Plan storage around what you keep

Most kitchens do not lack space, they lack the right space in the right place. Before choosing fronts and colours, decide what has to be stored and where it will be used.

List what you own: pans, plates, glasses, dry food, cleaning products, small appliances. Mark what you use daily, weekly and rarely. Daily items belong between hip and shoulder height, rarely used items can go high or low.

Deep drawers under the worktop show their contents at a glance, so pans and plates are easier to reach than behind a door. Keep doors for tall cabinets and for spaces where shelves make more sense.

Corners need a plan: a carousel, pull-out fittings or simply a door with easy access. Tall units next to the fridge make a useful pantry. If the room allows it, a separate pantry keeps food and appliances out of sight.

Coffee machine, toaster and blender take worktop space. Give them a fixed place with sockets nearby, or a tall cabinet with a retractable door, so the worktop stays free for cooking.

Many people who settle in Pattaya plan to stay for years, so it is worth designing storage that will be as comfortable at seventy as at fifty. The simplest rule is to bring everyday things into the zone between hip and shoulder height and to replace low cupboards with full-extension drawers, which you open without bending into a dark corner.

Wall cabinets can start a little lower than usual, around 45 to 50 cm above the worktop, if the people using the kitchen are not tall. A raised dishwasher or a wall oven at a comfortable height saves lifting. Choose handles that a whole hand can grip rather than small knobs or push-to-open fronts that need a firm press. Good light inside drawers and tall units, switched on when the door opens, makes things easier to find at any age.

Pattaya's high-rise condos often come with services in fixed places: a drain in one corner, a water heater on the wall, an electrical board by the door, sometimes a column or an air-conditioning pipe crossing the kitchen. Storage has to be planned around them, not the other way round. A false back panel, a removable access panel or a shallower cabinet in front of a pipe keeps the space usable without blocking maintenance.

Measure the real walls, including the height of any beam, before you choose tall units. If you want to move the sink or add sockets, check with the juristic office first, because many buildings limit work on shared pipes and set rules for drilling and working hours. Planning storage with that answer in hand avoids changes after the cabinets are made.

Plenty of owners spend part of the year abroad and leave the condo closed for months. Storage can make that easier. Plan one drawer or shelf for long-life items in sealed containers and keep everything else out of the food cabinets before you go, so nothing attracts ants or cockroaches while you are away.

Cabinets that stay shut in a closed apartment trap warm, damp air. Ventilation slots in the plinth, a small gap at the top of tall units and fridge doors propped open after cleaning keep air moving. Store the dish rack, cloths and sponges dry and in a drawer, not on the worktop. If someone checks the condo for you, a short list inside a cabinet door of what to open, switch on or water is the simplest tool of all.

Open shelves look light in a sea-view condo, but in a busy seaside city they collect dust from the street, grease from cooking and, near an open balcony door, a fine film of salt. Everything on them needs washing more often than you expect. If you like the look, keep open shelving short, away from the hob and for things you use every day, so they are washed in normal use.

Glass-fronted wall cabinets are a good middle way: you see the contents, but they stay clean. Closed doors remain the best choice for anything stored long term. In a kitchen that opens to the living room, a run of closed tall units with an appliance cupboard can hide the coffee machine, toaster and microwave, which keeps the room tidy without giving up storage.

In many condos the washing machine ends up in the kitchen or on a small balcony next to it. If it sits under the worktop, allow the full height and depth of the machine plus space for the water and drain connections behind it, usually a little more than the machine itself, and keep the hob and plates away from that corner.

A tall broom cupboard about 40 to 60 cm wide is worth more than another wall cabinet: it holds a mop, bucket, vacuum cleaner, ironing board and cleaning products in one place. Give it a ventilated door so damp mops can dry. Send us your room measurements and a few photos, and we will plan kitchen storage that fits your condo.