How to distribute space in a shared kitchen
Every kitchen in every house is a whole world and this is why, no one better than you to know exactly what space you have available. But, you'll see that there are some tricks, quite simple ones, that can be the perfect "a, b and c" for your kitchen.
Ideally, first you equally distribute the drawers and cabinets available to store the personal food of each housemate. Be fair! Set aside an extra one (or at least some shelf) to place all shared products, such as oil, salt and sugar, spices...
Oh! And one more tip, play with heights, if you distribute the cabinets and shelves according to the height of each person, it will be easier to access your things and you'll reduce the use of the stool to reach the last tin of beans that was forgotten in the back.
Don't double up kitchenware
Speaking with sincerity... Do you really need seven pans of the same size? If you share kitchenware, it's better if you don't double up pans and pots. What's really important in any kitchen (shared or not) is to have the right utensils for the way we cook. Do you know that there is a perfect pan for your cooking style and frequency of use? Discover which one is for you in this article:
And speaking about kitchenware. You can store these in three different ways: piling one on top of the other from bigger to smaller, vertically in a lid support or separator or, lastly, hanging from hooks. This last method is an option with which you'll decorate the wall while making the most of space. Tip: place only one or wto on the wall so that it looks good and wall is not saturated.
See more kitchen utensils
More space in wardrobes and drawers
Many rental flats are a bit old and something that characterizes them, as kitchens are concerned, are their high cabinets. Here, what we recomment, both for personal use as for shred ones, is to rely on storage accessories to make the most of that space that initially seemd useless.
For example, a classic that always comes in handy is an additional shelf (as our UPPDATERA) with which you can achieve a double height. This way, you can group and pile all dinnerware, such as vasos, tazas, dishes and bowls within the same cabinet. Also, you can use a dish holder to place one on top of others.
And what can we do about drawers? In this case, we recommend you that, for cutlery, you place a simple cutlery divider. This will allow you to always have your cutlery sorted and organized. For drawers that are a bit higher (and even for shelves and wardrobes too), you can use boxes, such as UPPDATERA, to group different objects, such as cloths and tea towels or jars and pots with food.
Oh! And if you have some free shelf, a Clip-on basket will allow you to have some extra space pefect for potatoes and other vegetables and fruits that you want to keep in the pantry.
Make the most of walls
Something that we love and that we'll always make the most of is high storage. Have you thought about the potential of your walls? Because, placing something as simple as an additional shelf (always with previous consent of the owner of your apartment), you can get that extra space you need.
There are many accessories to save space on the walls. For example, if you never find a specific place for the tea towel, you can place an adhesive hook so you don't need to drill holes or leave it on the worktop or between handles. Another very practical and appealing accessory is a KUNGSFORS magnetic rack where you can put bigger knives. This way they won't take up space in the drawers and they'll always be at hand. You can also put a rail and hang hooks where to place utensils, such as soup ladles, spatulas and tongs. And surely, it can also be a rail with suction cups so you don't have to drill any holes.
We help you design your new kitchen
We know that buying a kitchen has its challenges. But don't worry, at IKEA we have a team of specialists that will help you, step by step, to plan, design and buy the kitchen of your dreams.
The appointement with the specialist is free and you can book it online via video call or in person at your IKEA store.
You can always take advantage of walls in some way. And if you're not sure how, see how we have created these three kitchens according to their distribution and space. You will surely create yours too!
The sink area
As we said before, it's better if you wash what you use and don't jam the sink, although we know that somethings this isn't an easy task. This area is prone to being filled with dishes, lots of glasses and some pans, both waiting to be washed or drying.
And even more if there are multiple people living there! That's why, if you don't have a lot of space to let everything dry well before storing and you need some extra help, we recommend you to place a foldable dish drainer. It's amazing because you can place it where it suits you best at that moment and store it again when finished, giving back all the space it took. It will be very useful for sure.
And, where do we place the soap, sponge and other manual washing complements? We give you three options: firstly, placing the right beside the sink with some container, such as a basket; secondly, placing them on a wall mounting (as the one we mentioned before); and thirdly, placing them in the inside the door of the cabinet below the sink in a basket with suction cups, this will you will have a neat surface that will look great.
Don't forget recycling!
If you don't have room for a full bin for each type of waste, a good solutions is to place a divider inside the bin. This way, you'll have room for several objects inside the same container.
We help you design your new kitchen
We know that buying a kitchen has its challenges. But don't worry, at IKEA we have a team of specialists that will help you, step by step, to plan, design and buy the kitchen of your dreams.
The appointement with the specialist is free and you can book it online via video call or in person at your IKEA store.