Kitchen countertops are always going to be a busy work area. If you spend much time in the kitchen at all, you’ve probably found yourself in the middle of a struggle between food preparation, small appliance storage, and generally having space to move around. The more interested you are in cooking, the worse it can get, as more utensils and specialized appliances will find their way into your kitchen. Storage space can be hard enough to figure out, especially when you’re trying to keep frequently used items organized and accessible without being in the way.
If you’re already having a hard time with storage space, adding something else to your countertop might seem like the worst idea. But countertop cabinets are a versatile, convenient storage solution that can solve more problems than you might expect.
What Are Countertop Cabinets?
Countertop cabinets are smaller cabinets that sit directly on your countertop. They are usually portable, although permanent installations exist, and they come in numerous styles and configurations. The right countertop cabinet can provide a home for appliances and their accessories that would otherwise be a complete mess, and they can help you get organized and reclaim space..
One type of countertop cabinet is the appliance garage, which is specifically intended as a place to store small appliances. Others are more focused on shelving, racks, or other storage structures that sometimes slide out for access. Whatever it is you’re storing on your countertop, there’s almost certainly a countertop cabinet to get it out of the open.
What Can Countertop Cabinets Do for Your Kitchen?
Organization is key in any busy work area, especially one where you might frequently use sharp knives and open flames. The last thing you want is to bump something with your elbow and send it crashing to the floor, or find yourself so constrained you can’t move around properly. The obvious solution is to take everything off your countertops, but realistically, you’d just make things harder for yourself in a different way: sure, you’ll have all your counter space back, but you won’t have anything handy. Some tools and appliances are simply meant to live on the countertop because easy access is worth giving up that space.
Countertop cabinets are a compromise between putting something away and leaving it out. You might have considered baskets or open shelving in a similar attempt to keep things out of the way but still within reach, but these can make a kitchen appear messier (and are prone to dust and grime buildup). Countertop cabinets offer a more enclosed, integrated solution that helps your kitchen feel calmer and more seamlessly put together. They’re a fresh way to organize and declutter your kitchen, making it both more functional and more pleasing to the eye.
Clean Up the Clutter
Think about all the items that currently live on your countertops. A toaster, coffee maker, blender, spice rack, stack of cookbooks… they all add up, and while they’re all useful, they can quickly start to feel like a mess. (The mess might be more than just looks, too, if condensation and oil particulates in the air start to accumulate on everything.)
One of the biggest benefits of countertop cabinets is their ability to help you organize all these things. Items that get scattered across the counter can finally have a home that keeps them contained. Small appliances can be kept inside an enclosure that keeps them dust-free and keeps their cords tucked out of the way. Since many countertop cabinets have internal shelving, you could find a home for your mugs on a little shelf just above the coffee maker rather than in an entirely different cabinet. Those cookbooks can stand up as if in a miniature bookshelf and be protected by a cabinet door rather than being stacked haphazardly in the open..
Let’s also be honest and admit that some appliances are just not appealing to look at all the time. Maybe your toaster is old and ugly, or maybe your brand new espresso machine looks too industrial to your eyes. Put them away inside an attractive cabinet instead of leaving them out, and your kitchen will instantly feel more consistent.
Create More Space
It might seem unintuitive to think that adding a countertop cabinet could create more space rather than just sectioning off the space it occupies. But remember what I just said about internal shelves? Every shelf inside a countertop cabinet gives you the equivalent of that cabinet’s footprint in additional storage space. Of course, countertop cabinets need to be small enough to be kept on a countertop, so the number of shelves will be limited, but you’ll still be able to create storage spaces where nothing could exist before but empty air.
Create Designated Zones
Since countertop cabinets keep things organized into defined spaces, they can help you create dedicated areas for specific tasks. For example, you can have a “breakfast station” where your coffee maker, mugs, and sugar are all gathered into one cabinet. Another idea is a “baking zone” with your stand mixer, measuring cups, and flour stored together. You can be creative with these zones and consider creating one based on any set of appliances and ingredients you frequently use together.
If you have children, you could also make a “kids’ cooking zone” that has snacks, plastic utensils, cereal, or anything else you feel is appropriate for your kids to be able to access. This can simultaneously make them feel included while reducing their interest in the parts of the kitchen you don’t want them using without supervision. It can also be a useful tool for teaching responsibility and cleanliness.
Regardless of the type of stations or zones you create with countertop cabinets, remember this: many of these cabinets are made to be portable, so you can move things with ease that would have been much more annoying if they weren’t all contained and secured. Countertop cabinets also vary in how they’re meant to be used with appliances: the portable cabinets require you to take the appliance out and plug it in, but you have greater versatility in how you move them around the kitchen. Built-in countertop cabinets are not movable, but can have access to a wall outlet, so you’d simply slide the appliance forward to use it. If a kitchen in a new home already has countertop cabinets, this can help you figure out what type of use they’re intended for.
