Cabinet Inserts Control Clutter

Jan. 18--A Hummer of a stainless steel stove and double oven may be on your dream-kitchen list. And wouldn't a granite countertop be grand?

But if you really could design your dream kitchen, and this assumes you want a kitchen where food is prepared, function might be your first concern.

When it comes to making kitchen improvements, most homeowners put function and organization ahead of opulence and beauty, according to several local kitchen designers and home improvement stores.

The $200 to $2,000 or so cost of cabinet inserts and organizational accessories -- either do-it-yourself or custom-made -- is a relatively inexpensive way to attain that dream. (Compared with that granite countertop for $10,000.)

Most cabinet companies offer optional inserts that put things in their proper places and allow those items to roll forward for easy access. Relatively new is how popularity and demand for function -- and payback at resale -- have led to a greater variety, in custom cabinetry and do-it-yourself lines.

Products range from spice shelves, roll-out bins and pegboards to cutlery trays that hold each knife in a designated slot.

Many of these units can be purchased at home-improvement centers for between $20 and $60, for new and older cabinets. Custom pieces, installed in new cabinets, can run from $50 to $500 apiece.

"These days, the kitchen is the main hub of almost everyone's home, which means clutter can gather quickly," said Jennifer Wilson, spokeswoman at Lowe's. "That's why specialized kitchen products are so popular among our customers."

Lowe's is one of many home-improvement outlets offering multiple lines of cabinet and drawer organizers. Brands include Rev-a-Shelf, ClosetMaid and Real Organized.

Among the store's offerings are chrome-plated, heavy-gauge wire accessories. Roll-out shelves with a pegboard back can be used to hang odd-sized and large utensils. A wood tray with slots for 19 knives keeps points and blades sharp and safe in a drawer.

A 15-inch wood pullout drawer for cabinets costs $59.97. A smaller, 12-inch wood drawer costs $49.97 and a pull-out pot and pan organizer drawer, $44.97. A storage unit, $29.97, attaches to the doors of cabinets under the sink.

Kitchen designers like Roger Schuller of R.D. Schuller Construction work with companies that specialize in organizational systems. One popular new option is a self-closing drawer from Blum called Blumotion. It uses lubricated gears to pull drawers shut. Tap it, and it easily and quietly closes.

Schuller was called in to remodel and reconfigure the kitchen where Dr. Jyoti Ramachandran hangs out with her family.

The west Omaha mother of two said she loves to cook, but she wanted a kitchen that was, above all, functional.

She asked for pull-out shelves in base cabinets and roll-out shelves in easy reach of the stove for spices and other dry goods.

"For me, it was all about saving time. I use my kitchen a lot; the cabinets should be about function. With these, it's easy to see what you're getting."

She keeps her most-used spices in quart jars on two tiers of slide-out cabinets on each side of the stove. The units also feature lightweight wood tops that provide another shallow work surface when the cabinet is rolled out from the wall. Roll-out shelves in base cabinets hold pots and lids.

Kitchens often have small spaces where special organizers can improve the use of space, said Kathy Fober of D&A Remodeling Inc., adding that her clients' preferences come through in interviews before the kitchen work begins.

"People want a place for everything. The day of the old appliance garage has passed to the desire for a cleaner countertop and custom spaces for things. Remember the butcher block that people used to hold sharp knives? Now there are wooden slots for knives -- on the same principle as the butcher block -- but in the drawer."

Scott Byrd of Nebraska Home Improvement, a remodeling company, has seen the transition, too.

"Now the kitchen is the family room, where people want decent storage and great work centers. They want function and more."

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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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