Add Extra Prep Space To A Small Kitchen With This Countertop Feature

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Sometimes, our kitchens are physically too small to contain our cooking ambitions. Depending on budget, location, and other home design factors, we're not all blessed with plentiful counter space. That can pose quite the problem when it comes to cooking, baking, cleaning, organizing, making kids' lunches, meal-prepping for the week, and so on. While there are some brilliant organization hacks out there for maximizing counter space, sometimes you need to go a little further. Retractable countertops, as in countertops that stay hidden and out of the way until you need them, are one of the smartest hidden design features for your kitchen, as they'll give you more surface area without always cluttering up the room.

There are a few different approaches to retractable countertops. To figure out what's best for you, identify the space you have to work with. Look for gaps about a few inches wide and maybe one or two feet long where you can add a length of countertop that either unfolds, swings out, or pops out. For more elaborate mechanics, like if you want a more substantial countertop with a drop-down supporting leg, you may need a contractor. Even so, the project is still much more affordable than building entire countertops. Pop-out counters are easy to do yourself with some cut benchtop and drawer tracks.

Let's say you have about a four-inch gap between the bottom of your existing counter and your oven or dishwasher, or just under a tabletop-style counter, and it runs about two feet long. You can easily buy a piece like this Bme Hevea Solid Wood Butcher Block Countertop and then have it cut down to the measurements you need. Snag a pair of REGUDA Stainless Steel Drawer Slides and use them to fix the countertop piece under your existing counter. You'll be able to pop this extra space in and out as needed.

You can also add a folding countertop piece to the end of your counter with a drop-down leg that will support it when in use. Or, if you don't have room at the end of your counter (or gaps under it), install a sliding piece built on top of your existing counter that you can shift out to double that space. Because none of these surfaces are quite as sturdy as your kitchen's own counters, it's better to use them for your own chopping and mixing while heavier appliances take up that existing space. You're basically adding optional prep space.

Make sure to try additional approaches to gaining more counter space, like hanging your paper towel holders, keeping appliances in designated cabinets, and limiting decor to utilitarian items. Just remember that retractable counters are one of the easiest and most effective ways to create countertop space.