10 Kitchen and Dining Storage Ideas

Creative ways to store and organize your dishes and utensils

Dinnerware, serveware, glassware, and utensil storage is a top consideration when remodeling a kitchen, designing a new layout, or making your existing space work better. You don’t necessarily need to hide away your plates and dishware inside a cabinet! Regardless of your kitchen’s size, there are many ways to optimize your dinnerware storage using organizers, racks, and other clever solutions. Here’s a few ways to organize your kitchen in style.

1. Open Shelving

If you have dishes worthy of display, do it! Wall shelving is a popular kitchen trend—and for good reason. Replace some of your upper cabinets with open shelves to make the kitchen appear larger and less confined. Storing plates and serving dishes on easy-to-reach shelves makes them more accessible AND part of your décor.

2. Portable Caddies and Carts

If you entertain frequently or cabinet space is at a premium, use a bar cart or kitchen cart to store plates, serving dishes, and flatware you use often. Caddies can help corral utensils, napkins, and other small items on the cart. Not only will a mobile cart keep everything handy and organized, it can easily be moved from one room to another for indoor parties and outdoor gatherings.

3. Banquette and Bench Storage

If your kitchen eating nook has a banquette bench or window seat, don’t overlook the storage potential of this space. Some designs offer pull-down drawer storage and others feature a compartment concealed by a hinged lid. If your bench has an open area underneath the seat, use it to tuck away baskets or bins that will look nice as they hide your kitchen essentials.

4. Hanging Racks

Racks of all shapes and designs can hold items from utensils to pots to mugs near your coffee station. Depending on the type of rack, it can be mounted underneath an upper cabinet, on the inside of a door, on a wall, or right on your countertop. Dividers can hold baking sheets, plates, or pot lids. Wall racks with hooks can hold cooking utensils or mugs. Ceiling mount racks are designed to hold pots and pans on S hooks, usually above a kitchen island or cook station.

5. Recessed Wall Niche

Turn a blank wall into a storage hub. Use the area between studs or reframe it to create a large space, making a recessed niche that can be outfitted with shelves to store and display serving dishes, cutting boards, and dishware you use every day.

Pro tip: The back of the niche can be wallpapered or painted a contrasting color from the rest of the room to make your dish collection really pop.

6. Drawer Dividers and Organizers

Maximize drawer space with dividers and organizers to keep items in their place. Deep, pullout drawers are great for storing pots or dishes using oversized vertical pegs to divide the stacks of bowls and plates. These buffers also keep the plates from sliding and chipping when you open and close the drawers. Keep flatware neatly contained by adding dividers in smaller drawers to separate knives, forks, spoons, and servings utensils.

7. Pegboard Storage

Make use of an empty wall with a pegboard to hold utensils, cookware, spice jars, and other items. Hooks can also hold baskets for larger items such as table linens and other kitchen essentials.

Pro tip: Paint the pegboard to match the surrounding wall or another color that coordinates with your kitchen décor.

8. Baskets and Bins

Open storage helps kitchens feel more spacious and makes essentials easier to grab. For this storage option, baskets, bins, and zippered dish storage boxes will fill the space on shelves and in compartments to hold whatever items you need to stash.

Pro tip: Select decorative woven baskets or fabric-covered bins to add a decorative element to your functional storage.

9. Kitchen Islands

Kitchen islands not only give you a convenient worktop, they also provide additional, centrally located storage space. They come in a wide range of sizes, designs, and styles. For smaller kitchens, a mobile cart on wheels or a work table can make a great choice. These usually have open shelves you can use for plates, dishes, pans, or bakeware. Cabinet-style islands feature compartments with doors and drawers for concealed storage.

10. Vertical Storage

Go vertical to maximize kitchen floor space. Use a tall shelving unit, pantry cabinet, cabinets over the refrigerator, or a hutch to store less-used items higher up and out of the way.

Riverbend Home makes it simple to keep your kitchen organized with a great selection of storage solutions to outfit your room. A neat and tidy kitchen is not only more functional, but looks more appealing and stylish. Check out our kitchen storage products and get your kitchen organization game on.