Thinking Outside the Block

When we overhauled our kitchen last year, we replaced our laminate kitchen counters with butcherblock. We purchased the unfinished butcher block and stained, sealed and installed them ourselves. Now, if your kitchen is anything like ours, you know how valuable counter space is and how easy it is for it to get away from you. Even if you stick to the essentials, it is easy to lose this prime real estate to bowls, jars and knife blocks. We were looking for a creative solution when inspiration struck! Let’s incorporate the knife block directly into the countertop! After discussing accessibility, safety and aesthetic, we settled on the space next to the stove behind the lazy susan. That way, the knives are easy-access to the cook space but the blades hanging below the countertop would never come in contact with reaching arms or hands.