Kitchen Planning: Working with ‘Dead’ Spaces
Often, after you’ve spent some time fine-tuning your space plan, you’ll find you’ve created inaccessible ‘dead’ space that is unreachable. This is common in corners where access via doors only gets you into a fraction of the volume inhabited by the cabinetry. Sometimes this can be resolved by using revolving interior shelves or pullout racks that give you full access to interiors. These racks are useful in nearly all lower cabinets because they usually contain a certain amount of space it is not practical to reach into without contorting yourself. Pull-outs also work well for very narrow cabinets suited to storing flat items like trays or pot lids. They do require adequate space in front of the cabinet so they can be fully extended.
Other dead space may not be as obvious. Areas left open behind doors or stretches of wall that are in corridors too narrow for normal cabinetry constitute space that can be used with creative planning. A shallow set of shelves, a flush wall hung pot rack or a shallow display cabinet running from floor to ceiling with narrow doors can help resolve and utilize these overlooked spaces. They are also suitable for cookbook shelves, narrow canned gods cupboards and other shallow uses. You can also place a narrow counter in a passageway to use as a buffet or bar area with dish and glass storage below or overhead.
Inaccessible spaces are also places to put utility runs, countertop mixer elevators, appliance garages and other recessed fixtures that can be hidden away and accessed mechanically. For many utility items you will still need to provide emergency access via a removable panel.
