Maximizing Unused Space in the Kitchen

I am thrilled to cross this project off of The List. Not only does it add more functionality to our kitchen, but it is the last step I wanted to finish before we get our new countertops. Finishing this stage and looking forward to the possibility of finishing the kitchen next year is exciting beyond words, but I will try to explain.

So, what did we do? As you can tell from the photo above, the countertops on either side of the stove do not match. From the size of the hood and the marks that were on the linoleum before we re-tiled, I believe that the original stove was larger. When the former owners replaced it with a smaller stove, they put a butcher block countertop to the left and put a fake front between the stove and the cabinet to the left.

The space behind that was empty, and I envisioned a pull out drawer that would give me more storage. Originally, I had planned to build my own, but then I read this post by D’Arcy over at Our Bungalow’s 2nd Century. I decided that it would be easier to buy the Skinny Sally, otherwise known as the Rev-A-Shelf 5 inch Tray Divider and Foil & Wrap Base Organizer, from Home Depot. The best part was that it was easy to install.

I was impressed that Douglas took the time to read the instructions, despite the fact that he said they did not explain things well. I guess the stereotype that men do not like to read instructions or stop to ask for directions, does not apply to all men.

Before we got to this point, however, we had to pull the stove out. Turns out that is where most of Crème’s fake mice had ended up along with a lot of her food and a good amount of fur. She was happy to be reunited with them.

I used the opportunity to clean the stove. Crème helped as a way to thank me for finding her toys.

Because there was no cabinet in that space, Douglas had to build a base before we installed the drawer. He cut two boards to the correct size. The height was perfect.

Douglas had planned to screw these two pieces of wood together, but I suggested that he glue them first. This would make the bond just a little stronger.

Douglas sustained a mild injury at this point but was able to carry on. I kissed it and made it better.

The base was perfect but had to be fastened down with a couple of L-brackets to keep it from tipping up once filled and opened.

Then, the drawer screwed directly to the base. The hardest part was working in such a cramped area.

The fake front was then attached directly to the front of the drawer. There was a slight amount of conflict during this stage. Douglas got frustrated and yelled at me for asking too many questions. I stormed into the bedroom and missed the part of the installation. Tempers flair up easily between the two of us, but we are able to resolve things quickly. Once he had the front attached, he came into the bedroom and made up with me.

The last step was to put a stop behind the drawer because it was just a little too shallow. Another L-bracket keeps the drawer from going back too far.

Finally, I was able to load the drawer. All of these pans used to reside in the stove. This was a problem because I would often forget to take them out when I preheated the stove.

The stove is now empty.

Skinny Sally is exactly what we needed.

Now we are ready for new counters. Woo Hoo!

Happy Homemaking!