So, I am curious, have you ever wondered what is behind those doors, there on the right of my kitchen?
Well, one of them is my “garage” of sorts. When we designed the kitchen I knew I wanted a place for the coffee maker (or as it has become, makers), blender, toaster, etc. So, this is what you will find in the right cabinet. Nothing too scandalous.
Above it is everything related to coffee or tea – all in one convenient place.
Moving to the left a bit, you will find my spices and such conveniently located near the stove, and of course the toaster. We do make sure to have the door open when toasting!
It is behind the next door that things get interesting…
Yup, that is a big ugly furnace pipe.
It used to be hidden away in our old pantry closet. When we began redesigning the kitchen it became clear that this pipe wasn’t going anywhere. To move it would have required roof work, ripping out part of my master closet and lots and lots of money.
So, with the exception of being shimmied over a few inches, it is where it always was, just hidden behind door number 1. Our contractor fitted the cabinet with a divider and shortened shelves so the right side of the cabinet would still be usable.
I do sneak a couple of trivets in there for storage, but than that it is just a pipe. We may have to close it off a little more down the line because the amount of dust generated from the there is a bit challenging and the drafts are pretty bad, but for now it is behind a door.
So what about below.
Well, that is where my contractor shows off how fancy he really is.
You see, he took the existing drawer and rebuilt it so it goes right around the pipe. Admittedly, this drawer is not the most sturdy so I use for the “not everyday” type items. 
Below, on the right there are two pull out drawers with pots and such.
On the left, again our contractor created a divider and rebuilt the pull out drawers to fit just on the right side of the cabinet. 
He closed in the pipe below and put shelves in that conveniently are just about the same depth as Keurig boxes for additional storage. We also keep the kid’s hot chocolate mugs and supplies where they can easily be reached down here.
So, here it is – The Full Monty!
I am showing you my deep dark cabinet secrets!
So, if you run into a challenging aspect of your home, don’t give up! There may well be an option to camouflage it.
This is not a solution we came up with right away, it took several ideas and options to consider before we came to this decision.
So, don’t give up hope, don’t get frustrated with your home – embrace it for all the possibilities that lie ahead!
I love this. I love to see how people organize their cupboards and drawers. I have a similar situation with coffee goodies in one cabinet and tea, drinks, sugar goodies in the other. I love how you close the cupboards and it looks neat. Great post. YOu always post the neatest posts!
Blessings,
Debbie
Thanks so much Debbie – your sweet comments are so sincerely appreciated! Take care, Laura
Great job camouflaging the exhaust pipe for the furnace and making use of the space. 🙂 Ours runs through out pantry, up through Ben’s closet and out. Now I need to go clean my spice cabinet. 🙂
What a great idea for a challenging situation! I love the coffee space!
Debbie
Love your cupboards and all their secret compartments. Wish I had the space for all of my kitchen gadgets. Although I have a smaller kitchen now than my last one, I am still able to store most of my items. Thanks for sharing!
CLEVER!!!! and jealous of all the organization!! That is on my 2012 to do list..GET ORGANIZED!
Great idea to work the cabinet around that pipe! Love all your organization!
Kelly
You certainly have lots of great storage in your lovely kitchen. That was a great solution to keep a unified look on the outside and still squeeze in extra storage.
wow.. I dont think my cabs have been that neat since the day they went it//BEFORE I put stuff in them lol… so applause for that as well as the ingenius ways you made it work for you.
I would love to copy your doors sitting on the counter idea – love that~!
thanks for showing us ways to make our kitchens look better.
Your kitchen looks AMAZING!!!! And I know you’re talking about your furnace pipe, but all I could see was a bunch of prettiness surrounding it!
Everything in your home is so pretty–even your furnace pipe!
Way to overcome a otherwise awkward situation… and beautifully I might add.
You are so lucky to have so much storage space…..and a very creative contractor, Laura! 🙂 He did an amazing job!!! What a beautiful kitchen!
xoxo laurie
Your kitchen is beautiful Laura! Love your organization and the workmanship. I really like your toaster, I’ve never seen one designed that nice looking. Have a blessed day!
You are so lucky to have a very creative contractor…he did a great job…The organized cabinetry so lends to a ultra clean look…I so love your kitchen…I am needing a stove like yours…It is on my list…
Very good organiztion. Looks good.
What a great idea! I would have never guessed there was a pipe behind your door! We did something similar in our Butler’s Pantry with the hot water heater.
blessings,
karianne
Lots of really great workarounds going on in your kitchen. Way to work within the budget and STILL get what you want.
How clever is that?! I have always loved your kitchen, and your screen porch…and your whole house!
Terrific, beautiful and functional design! I really enjoy your newsletter updates and your blog. Seeing your toaster plugged in, however, prompted me to remind everyone not to leave their toasters plugged in when not in use, especially inside a cabinet. I had never considered this potential fire hazard until a friend of mine recounted the story of a fire that destroyed the home of one of her friends. It seems something fell on the mechanism that is held down to turn the toaster on. It overheated which led to catching the cabinet on fire which destroyed their home. I don’t want to be a downer here, just hoping to help anyone who may never have thought of this as a potential fire hazard.