Do you love jigsaw puzzles? I do and designing a tiny area in my client's kitchen felt just like working a puzzle; moving the right pieces into their proper place. In this case, it's not just for fun but to alleviate the daily stress and frustration they experience from not having enough counter space and storage to meet their needs.
They eventually plan to renovate their kitchen with a total demo and expansion but that won't be for another five years or more and they need a temporary solution that can offer immediate relief.
The wall space above the shoe cabinet is completely open. This can serve as an extension of the kitchen by hanging hooks with mesh bags that hold fresh produce. Currently, they use a decorative wire basket that stores their produce but it is taking up valuable space that could be better utilized.
This corner in the kitchen has so much more potential. Look to the right and you'll see a glimpse of the niche area where the shoe storage cabinet will be.
By updating their existing cart to one with a professional grade butcher block top will provide them with an additional food preparation area. Once the produce is relocated and shelves are installed to store the soda stream and coffee maker, they will gain 40" of usable counter area plus storage.
The combination of shelves I'm proposing includes the Enhet Wall Shelf from Ikea. I think it's beautiful! Look closely and you can see there is a lazy suzan fastened to the shelf.
And on the other wall, I'm suggesting two floating rustic shelves to coordinate with the cart and their existing cabinets.
I found two other storage solutions in addition to the cart. This first one is the Malibu Metal Kitchen Corner Cabinet from Pottery Barn. It will fit into the corner perfectly and maximize storage and counter space and it coordinates with their black refrigerator.
The second alternative is the Lommarp cabinet from Ikea. It looks more like a furniture item. If they want to use it for food preparation, I'm suggesting they have a counter top surface made for the top.
A second option that I designed for this corner is a more modern look with a combination of wall mounted cabinets and open shelves. This option doesn't offer a horizontal work surface area, however, they have space in their dining room where the cart or the Lommarp cabinet can fit.
A professional installer, can mount the Enhet Storage Combination from Ikea in a manner that accommodates the electrical cords to the soda stream and coffee maker.
I'm also proposing that they start using their dining table like they would an island. The dining room is next to the kitchen and their counter height table can be an additional area for food preparation with the use of a proper cutting board. Pushing the table against the wall and keeping one side of the table free from chairs will make it convenient to use in this manner.
To accommodate placing the table off-center, I'm suggesting they replace the chandelier with a semi-flush light that spreads across the ceiling.
They currently have a bar cart in the corner of the dining room. If they choose option 2 for the kitchen design, they could replace the bar cart with one of the other carts I suggested in order to offer more function. There are some great wall storage shelves for wine bottles and glasses that could be mounted above whichever cart they choose.
Here is a great resource for high-end cutting boards:
This project has been so rewarding for me. I love solving problems with cost effective solutions, relieving stress, and helping my clients fall in love with their home.
The examples you see above are examples from the 18-page guidebook I created specifically for this client's kitchen. I believe in sharing resources and offering the details and guidance that help my clients update their home in their own way. I hope this post inspires you to look at your home differently and maybe you can even implement one of these ideas in your own home. 
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