Maximize your kitchen countertop space with these HGTV-approved tips
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a cooking novice, it’s essential to declutter your kitchen counters. From prepping and cooking to cleaning up the dirty dishes, you’ll need enough surface area to efficiently work your magic in the kitchen. Unlike kitchen cabinets and other items, countertops always seem to be in use, imposing the need to keep them both usable and looking great. Hilary Farr told HGTV UK in a video, “[Countertops] can define a kitchen as much as any other element in it.”
So, it’s no wonder that prioritizing how a countertop is organized can help improve the functionality of the space — and enhance the aesthetic value of your culinary haven. That’s why we pored over insights straight from the design experts at HGTV on how to maximize your countertop space. These tips will help you make the most of any countertop to deliver a functional and beautiful modern kitchen design — without investing in a costly, full-scale kitchen renovation.
THINK VERTICALLY
When you are limited in space, it’s always wise to utilize vertical real estate in some of the liveliest areas around your house. Given that the kitchen is often considered the heart of the home — a place where family and friends gather to cook and enjoy meals together — maximizing kitchen countertop space is paramount. Leaning into vertical storage solutions will allow homeowners to balance aesthetics and functionality as they declutter and gain storage space.
For example, you can clear some space on the countertops by displacing bulky jars or utensil collections and storing them on floating shelves or tiered corner shelving. According to their blog, Drew and Jonathan Scott have shared that, “Floating shelves showcase a collection of kitchen wares and decor that have a fittingly earthy feel.” What’s more, the corners of your countertops are often overlooked, but they offer ample vertical space to build upon. Creating storage-savvy solutions in underutilized vertical or perpendicular spaces will improve the usability of your kitchen countertops — and space at large.
STORING IS CARING
As you begin to maximize your kitchen space, it’s essential to take inventory of what does and does not belong. It’s easy to look at countertops as a catch-all destination for grocery bags, dirty dishes, clunky gadgets, and heavy appliances. But if you want a more efficient space to make and savor your meals, every last item on your counter needs to find a home. Start by identifying your most functional kitchen items. Which ones do you use most often and how can you make them accessible where and when you need them?
From loose change and bottle openers to batteries and birthday candles, these “junk drawer” items have no place on a kitchen counter. However, if your day always starts with a fresh cup of home-brewed coffee the percolator and the ceramic canister of sugar can rightly call the counter home. Everything else needs to find residence elsewhere, be it a drawer, cabinet, garage, or even the trash or recycling bin.
To maintain an organized kitchen, to store is to care. Make the most of your existing storage options before investing in new storage solutions for your kitchen essentials. When speaking about a successful kitchen design project, Sarah Richardson of “Sarah's House” told HGTV Magazine, "Drawers can be more expensive to build than cabinets, but I find they're more versatile and less likely to become a disorganized mess. For extra storage in this kitchen, I used inexpensive wooden stair treads from Lowe's to create open shelving in front of the sunny window.”
DECORATE LAST
After you’ve reduced clutter, leveraged vertical space-saving solutions, and provided a home for all of your kitchen essentials, it’s time to decorate! But don’t forget an important insight from Joanna Gaines in a recent Magnolia blog: “Practical pieces can double as decor, too. For example, stacking mugs, bowls, or even crocks and canisters…is a beautiful way to blend extra storage with style.” That said, it’s not always necessary to add statement pieces or decorative flourishes if the strategic positioning of your functional items creates enough visual appeal on your countertops.
Be sure to step back and focus on your goal of maximizing the space of your kitchen countertops to improve functionality while helping to define your unique aesthetic. Don’t let the desire to have a magazine-worthy kitchen design undercut the true purpose behind this treasured space for your family and visitors alike.
It’s said that kitchens are the setting for homemade memories, seasoned with love. By maximizing the space, you are also maximizing the potential for a happy life, shared with those who mean the most. When it’s time to decorate your kitchen countertop, tips such as featuring items that match the backsplash, keeping colors consistent, and turning functional items into accents can go a long way in meeting your goals.
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