Читать книгу 1001 Ideas for Kitchen Organization, New Edition - Joseph R. Provey - Страница 15

Try not to store items where you can’t see them, such as behind rows of canned, boxed, or bagged goods. Putting larger items toward the back of a shelf and smaller items up front will help. Tiered inserts are sometimes a good solution, too. They allow you to view all of the contents on a shelf or in a cabinet. Because the tiers raise each successive row of goods from front to back, there’s no need to pull out every soup can to grab the one you want. (See the illustration on page 25.) Another solution is to store dry goods, such as flour, beans, and rice, in long, deep, clear containers. (See the illustration on page 25.) The contents will be visible, and you can minimize or eliminate having to put some items where they can’t be seen. If clear containers are not available, use labels so you know the contents without having to pull it off the shelf. Remember, visibility is a great memory prompter. If you can’t see it, you may forget you have it.

Good lighting also makes it easier to see what you need. To do so with a cabinet, illumination must be able to reach inside the cabinet. Ideally, it should come from several angles so that items are not in shadow. Nor should your body cast a shadow in the area where you’re searching. (See the illustrations on this page for optimal placement of lights along a run of cabinets.) For countertops, consider under-cabinet lighting. Then, whether you’re using the under-cabinet space for chopping vegetables or reading a recipe, you’ll have good visibility. Lighting base cabinets with shelves is more difficult. One solution is to build in lighting. Connect it to a door switch so it automatically comes on when you open the cabinet door. Another is to install pullout shelves or to install base cabinets with deep drawers. With either approach, your ceiling lighting should be adequate.

Lighting counters and cabinets takes some thought. This illustration shows one way to do it. Lights inside cabinets are another solution.

SMARTtip

Lighten Up

It’s fine to go with dark cabinet exteriors if that’s your preferred look, but you may want to use light colors for cabinet interiors and for shelves. As light from ceiling fixtures strikes the light-colored surfaces, it will reflect onto the items you store there, making them easier to see—and find. Alternately, use pullouts, which enable you to move stored items into the light.

This well-lit kitchen includes downlights in the ceiling, uplighting over cabinets, fixtures over cabinet openings, lighting inside and under cabinets, and even a light strip along the floor beneath the pantry cabinets.

Here’s the same kitchen with many of the lights turned off.

These fixtures, which are mounted to the cabinet tops, throw light inside when the doors are open, without interfering with the door swing.

These fixtures cast plenty of light along the countertop—an area that would otherwise be partially shaded by the cabinets or the cook.

In-cabinet lighting is meant to display contents stored behind glass doors. Glass shelves enhance the visual effect.

Under-cabinet lighting is also available with energy-saving fluorescent fixtures. LED lights have also become very popular for this purpose.

To See or Not to See

Deciding whether you want be able to see your stored items or not is often a compromise between aesthetics and functionality. Some people like to showcase items, but that’s not important to everyone. Others prefer a less-cluttered look and allow the cabinetry to be the dominant element. If you want to have your cake and eat it, too, check out these solutions.

Roll-down shutters, when open, provide complete access to serving bowls, pitchers, and other stored items whenever they’re needed.

When the shutters are closed, the contents are hidden and protected from dust and grease. These stainless-steel shutters are easy to wipe clean using a mild detergent.

Translucent doors offer an interesting alternative to clear glass when you’re not sure you’re willing to keep contents in full view.

The textured glass camouflages the cabinet’s contents, but still allows you to see what’s inside.