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Some appliances never look good on display. A bright orange air fryer might be putting off your cute cottagecore aesthetic, or those mismatched pots and pans might not have room in any of the cabinets. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” can be applied to kitchen design, so don’t overlook a versatile storage option when it presents itself. Let your kitchen desk double as a kitchen appliance garage with nothing more than curtains and a rod.
Kitchen desks are full of underutilized storage potential, and the nook (where you’d normally rest your legs while sitting) is full of space to store bulky appliances, boxes, bags, and bins. Most homes aren’t using kitchen desks as their primary office desk to sit and do work, leaving the space to be a dump site for miscellaneous items. Bring more intentionality to this charming furniture by installing a curtain and rod in the nook. As far as DIY hacks go, it’s a simple, affordable, and renter-friendly procedure that won’t take much of your time.
Find and install the right curtains for your DIY nook
Before dressing up your kitchen desk, you’ll need to get its measurements. If you don’t have the original instructions or the name of the furniture’s model, you can use a measuring tape or a measurement app to get an estimate. With the length and height documented, you can then search for the right rod and curtains to match.
A lot of standard kitchen desk nooks are going to be either 25 or 50 inches in width depending on the style and around 30 inches in height. Installing a traditional curtain rod with screws may be the most stable option, but the Aizesi adjustable tension rods on Amazon cost less than $10, are easier to install, and won’t damage the wood. However, you’ll want to pick lightweight curtains so that the rod doesn’t slip over time. Generally, café curtains are made of breezy, lightweight materials in the right ballpark of 24 to 36 inches in length. Curtains also tend to come in packs of two, so one pack should cover half and full-size kitchen desks on any rod you choose.
Curtains can enhance the aesthetic of your kitchen by playing into the existing theme and color palette as well. For example, the Natus Weaver checkered beige and white curtains are a perfect fit for farmhouse kitchens and cost a little over $15, bringing your total to about $25 with the rod. If you can splurge a bit more, the Lino Rosa striped navy blue curtains cost $23.99 and can help give your kitchen a coastal makeover. The curtain storage nook hack can upgrade kitchen desks of course, but you’ll find that it can also work for islands and rolling carts without breaking the bank.
