1. Bi-fold cupboard door
When designing the kitchen, my heart was set on having an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets. We couldn't squeeze that exact configuration into the room without losing too much cupboard space in the adjacent run of units, so I had to compromise on that side, and go for an L-shaped layout there instead.
2. Pull-out rail for cleaning kit
We had just enough space for a tall, narrow unit at the end of our run of floor-to-ceiling cabinets, but we didn't have enough money left in the pot for a smart pull-out larder system. The builders suggested just padding out each side of the run to fill the space, but I didn't want to lose an inch of potential storage, so we added a narrow cupboard which I've used for to organise cleaning supplies and kit.
3. Hidden peninsula storage
I would have loved to have squeezed in a kitchen island packed with storage (a kitchen big enough is on my bucket list), but I had to accept that I didn't have enough space. As an alternative, we have a smart peninsula idea that serves as a breakfast bar and zones the room.
4. Pan drawers
I loved the deep pan drawers we had in our last kitchen (that was also from Howdens), but we struggled with keeping pan lids organised. Having lusted after beautiful wooden peg board drawer storage in a bespoke kitchen showroom we visited, I've created a budget-friendly version using this expandable drawer organiser from Amazon.
5. Lazy susan drinks station
This idea is not so much a hack, but it is a brilliant addition to our larder. I fully recommend a turntable as a brilliant budget buy to organising a kitchen cupboard. To allow quick and easy access to everything I need for making hot drinks, I store coffee, tea bags, sugar, drinking chocolate and teaspoons in jars on top of this Lazy Susan from Amazon.