Seven Additions to Perk Up Your New Cabinets

December 21, 2009

The largest single expense of your kitchen remodel is cabinets. You might minimize the cost by nailing old fruit boxes to the wall, but that's not what people consider "cherry cabinets." Here is a list of seven goodies that can make your cabinets a little special without busting your budget.

1. Spice rack or spice drawer. Herbs and spices need a home of their own, where they can be alphabetized and live happily ever after. You can find many kinds of spice systems in kitchen stores, but custom shelves that fit and match your cabinets add class.
2. Cutlery dividers. Again, these can be purchased separately, but it's nice to have them form-fitted and matching your cabinets. Some dividers are tiered, so that a top level will slide back to reveal another level of partitions below--an efficient use of space.
3. Glass doors. Glass panels add a touch of class to your wall-cabinet doors, but use restraint. Fine dishes and glassware look great behind glass, but nobody wants to see your private collection of soups, cereals and antacids--leave some doors solid. Some manufacturers, especially custom cabinetmakers, do not include the glass--they just give you the frame into which to insert glass purchased separately. Make sure you know what is included with your "glass doors."
4. Decorative shelves. Matching shelves that attach at the end of cabinets provide an attractive place for knickknacks. These shelves work well either at the end of a run of wall cabinets or as a wrap around the kitchen window
5. Pullout garbage or recycling bins. Be careful how much you try to cram under your sink, however. You have to leave room for plumbing items such as a garbage disposal and instant hot water dispenser. The bins might need to go in another spot.
6. Flip-open panel in front of sink or cook top. A great place to keep a scrub brush, gloves and other small items that otherwise would get lost under the sink.
7. Vertical slats, lots of them. Great storage for cookie sheets, platters, oven racks, the pizza stone and a myriad of other space-consuming flat objects. Some manufacturers mount them on pull-out shelves for easier access. These can be either visible or behind doors.

This is a small list of simple additions for your cabinets. Your manufacturer may have a number of other relatively inexpensive extras for you to consider. In all cases, you want to see the goodies before you buy--they may be junk at hyped prices, a good sign that you want to shop elsewhere.

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