much easier access to the spice rack.

By: AndrewL

AndrewL — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:05:31 +0000

Oh no! i forgot the oregeno! *pulls out spice rack to get the oregeno, 50 lbs of cookbooks suddenly fly off the shelf and crushes the poor family dog*

maybe if you were martha stewart, this would be a good idea.

By: KW

KW — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:22:12 +0000

I try to avoid putting a spice rack above the stove (especially), microwave, or refrigerator – these can be warm and humid locations, causing powdered spices to clump up.

By: The Modern Mom

The Modern Mom — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:51:46 +0000

very interesting use of space. I’m with Allen – it does look like you’d have to have a lot of space back there but if you’ve got it, it’s a great way to utilize it!

By: allen

allen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:34:35 +0000

That looks pretty cool, but it seems like it requires alot of dead-space behind the wall; i’m not sure how likely that is in a kitchen, i guess?

I never like built-in spaces for microwaves like that: They limit you to a certain size of microwave forever. If, down the road, you need to replace it, how can you be sure that the models then will fit, &c.

By: MissPrism

MissPrism — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:53:53 +0000

Why do spice racks always make all the jars the same size? Nobody uses saffron or cayenne in the same quantities as oregano or coriander.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:17:28 +0000

When I moved into my house last year, I had a pass thru from the kitchen to the family room. I was really in a stupid location (over the kitchen sink) and a weird size (more like a window then a usable pass thru) so I opted to close in the pass thru and put shelves over the sink for cookbooks.

I love the look and it has freed up valuable counter space where I would have to store my cookbooks & wine guides.

By: Blair

Blair — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:31:12 +0000

Wow, you’d need some serious support if you’re going to be putting two shelves full of cookbooks on the end of that thing.

By: Mac

Mac — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:23:23 +0000

Now, I’m no Julia Child. In fact when it comes to the kitchen you could probably just remove the Julia part and be more accurate. However, I would think it more appropriate to have the spices on the outside and the books on the sides. I think I’d use the spices in ad hoc recipes much more frequently than using the cookbooks saving the need to slide the bulky unit out as often.

A good use of space though.