Boost Accessibility
Countertop cabinets make a kitchen easier to use by moving things within reach. Everyone benefits from a more streamlined kitchen, but this is even more important for people with disabilities, someone recovering from an injury, or anyone else who might have trouble reaching up to the wall cabinets or bending down to the base cabinets.
A countertop cabinet can be a temporary solution for someone who can’t stretch after surgery, or a permanent fixture for someone using a wheelchair. These cabinets might offer simple convenience to those without disabilities, but they can also be a crucial part of a person’s independence.
Save Time and Simplify Routines
If everything in your kitchen is organized, you’ll reduce wasted time searching for items. With designated kitchen zones, you’ll also have everything together for a specific task. Countertop cabinets help you define homes for everything in your kitchen and define spaces for different purposes. When everything has a place, you know where everything is, and you can set anything up within moments, everything feels simpler.
Plus, I’ve touched on this briefly already, but it’s impossible to overstate how much cleaner your kitchen will be (and how much less time it will take to keep it clean) when you have as much as possible protected by an enclosure. Over time, grease and dust will build up on any exposed surface just from cooking normally, which is a typical kitchen hazard and also the main argument against open shelving. Wiping down your cabinet doors will take a fraction of the time it would take to clean the outside of every spice jar.
Countertop Cabinet Styles and Sizes
Just like other kitchen cabinets, countertop cabinets come in a wide range of designs. You can find options that match your kitchen whether it’s modern, traditional, or something in between. You don’t have to settle for something that looks out of place.
Wooden countertop cabinets are usually available in the same finishes as other wood cabinetry, so you’re likely to be able to find countertop cabinets that look like they’ve come from the same set as your main cabinets. However, you can also choose to get them in a contrasting color or to match other color accents in your kitchen. It’s up to you whether you would prefer to have them blend in or break up a boring space.
The door style is another consideration: some countertop cabinets have a roll-up door, some have a door that lifts straight up, and others have a door that lifts up and then slides back into the cabinet’s ceiling. Yet others have doors that open to the side like regular cabinet doors. Some have a combination of door styles, and small drawers are also a possibility. Besides the particular opening mechanism for the door, its material can vary, such as glass-fronted doors.
Finding the Right Fit for Your Space
Countertop cabinets are available in a variety of sizes. You can find narrow cabinets for spice racks and wider ones for appliances. The size and shape of the cabinet is often based on its intended contents.
Larger countertop cabinets can reach all the way up to the bottoms of your wall cabinets, creating an unbroken look. These are usually meant to enclose a microwave along with the additional space they provide below.
Before you shop for countertop cabinets, always measure your countertop’s width and length so you understand how much surface area you have access to, and measure the distance between the countertop and the underside of any wall cabinets. Know the positions of your power outlets and light switches and how much space exists between and around them.
When Not to Use Countertop Cabinets
Some countertop surfaces are less suited than others to countertop cabinets. Depending on how heavy the cabinet gets, they can damage certain types of stone through constant pressure. Some kinds of marble are more susceptible to this. If the cabinet has feet, the weight will concentrate in a smaller area and make damage more likely. It’s possible to mitigate this by supporting the cabinet on its own surface, but you should consult an expert first if you have a stone countertop.
Besides pressure damage, a countertop cabinet can scratch a surface depending on its hardness and whether you slide the cabinet around carelessly. This is easier to avoid simply by paying attention. Felt “furniture feet” attached to the bottom of the cabinet can help it slide freely and prevent scratches.
Finally, watch out for uneven countertop surfaces. You could end up with a wobbly cabinet or even a hidden place for moisture to pool underneath. This is another problem you can avoid by just moving the cabinet to a different area, provided a suitable area does exist on your countertop.
Making the Most of Your Countertop Cabinets
If you have any flair for organization at all (or even if you just wish you did) countertop cabinets will get you excited about the improvements you can make to your kitchen. Start out by looking around and mimicking your daily routine to see which items are already in their best place, which might benefit from being moved, and which could be consolidated into a designated area. (The most obvious might be to create a “morning coffee zone” you can navigate in your sleep.) Which appliances are easy to move, and which would you prefer to slide forward or even leave in place? This analysis will help you decide what kinds of countertop cabinets to get and where to put them.
You can also use these cabinets to add a touch of personal style to your kitchen. If you choose a cabinet with glass doors, you can display your favorite mugs or decorative items. This turns a functional storage unit into a part of your kitchen's overall decor.
Whether you’re looking to transform your kitchen’s look, functionality, or both, countertop cabinets are a smart and practical addition to consider. With so many sizes and variations available, you can put them to use in any way you see fit to improve your kitchen and enjoy your home every day.
