Solution for above the fridge in new kitchen?

[Laura Corin]

The kitchen ceiling is low. If we put a cupboard above the fridge, the line between it and the boxing above will be different to that of the units to the left.

What we really need is shelving for cookbooks - it's fine for them to be high up because we don't use them much. But the space is so deep that I'm not sure how practical that is. The space is just 15" high and 28" deep.

Eta I suddenly thought of a carousel/ spinner on a shelf for books?

Edited April 20 by Laura Corin

[SHP]

I vote putting a cat bed up there. You may need to get a cat if you don't already have one. 

[Brittany1116]

Baskets for cookbooks. 

[Pawz4me]

There are cabinets above our fridge, but there's a big enough gap/extra space that we have a couple of matching cloth baskets on top of the fridge. I use them for extra storage of things that aren't heavy, though--dishcloths and towels in one and water bottles in the other. I'm not so sure they'd work for heavier items like cookbooks.

[gardenmom5]

Horizontal shelving for cookie sheets and cooling racks?

You could to a single shelf for cookbooks - you'd just have to block it so it was far forward and flush with the other cabinets, but not so far it eats your books never to be seen again.

[Harriet Vane]

2 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Horizontal shelving for cookie sheets and cooling racks?

You could to a single shelf for cookbooks - you'd just have to block it so it was far forward and flush with the other cabinets, but not so far it eats your books never to be seen again.

This is what I would do—a single shelf. You can put a box or something behind the books to ensure they don’t disappear way in the deep of the shelf.

[Katy]

Build a plywood box that matches the neighboring cabinets. Leave enough room for matching ceiling trim. Either put a backer only as deep as your deepest cookbook and block off the back, OR build a false back with hidden cabinet doors for seasonal things you can only reach with a ladder. I’d probably block it off because we’d just lose things back there. 

[Miss Tick]

In my house we have a cabinet up there that stores the big wok I only reach for occasionally, a year's worth of coffee filters when I stock up, the pasta machine I inherited from my grandma, and some electrical transformers for the kitchen lights. I really like Katy's idea for matching whatever you put up there too the cabinets, even if the trim and all was just built on as part of the cabinet doors.

[Catwoman]

Does LG make matching stainless steel trim kits to fill in the space between the refrigerator and the ceiling? These are the type of things I'm thinking of, and I'm sure they must be available in your country, too: https://refrigeratortrimkits.com/refrigerator-trim-kit-for-existing-cabinets-full-kit-louvered/?msclkid=702a9632189b1baed884f011d0cd76e6

Edited April 20 by Catwoman
Edited to add a link

[KungFuPanda]

Have you ever seen those murphy doors that are both bookcases and doors?  What if you had doors like that where you could store your cookbooks, but you could still open then and behind the bookcase-doors you could store lesser used items like holiday platters, or a seldom used appliances, or canning stuff that comes out for a short season?  I don't KNOW that this even exists or how they could open outwards.  Honestly, I'd probably just put my books in front of stuff and complain when I had to move them.

[Clarita]

We have a cabinet above the fridge and all it's there for is for looks, well or my family's stash of we don't want mom to know about stuff. If you want it to be practical any cabinet or shelf I put in would have a built-in dead space at the top back.

[prairiewindmomma]

I’d build out the back of the cabinet so the spines of the books sit close to the top of the fridge and then put in a thick wooden shelf or box of the same tone as the door. It would add some warmth.

ETA: look at Trailrunner’s pics on Houzz

Edited April 20 by prairiewindmomma

[SHP]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

Have you ever seen those murphy doors that are both bookcases and doors?  What if you had doors like that where you could store your cookbooks, but you could still open then and behind the bookcase-doors you could store lesser used items like holiday platters, or a seldom used appliances, or canning stuff that comes out for a short season?  I don't KNOW that this even exists or how they could open outwards.  Honestly, I'd probably just put my books in front of stuff and complain when I had to move them.

They aren't hard to build so this is my new suggestion. A secret space behind cookbooks.

[Halftime Hope]

Depending on whether you can access some custom cabinetry skills, I think I'd be inclined to build a two part box to suspend from the joists. The back would have a pull-out or a baking sheet rack (sheets would stand vertically) and it would be accessed from the side of the fridge. The front would be the bookshelf, and it would be accessed from the front of the fridge.  Also, it would be absolutely critical to allow for airflow above the fridge.

Edited April 21 by Halftime Hope

[Laura Corin]

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Have you ever seen those murphy doors that are both bookcases and doors?  What if you had doors like that where you could store your cookbooks, but you could still open then and behind the bookcase-doors you could store lesser used items like holiday platters, or a seldom used appliances, or canning stuff that comes out for a short season?  I don't KNOW that this even exists or how they could open outwards.  Honestly, I'd probably just put my books in front of stuff and complain when I had to move them.

Thanks  I think I was hoping for some kind of pull out solution,  so that we can use the full depth for books. We have big trays and such stashed above the oven.

[KungFuPanda]

28 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Thanks  I think I was hoping for some kind of pull out solution,  so that we can use the full depth for books. We have big trays and such stashed above the oven.

Ok, but hear me out:

 

[Laura Corin]

7 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Ok, but hear me out:

 

Looks good!

I'm going to have to check the height of our cook books against the available height of cabinets. I don't think we want to go too custom.

[Scarlett]

I think baskets are your best bet. Without going too custom.

[Miss Tick]

Be careful about completely enclosing that space. Your refrigerator may need some air flow to keep the motor from over heating.

[Halftime Hope]

20 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Looks good!

I'm going to have to check the height of our cook books against the available height of cabinets. I don't think we want to go too custom.

While I like KungFu Panda's idea -- a lot! -- I'd want to be sure that the mechanism is rated for the kind of weight you'd have in that volume of cookbooks. I use a rule of thumb that for a moving, weight-bearing part, I look for it to be rated for 2x the actual amount of weight I intend to put in it. Anything near maxxing out a suspension will shorten it's life and, worse yet, warp the structure it is attached to. (Ask me how I know...) In my experience, since the moving items were already installed in my kitchen, I've had to move the contents of the cabinet and swap out heavy items for others that weigh less.

Edited April 21 by Halftime Hope