Those silly cupboards over the 'fridge

[Anna N]

We are in the midst of some major building (bedrooms!) but I'm already re-designing my new kitchen! I'm very short so cupboards above the 'fridge are totally useless space for me and become burial holes where things simply disappear. So, I am planning on removing these cupboards completely and putting in heavy glass shelves, lit from behind, and storing a few cookbooks and some attractive serving dishes there. Anyone else hate these things? Any other design ideas? Here are the offending cupboards above the 'fridge.

[balmagowry]

We are in the midst of some major building (bedrooms!) but I'm already re-designing my new kitchen!  I'm very short so cupboards above the 'fridge are totally useless space for me and become burial holes where things simply disappear.  So, I am planning on removing these cupboards completely and putting in heavy glass shelves, lit from behind, and storing a few cookbooks and some attractive serving dishes there.  Anyone else hate these things?  Any other design ideas?

How familiar they look. Lucky for me, I don't have 'em over the fridge, though, just everywhere else. If they had been there I'd just have taken them down, because in my kitchen the top of the fridge is the best, the only, place for the microwave to live.

Edit to add: I don't understand how the front of anyone's fridge can possibly be so pristine!

Edited March 2, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[BJL]

I agree that the cabinets become lost, especially with doors on them "out of sight out of mind". Right now I keep small appliances (blender, mini chopper etc) up there.

I am not sure what the effect of the refrigerator's heat might be, but would it be possible to use it to store wine? A nice open built in wine rack might work, or perhaps the glassware that you don't use often would look nice up there.

[JPW]

I wonder how many people can actually tell you what's in those cabinets.

I think mine have a couple of flower vases and a couple of ice buckets.

But I could be wrong.

[srhcb]

I wonder how many people can actually tell you what's in those cabinets.

I think mine have a couple of flower vases and a couple of ice buckets.

But I could be wrong.

ditto

[cakewalk]

But that's where the Pesach dishes go!!

Alternatively, your idea sounds very nice.

[itch22]

When we moved into our current place, the first thing to go were the cupboards, along with the rest of the kitchen and rebuilt from the sewer drainage pipes up! We replaced our cupboards with white shelves.

[Arey]

My curiosity was piqued so I went and looked in mine, but first I had to remove my pasta pot, bamboo steamer, and 5 qt covered pot from the top of the refridgerator. I'm sorry I looked. One more reason for me to ask my brother if I can set up a table on his lawn for the yard sale weekend his town puts on each Spring.

[Marlene]

When we re-did our kitchen, I had the cabinet maker divide the cupboards over the fridge into slots. That's where all my baking trays, and serving dishes that I store in boxes go. Neatly ordered and easy to reach. I shall take a picture if you like so you can see what I mean!

[yellow truffle]

I had this similar layout when I was in architecture school. The wall cabinet is there as a filler to make the wall complete with cabinets, good for sales, bad for useability. I would suggest against glass, especially backlit. This will get dirty, especially with your stove top next to it. You will find yourself up there dusting more than you would if you had an enclosed wall cabinet.

Might I suggest extending the soffit (the white linear box above the wall cabinets) so that it lines up with the wall to the right of the refrigerator. Extend the cabinet above the refrigerator to line up with the soffit (maybe set back an inch or two) to create a deeper (more useful) storage. Now you have a really deep overhang between the soffit and cabinets. Maybe you can add recessed downlighting.

[Toasted]

Marlene- that is such a good idea. I wish I had thought of that when we had our

kitchen redone about a year ago. The only way I can reach our cabinets is by standing on a stool and even then I can barely reach the back. I mostly store seasonal things up there like platters and heating trays, nothing I use on a daily basis.

[snowangel]

I wonder how many people can actually tell you what's in those cabinets.

I think mine have a couple of flower vases and a couple of ice buckets.

But I could be wrong.

As I pack to move (after 18 years in one house), I tackled this area yesterday and found:

One Northwestern Bell promo ice bucket, circa 1981, with a cracked side and no lid. Into the trash.

Several unused (and still in boxes!) wedding present (married almost 23 years), including 4 really ugly vases, 4 sets of even uglier candle holders, one "cut glass" deviled egg dish that holds 6 deviled egg halves (not enough for appetizers for one person). In a box all ready for the thrift store.

All items removed from house (to trash bin or car) before anyone could claim them as a "precious treasure." 8 year old boys have strange taste.

Oh, and an unbelievable number of dust lions.

