A box redefined is still a box, but if it becomes a box with functionality, it develops into a useful tool. I have spoken about getting outside the box, but what about using the box to your advantage…bending the box, if you will? Most spaces are comprised of a combination of boxes, intertwined and interwoven into an overlapping collective of compartments that ultimately is your home. Just like in a game of Tetris, if you rearrange the boxes and bend them into new positions, they interlock in a specific way that opens up more space. This idea of bending the box, or defining a different use for it, became quite useful as I was working on a kitchen design this week.
In the existing layout, the back wall of the kitchen was just that, a wall. There was a 
small pantry (as in not very wide) built into the wall, but for a pantry, it was very deep. This struck me as odd and got the wheels spinning. When looking at the rest of the kitchen, and the massive refrigerator that was being used (and taking up valuable real estate), it gave me an idea. Instead of adding a lot of extra cost to get a “built-in” refrigerator, why not use the depth of the pantry to our advantage?! If I relocate the refrigerator to this location, make it wider, and use some of the “dead” space in the foyer, I can get that custom look with a standard refrigerator (yes, it will recess completely into the “old” pantry; I just need to make sure it has the correct hinges to make this work, LOL!). Now the space that used to be for the refrigerator can become a cabinet pantry and an additional lower/upper cabinet, which saves space, adds storage, adds counter space, and will make the kitchen feel larger!
We took this similar approach of “bending the boxes” at our One Watergate project and turned a large storage closet into a den!
Joseph D. Clark
Design Consultant
Chic on the Cheap
1.866.663.6062
www.chiconthecheap.net