IKEA just released its annual Store & Organize Report — and, frankly, I feel seen. One of its key findings is that a whopping one in ten of us use our ovens as storage (one in four if you're in South Korea). I hope you, like me, are only storing baking trays in there, because anything else sounds like a fairly serious fire hazard.
The report also found that one in ten of us have cancelled having guests over because we’re ashamed of our untamed clutter (tick), while 68% of households have a so-called “drawer of doom” (tick, tick). The kitchen counter is the biggest clutter hotspot in the home, and the place most likely to cause arguments, too. It’s ironic, really, since IKEA’s organizers are some of the best and most inventive around, solving organization problems you didn’t even realize you had across practically every room in the house. Clearly, it’s time I started taking my own advice.
So, I’ve scoured IKEA’s kitchen storage solutions and gathered the cleverest and most stylish below. And no, I won’t be providing any further comment on my oven at this time.
According to IKEA’s report, 59% of us prefer the feeling of a “lived-in” home to a minimalist one. And it’s the lived-in quality of open storage that I love most: a reminder that those mismatched mugs are actually used every day, have been collected over time, and are worth showing off. With brackets at either end that curve out with a decorative flourish, this TÖRNVIKEN shelf has plenty of room for everything from jugs and jars to teapots and French presses. Hooks underneath keep serving spoons, saucepans, and your favorite mugs within easy reach, too.
Few kitchen items look quite as good as a row of favorite dishes lined up in a plate holder, and this bamboo OSTBIT is a particularly simple way to make a feature of them. Keep it out in the open for a little cottagecore charm, or slot it inside a cupboard or drawer, where each plate stays within reach without the faff of restacking the whole pile. Or use one in a cupboard or drawer to round up baking trays or keep those perpetually elusive pan lids upright and in view.
IKEA has mastered the art of the storage trolley, with versions in seemingly every shape, color, and size. They’re particularly useful in kitchens, where ingredients, utensils, and serving pieces tend to migrate around the room. But a trolley can also become a useful catch-all for the kitchen clutter that doesn’t have a natural home: letters, travel mugs, keys, and all the other detritus that somehow accumulates on the counter (or in the drawer of doom). This circular gray-green JUTTERSBO is one of the more stylish options, with four wheels and a top handle, making it easy to move wherever it’s needed.
I’m a big fan of IKEA’s NÅLBLECKA series, which gives bamboo and metal a new set of counter-clearing superpowers. At 28cm tall, 38cm wide, and 13cm deep, this classic organizer has a sleek profile and two roomy shelves for gathering everything from coffee beans to olive oil, creating a proper home for all those stray countertop bugbears. If 28cm is too much for your available real estate, there’s a smaller, stackable version, or you can supercharge your setup by pairing it with the IKEA NALBLECKA Corner Shelf.
It’s been more than a decade since Khloé Kardashian inadvertently sparked a kitchen-organization boom with a glimpse into her meticulously arranged, hyper-symmetrical pantry, complete with the neatest of cookie jars. These photo-ready pantries have clearly left their mark: according to IKEA’s report, 49% of people in Sweden love kitchen jars. I’ve always fancied myself a decanted-pantry girl, but glass jars are useful far beyond the realms of Instagram-ready organization, whether displayed on the worktop or stashed neatly inside a cupboard. I’ll be decanting all my half-used pasta packets into this EKLATANT jar, for one, and there’s a tall version if spaghetti is more your thing.
It may look like little more than a humble steel bar, but HULTARP is one of those IKEA series that solves storage problems you didn’t even realize you had. Offered in 60cm or 80cm lengths, the rail screws into the wall and can be fitted with curving hooks for hanging utensils, mugs, and other kitchen essentials. But that’s only the beginning: IKEA has also designed containers, a kitchen roll holder, a magnetic knife rack, and even a dish drainer to hang from the same sturdy structure, housing all manner of clutter without taking up any of that contested counter space.
My utensil drawer is perhaps the least efficient use of space in my entire flat, with spoons, spatulas, and rogue bottle openers rolling around their cavernous home every time I brave opening it. I’m therefore entirely swayed by this vase-like BRUGDHÅJ utensil holder, which brings a decorative sensibility to something usually destined for the back of a drawer. Made from glazed rustic stoneware, it has an urn-like lip and a generous 13cm-diameter opening, wide enough to house everything from whisks and wooden spoons to spatulas.
There are all sorts of nifty ways to corral bottles, jars, and grinders, but this is one of my favorites. The clean-lined silhouette of the APTITLIG Lazy Susan looks unexpectedly chic, particularly with its white metal guard rails. Then there’s the fact that the whole thing spins. Suddenly, even the jar lurking at the back of the cupboard is within easy reach, while the rails double as useful handles for turning it. Keep it hidden away behind a cupboard door, or put it beside the cooker and make a feature of your EVOOs and artisan hot sauces.
Small-space dwellers know the value of vertical real estate, and it’s time to carry the same thinking into your kitchen cupboards. These white steel VARIERA Shelf Inserts create an extra tier wherever you need one, effectively doubling the usable room inside a cupboard, on a shelf, or even across a countertop. And, in a very IKEA move, they can be adapted to suit the space: coming in different sizes, you can also slot multiple inserts together to extend the width.
Speaking of making the most of every inch, this clip-on basket is another example of IKEA creating space where I didn’t even realize there was any to spare. Clipping onto the underside of a cupboard or the base of a shelf, this discreet steel basket creates a whole new pocket, with an unobtrusive white woven finish that won’t make your cupboards feel any busier. Fill it with the things you like to keep within easy reach or eyeline, from tea towels to coffee accoutrements. Best of all, there’s no drilling involved.
Wine glasses are some of the most delicate things in our kitchens, which also makes them some of the trickiest to store. How many kitchen bust-ups have started with a smashed wine glass? This clip-on steel rack offers a discreet but rather neat solution, suspending your prized drinkware upside down. Clip it to the underside of a cupboard to put your glasses on display with a little wine-bar flair, or tuck it inside the cupboard to keep them safely out of sight.
As must-have kitchen appliances multiply — air fryer, I’m looking at you — making the most of every available inch is becoming less of a design trick and more of a necessity. But when every bit of countertop is already spoken for, why not create some more? This UTRUSTA pull-out work surface hides inside an existing drawer, sliding out whenever you need extra room for chopping vegetables, mixing ingredients, or generally making a mess. Reviewers particularly praise its sturdiness, while some have found another inventive use for it: creating a pull-out platform for appliances stored inside tall cupboards.
Though there are some fairly exposing statistics in IKEA’s Store & Organize Report, there’s a more reassuring message underneath them: our homes are moving away from the picture-perfect ideal of immaculate organization towards something more human, personal, and liveable.
It’s an approach to organization that puts the people living in a home first, rather than forcing everyday life to fit around an aesthetic, and it’s one of the home organization trends Livingetc forecasted at the beginning of the year. As for me, I’m still waiting for my smart wardrobe à la Clueless. Next year, maybe.