Kitchen Storage Ideas: What Deelux Build In As Standard

Storage is where most kitchens go wrong in year two. On the day it’s installed everything fits — because nothing’s in it yet. Six months later the worktop is covered and the larder is full of the same four things on top of each other. These are the kitchen storage ideas Deelux builds in as standard, and the upgrades we recommend when a family tells us how they actually cook.

Pan drawers, not base cupboards

Our first rule is simple: unless there’s a specific reason (waste bin, dishwasher, oven), every base unit is drawers. A base cupboard wastes the back third of its depth — you can’t see or reach the back without kneeling. Deep pan drawers (one tall, or a stacked two-drawer combination) store more and give you access to all of it. Soft-close runners are standard on every Deelux drawer; we don’t charge extra for them.

A full-height larder is the single best upgrade

A 600 mm or 800 mm tall larder with internal drawers and door-mounted shelves holds more dry goods than two banks of wall cabinets — and everything is visible in one pull. It replaces the “sea of tins” problem. In open-plan kitchens, a pair of matching larders either side of the oven is often more useful than wall cabinets above the hob.

Corners: pick your poison

L-shaped and U-shaped kitchens have to solve the corner. Our three preferred approaches:

• Magic corner — two nested wire trays that swing out on opening. Expensive, but genuinely usable for daily items.
• Le Mans carousel — kidney-shaped shelves that pull out sideways. Fits more than a magic corner and reaches further.
• Blind base with back access — cheapest, only works if the contents are “once a month” items (slow cooker, roasting tin).

We’ll recommend what fits the budget, but the magic corner or Le Mans is almost always worth upgrading to if you cook daily.

The bin drawer

Our standard bin pull-out is a 60 cm, two-bin (general + recycling) unit in the cabinet closest to the sink. Optional third compartment for caddy or compost — ask for this at design stage; it’s much cheaper to design in than retrofit.

Cutlery drawers that actually work

Ditch the plastic drop-in tray. Our standard upgrade is an oak or walnut fitted cutlery insert, cut to the drawer width. It looks better, lasts decades and doesn’t warp when you pull the drawer hard. We’ll spec two cutlery drawers in a family kitchen — one for everyday cutlery, one for serving tools — so the everyday drawer doesn’t get jammed.

Breakfast / coffee station

A tall unit with a pocket door that slides back and folds in reveals a bean-to-cup machine, toaster and cereal shelf. Close the door at the end of breakfast and the worktop is clean. This is the single request we’ve had most often in the last 3 years — it’s worth asking about on your first design visit.

Pull-out pantry for tall, narrow gaps

A 300 mm wide gap next to the fridge or oven is dead space — unless you fit a pull-out pantry. Six narrow shelves on a runner, holds oils, vinegars, jars, spices. One of the highest-value storage items per pound we fit.

Under-sink: a drawer, not a cupboard

Under-sink cupboards are notoriously bad — the plumbing takes half the space and the rest is unreachable. A U-shaped pull-out drawer that dodges the pipes turns the same space into cleaning-product storage that’s actually usable.

Upstand and splashback shelving

A deep (150 mm) solid-surface shelf sitting on the upstand behind the worktop holds oils, a kettle and small jars without eating worktop. Simple, cheap, fitted at the quartz or porcelain stage.

What we don’t recommend

• Open shelving instead of wall cabinets. Looks great empty, terrible full, and the tops of plates gather grease.
• Glass cabinet doors on everything. One or two, as feature pieces, fine. A whole wall of glass is a commitment to keep the interior styled.
• Plate racks over the sink. Fine in a farmhouse kitchen. Out of place almost everywhere else.

Built in our Winsford factory

Every drawer, pan drawer, larder and corner unit is built in our Cheshire factory — not imported, not flat-pack. That’s why we can do non-standard sizes for awkward corners and sloping ceilings without charging for a special. Read the full story on Why Deelux.

See the mechanisms in the flesh at the Chester showroom, Nantwich showroom or Warrington showroom showroom. Every quote includes free 3D visuals with storage options visualised.