Keep Appliances Out Of Sight With A Genius Kitchen Addition

You've had your eye on a new stand mixer, Instant Pot, air fryer, or rice cooker, but you just can't imagine taking up even more room on your already-limited kitchen counter space. You could follow Martha Stewart's trick for expanding counter space — she suggests putting an open shelf between the counter and your overhead cabinets — but open shelving has its disadvantages, and having all those appliances out on view still seems unsightly. So what if you could leave all of your appliances out on the counter where they'd be most convenient but no one could see them? That's where the appliance garage comes into play.

Appliance garages are just what they sound like, simple storage solutions that allow you to keep your frequently-used appliances handy but out of sight. But there are a lot of different design options for hiding things away. For example, you have several choices when it comes to doors. The most common one is likely the type that slides up the same way a car garage door does, usually in the same finish as the cabinet doors. Tambour doors, which are made from slats that roll into the top of the cabinet, allow the door to completely disappear when it is open. You can also consider bi-fold doors or pocket doors that will slide back into the cabinet. Of course, you can keep things transparent like Alex Guarnaschelli, with mesh or fluted glass doors that give you a hint of what's behind them.

Another advantage of appliance garages over traditional cabinets is that they usually have at least one power source so you don't have to move the appliances around when it's time to use them. You do, however, want to make sure you have enough room on the counter to slide the appliances forward when using them, especially if they generate heat. If you need additional space, a door that opens top down and flush with your countertops will give you extra counter space or give one of your favorite appliances a lift with a device that will bring it up from a bottom cabinet with the touch of a button.

If you don't have enough horizontal space in your kitchen, you can create a vertical space with cabinet shelves that slide out for easy access. You can also dedicate the garage to a specific purpose. If you like making barista-style coffees from your own kitchen, create a coffee-making station where you can house your coffee maker, a milk frother, cups, filters, coffee pods, and more. If you're a frequent baker, you can put your stand mixer and blender in one place, along with bowls, measuring utensils, and baking tins. The one caveat to building an appliance garage is the same one you've probably received about your car garage: don't make it the one-stop storage space for long-forgotten or broken equipment.