Kitchen Secret Storage

I have a small kitchen.  It is by no means the smallest kitchen I've ever seen, but it is definitely cozy.  It's about 8'x12' and is U-shaped.  I actually like the layout, just wish it took more than two-steps to get from side to side. 

Most folks wish they had a bigger kitchen or at least one with a little more storage and I am no exception.  I have an adequate number of cabinets - however, I only have a couple of cabinets that have adjustable shelves.  Therein lies the problem.  I bought a little can rack from the Container Store.  I thought it was going to solve all of my can storage issues (can't stack them, 3 rows deep of chicken broth because you can't see), but I didn't take into account the fact that I can't adjust the shelves.  So that sweet little can rack is still in the box. 

Then I saw this link on Pinterest.  Lightbulb!  I had a total of almost 8" of space on either side of my fridge.  I scooched (technical term) the fridge over against the cabinets and got my plan together.  My birthday was coming up, so I convinced my boyfriend to purchase the supplies for me as my gift ('cause what girl doesn't want lumber and casters for her 30th birthday?).  =) 



Happy Birthday, Amy!  P.S. Some assembly required!  Love, T



My mom works at a school and she happened to be on fall break the week I wanted to start this thing.  It was Friday before we actually started building and I'm sure it took us WAAAAY to long to actually finish it.  Things aren't exactly completely square and "It's close enough" became our motto.  But after lots of fractions, nail gun incidents, sanding and frustration we finally finished!

Part of the reason it took so long was because I had to modify the plan.  My inspiration used 1x4's because she only had about 6" of space.  Since I had more space, I decided to make it work a little better for me.  I used 1x4's for the actual shelves and 1x6's for the frame.  I recessed the backing so that I have a 2" recess on the back side.  I am going to put hooks to hang my broom/dustpan/Swiffer as well as my aprons.  This dead space was where I kept those things to begin with and didn't want to have to find them a new home.

But enough of the details, wanna see the finished product? 

This is what it looks like next to my fridge.



Here is the can rack side.  I love how much extra cabinet space this has given me.

                        

This is the recessed side where my brooms will hang. Just wanted to show you the pattern before I hung things on it.

Here it is with the brooms/aprons hanging.

So that's it!  I love it and so proud that my mom and I built this together.  It may not be perfect, but it is super cute and stores my cans and brooms and makes my life easier - and at the end of the day isn't that all that matters? 

In case you're wondering, I hand painted the design on the back side.  I got the stencil from this site right here and you can download the template and resize it for whatever your needs may be. Do you have some extra space?