Make Use Of The Space Below Your Cabinets With A Mini Storage Solution

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Whether you're battling a small kitchen or looking for clever hacks to secretly add more storage to your culinary space, finding the right solution that won't decrease the size of your workstation can be tricky. The space below the upper kitchen cabinets can be great for storing appliances, adding decor, or stashing utensil containers and cutting boards. However, for many, the space easily becomes cluttered or goes unused. While vintage shelves and hanging cabinets on the walls look stunning, they can look bulky beside your existing cabinetry. To combat these challenges, some folks have opted to utilize the existing dead space beneath their kitchen cabinetry to create a custom, miniature apothecary-style drawer setup that adds more storage for small utensils, snacks, and other kitchen items.

Whether you choose to DIY your drawers or purchase a prebuilt alternative, this can be a great solution for many. However, homeowners are divided on whether or not this could result in a lack of prep space. Smaller kitchens may suffer the loss of additional counter space since the drawers are installed towards the back of the countertop, underneath the cabinets. Those with larger kitchens and additional countertop space point out that they don't notice the loss of work surface and instead favor the additional storage. Additionally, if you're looking to stash larger items, this solution may not be the most ideal, as the drawers are not very large.

To DIY an apothecary cabinet, determine the length across your countertop and the depth needed for the project. One TikTok user left around 12 inches of free space from the edge of her countertop in her cabinet design, meaning her apothecary-style cabinet was likely 12 inches deep. Further, given that the standard height between upper cabinets and the countertop is 18 inches, you could use this measurement for the height of your project. However, it's a good idea to measure your space in case your cabinets are higher or lower than standard.

Once you have your dimensions, it's time to create the frame. Cut plywood to create the back of the cabinet, sides, top, bottom, and one shelf in the middle. To attach the boards, you can use wood glue and nails. Next, create your drawers. As a rough guide, you might expect your drawers to be 12 or 13 inches deep and 8 inches high to fit on a standard countertop beneath upper cabinets. The width will depend on the length of your frame, evenly divided. Measure, cut, and sand each piece of wood, and then assemble the drawers using wood glue and nails. For the drawer fronts, the homeowner used an oak board and suggested measuring out each drawer face as well as the hardware location prior to cutting to streamline the process. Once your drawers are made, you can stain the wood and add your hardware.

Alternatively, purchase premade wood organizers that resemble apothecary drawers, like the Wisuce Bamboo Desk Organizer. Once again, you'll want to measure your space as well as the dimensions of the organizers to determine how many you'll need to create your design. Keep in mind that these organizers may not fill the space as neatly as a custom setup. Although alternative storage solutions, like utilizing the bare side of kitchen cabinets to maximize space, could make up for this drawback. Once you have your organizers, sand, paint, or stain the wood. Then, swap out the hardware and attach the mini organizers together using wood glue or nails to create an apothecary cabinet.

DIYing your own apothecary cabinet could be a costly endeavor, depending on the scale of your space. However, if you want a budget-friendly way to organize your kitchen when you don't have a pantry, you could purchase a pre-built apothecary cabinet. The drawers are often smaller than something you could DIY, and the ensemble could be more expensive if you buy vintage, but for those who aren't as tool-savvy, this could save you time and frustration. For example, the TBVECHI Apothecary Cabinet from Amazon retails for $41. You might need to purchase multiple cabinets to fill the length of your under-cabinet space. Or, style a single apothecary drawer cabinet alongside other countertop adornments for a cozy, eclectic look.