If you’re planning to remodel your Needham kitchen anytime soon, the odds are pretty good you’ve seen an episode or two of the home improvement show “The Property Brothers”. They’ve got a kitchen storage tip that they call fun and functional – but it might just be a foolish fad. We’re going to explain the situation and let you decide what you think the case may be.
Here’s the Property Brother’s quirky kitchen storage tip: Run the cabinets all the way up to the ceiling, gaining storage space for seldom used items that you want to keep – think things like holiday dishware or those once in a while appliances like the pizzelle maker. Now, obviously, unless you’re NBA-tall, you’re not going to be able to reach anything that’s stored near ceiling level. Here’s where the ‘fun and functional’ part of the description comes into play.
The Property Brothers suggest using rolling ladders, similar to what you’d find in an old-fashioned library, to access the items stored in the very top of your to the ceiling cabinetry. From a certain point of view, it could certainly be fun to scamper up the rungs every time you want to get to the good china – nothing tests your motor skills like not dropping Grandma’s heirloom soup plates while you’re balanced on a ladder! Innovative kitchen design can require thinking outside of the box, and for the homeowner with high ceilings and a penchant for climbing, this storage solution makes so much sense we can hardly stand it.
But let’s just say, for the fun of it, that you’re a homeowner with some health issues – maybe a bad knee, maybe less than stellar balance. Then climbing a ladder really isn’t an ideal every day activity. The storage space that’s up high will be accessed only rarely, if at all. Smart kitchen design dictates that the best storage solutions are the ones the homeowner can actually use.
So is the to-the-ceiling cabinet and rolling ladder solution fun and functional or a foolish fad? Our answer is it depends! For the right homeowner, it’s brilliant, and we’d be happy to build one. For everyone else, we’ll find a way to store your things so you can get to them easily, no matter what. Have questions? Give us a call. We’d be happy to talk this project – or anything else you have in mind – through with you.