It is no secret that I am a big fan of IKEA kitchens. Not only do I love having a cabinetry system that I can rely on for years to come, but there is also the abundance of IKEA kitchen organization and storage options available to customize them after they are installed.
I’m not sure how many times I have heard someone say they just don’t have enough space. Only to see what they really have is a poor kitchen layout, underused space, or a complete lack of kitchen organization.
When you work with us at Homestud Studios, we plan and design your space beyond just the aesthetics. We want to give you the ability to take advantage of all of the great IKEA kitchen organization options at your disposal.
This post takes a deep dive into all of the IKEA kitchen organization and storage solutions, from IKEA drawer organizers, to wall baskets, to pot racks. I’ll even throw a few IKEA hacks your way at the end using unconventional items.
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IKEA kitchen organization and storage
IKEA drawers
You might be thinking, drawers? That’s not exactly earth shattering.
But I’m willing to bet you don’t know about all of the drawer options IKEA offers. Yes, there is the standard cabinet drawer. But you can also have a drawer within a drawer. We like to place a hidden drawer nestled inside the pots and pans storage. This is a great way to use IKEA kitchen organization to your advantage. We store our measuring cups, extra small fry pans, and a few other cooking and baking essentials that are nice to have on hand next to the oven.
Did you know that you can add drawers to the pantry? Digging through stacks of cans is a thing of the past when you add drawers. You can even add wire baskets for storing bulkier items that aren’t used very often. While we are on the topic, I will also suggest you check out IKEA’s pot lid organizer.
IKEA drawer organizers
You can’t have a discussion about IKEA kitchen organization without talking about IKEA drawer dividers. We use a lot of drawers in our kitchen designs because we believe they are far more functional than large open cabinets. This also means incorporating IKEA drawers whenever it makes sense.
First and foremost, they fit. Perfectly. It’s not like shopping on Amazon or at Walmart for drawer dividers and cutlery trays, only to find them be too large or too small.
IKEA’s drawer organizers come in 3 standard sizes: 6″, 12″, and 15″. They even make a handy guide to show you which IKEA drawer organizers can be paired together depending on the drawer width.
My personal favourite drawer organizer is the knife block. I’m not a big fan of having my countertops cluttered. This includes traditional knife blocks. Therefore, having the option to hide knives using an IKEA drawer divider is fantastic. Other options also include, large and small utensil organizers and standard cutlery trays. They come in plastic and bamboo options depending on what you are after.
The only downside I can find to IKEA drawer organizers is the slightest waste of space. You will notice in the guide above, that every drawer divider combination winds up 3″ narrower than the drawer itself. Personally, I would sacrifice this minor waste of space for an increase in kitchen organization any day of the week.
IKEA storage bins
IKEA storage bins come in a variety of sizes and probably have even more uses than I can come up with. Regardless, here are our favourite ways to use storage bins to increase our IKEA kitchen organization.
Use IKEA storage bins to create grouped items that are ready to go. In our kitchen we have our commonly used spices in VARIERA storage bins. We also use these bins to store our tupperware lids, keeping them contained. This also keeps any residual water that was missed from damaging our drawers. We also like to use RISATORP baskets in our pantry to keep onions and potatoes organized.
Admittedly, you don’t need to use IKEA kitchen organizers for this, almost any organizing container could be used (sometimes for cheaper). However, once again, IKEA storage bins just seem to fit perfectly within their cabinets. It’s like they planned it or something…
IKEA spice rack
There might actually be too many options when it comes to IKEA spice racks. As I already mentioned, you can simply store the packages or containers in storage bins. However, you can get even more organized when it comes to your spices.
The BEHVAM spice rack might be one of the most hacked IKEA items. You also don’t need an IKEA kitchen to take advantage of these spice racks. I used them in my very first apartment to organize my spaces along the backsplash. They were accessible and well organized. Plus the kitchen was tiny and I wasn’t wasting cabinet or drawer space.
If you have an extra drawer or prefer your spices laid out, use VARIERA spice tray inserts. This will make anyone with OCD feel right at home. These can be used with the normal store bought spice jars, or if you are like my family and buy spices in larger quantities, pick up IKEA’s ORTFYLLD spice jars. Then store your extra spice bags in an IKEA storage bin.
The last IKEA spice storage option I want to discuss falls under the wall basket category. IKEA sells many different rail options that can be used to hang stuff along the backsplash or under the cabinets. This includes the funky stainless steel KUNGSFORS containers. Another great way to keep the everyday spices like salt and pepper handy without having them sitting on the countertop. These rails also work well to coral pot lids on the inside of cabinet doors.
I’m a total nerd when it comes to kitchen organization and there are some other amazing options on the market. If you want to maximize the usefulness of your wall cabinets, these spice gripper clips will do the trick. They install on the inside of your cabinet door to save shelf space. Plus they require no drilling! Last but not least, if you want to show off a little and display all the different spices you like to cook with, then the magnetic stainless steel spice rack is for you.
Rethink open shelving
Open shelves have been all the rage for a while now, but they aren’t always the best use of space. I understand that minimalist style looks amazing on Pinterest or Instagram, but really…who’s dishes always look that good?
Well I want you to rethink open storage with some of the newer IKEA kitchen organization options.
First, the new wine shelf. Wine racks are a great way to incorporate open shelving that is still highly functional. Plus this new style looks fantastic when paired with a contrasting color. We are in the midst of a client project right now that incorporates these open wine shelves with IKEA’s modern gray-green Bodarp slab doors, and it looks sharp!
The best part, these shelves are dual purpose. Remove the angle shelf in the middle and it instantly becomes a built-in open shelving unit among the cabinetry.
If you still like the more traditional look, IKEA also offers their TORNVIKEN wine racks. We installed a pair of these at Hilltop, just underneath a custom open shelving unit. Just remember, this unit is an off-white color, so it doesn’t match all of their cabinet doors. It matches the GRIMSLOV and BODBYN off-white cabinet fronts nicely.
Organize your blind corner cabinet
Blind corner cabinets can be a pain when unorganized. However, if you add in a cabinet carousel, that all changes. There are several different carousels as part of the IKEA kitchen organization system. There is the full carousel that turns in a complete circle, but does not pull out. This is meant for their standard square corner base cabinet. They also make a kidney shaped half-carousel that rotates and pulls out to make everything completely accessible. IKEA even makes a carousel for their corner wall cabinet.
Plus they actually stand up to a real world test. You can see in the photo above how we use ours to store our small kitchen appliances. This includes a big Instapot!
IKEA kitchen organization hacks
There are some super creative people out there that have come up with some awesome IKEA kitchen organization hacks. I want to highlight a few of the ones I have incorporated over the years, as well as some others that I would love to try.
Create shallow shelves for cutting boards. This involves using IKEA’s rails and mounting them to the underside of a shelf. This creates a perfect place for organizing your cutting boards. It would even work in base cabinets as a method to store baking sheets.
Use a drawer front to create custom storage, maximizing your kitchen organization. This is not a simple hack, but it really lets you take advantage of what could be wasted space. The downside of IKEA’s SEKTION cabinetry is that it comes in very standard sizes. These don’t always fit our kitchens perfectly, especially when it comes to fixed cabinet locations (corners, sinks, etc). Instead of using a large filler panel to hide dead space, build a custom cabinet. We use ours to store large flat items.
Build custom kick storage. This is not one I have ever used, but it is at the top of my to-do list. I already build my own cabinet kicks, and it wouldn’t take much modifying to add in storage. Think about the amount of extra storage you could add by doing this!
Are there any IKEA kitchen organization or storage solutions you can’t live without? Leave a comment and tell us about them below.
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