[Mayhaw Man]

I keep my mice up there. It gives them easy access to the bread and stuff in baskets on top of the fridge.

Sadly, this is true. Today it is 84F, so hopefully they will be moving back outside for the summer.

[bloviatrix]

I know this isn't what you asked but, as part of your kitchen design, make sure to have a place to store a step ladder.

[Marlene]

Marlene- that is such a good idea. I wish I had thought of that when we had our

kitchen redone about a year ago. The only way I can reach our cabinets is by standing on a stool and even then I can barely reach the back. I mostly store seasonal things up there like platters and heating trays, nothing I use on a daily basis.

I'm not very tall either. I had them extend the cabinets to come to the edge of the top of the fridge, and then slot them. I keep most of my serving trays in their boxes and this was a great way to store them, and be able to reach them too.

I'll take a pic and get hubby to upoad it to the pc later

[Anna N]

I knew I'd find some excellent design ideas not to mention some gotcha's! Love your idea, Marlene, but this is a completely open concept house so I need to have something attractive up there if I leave it open - otherwise it would be the perfect place for sheet pans, etc. I might adapt your idea though and store platters there using dowelling as dividers. (The more I think about this, the more I like it!).

The dust/grease problem had occurred to me on glass shelves but was offset by the idea of something pleasant to look at since my dining room/living room and kitchen are all one "great room". (I snicker a bit when I say that since the whole room is anything but "great" in terms of size!)

Extending the soffit might be a long-term plan but probably won't happen soon - too many other things that I would like to improve first.

The wine storage problem we have solved in our own unique way - I will post a photo later.

Are dust lions more aggressive than dust bunnies?

And my pristine fridge front? It's even more pristine now as I am on an anti-clutter campaign! There is NOTHING on the front of my fridge! And just a single plant on top of it until I find a better home - for the plant - not the 'fridge.

Many thanks for your suggestions and interest.

[Brad Ballinger]

I guess I should consider myself lucky. I have an older house with ten-foot high ceilings. The kitchen design I have has the refrigerator set into the counter/cupboard space. The cupboards are four feet high and the doors are flush with the front of the refrigerator. There are two shelves (three levels), and they are very deep. I can fit a lot of stuff up there.

A step ladder is needed for the top two levels.

[oraklet]

I am not sure what the effect of the refrigerator's heat might be, but would it be possible to use it to store wine? A nice open built in wine rack might work...

a kitchen is such an awful place for storing wine. ever changing temperature, humidity, light. better in a well isolated cupboard in the bedroom or the hall.

[Anna N]

I am not sure what the effect of the refrigerator's heat might be, but would it be possible to use it to store wine?  A nice open built in wine rack might work...

a kitchen is such an awful place for storing wine. ever changing temperature, humidity, light. better in a well isolated cupboard in the bedroom or the hall.

Here is how we solved the wine storage:

This is one of two teak cabinets with a small shelf which seemed pretty useless but with the wine rack from my daughter, shown here, we are able to store quite a few bottles of wine. This rack can be reshaped into almost any configuration and as you can see from the second photo, the "leftovers" give me an extra shelf in a cupboard.

[therese]

I have the same arrangement as Marlene: the fridge is counter-depth, and the cabinets over them are base cabinet-depth and slotted for trays, cookie sheets, cutting boards. These are all items that are easily reached from the front edge of the cabinet, and I use it several times a day.

Oh, and the key to a pristine refrigerator is to get a stainless steel door, as magnets don't work.

[Anna N]

...

Oh, and the key to a pristine refrigerator is to get a stainless steel door, as magnets don't work.

I took the other route and trashed all the magnets!

[hannnah]

I really like my over-the-fridge cupboards, but we did make sure to get the kind that are the same depth as the fridge so we can reach the doors! The fridge is next to a deep pantry cabinet, so matching the depth wasn't a problem, although I can see how it would be in Anna's layout.

I keep my big stockpot up there, as well as other things like the blender and some serving pieces that don't need to be out full time but need to be reachable.

[sparrowgrass]

I realized, when I read this, that I don't have a cabinet over the fridge--I am off to Lowes to see if I can find a deep cabinet to hold my trays/cookie sheets. That would look much better than the pile of egg cartons and the pressure canner that currently live on top of the fridge.

Thanks muchly.

[Mottmott]

I don't have a cabinet over my fridge, but I do have a TV there.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I don't have a cabinet over my fridge, but I do have a TV there.

I'm jealous... What a perfect spot!