Behind the scenes

Custom Home, Sept-Oct, 2002 by Shelley D. Hutchins

Efficiency is paramount in this Hatfield, Mass., kitchen that houses media seminars for chefs and cookbook authors. Designer and owner Lisa Ekus Saffer took advantage of the minimal depth needed for her vast cookbook collection and tucked extra storage behind swinging solid cherry bookshelves. Measuring 24 by 44 inches with a depth of 9 inches, the bookshelves front hidden storage that extends back an additional 2 feet.

Saffer credits her builder, Henry Walas, with fabricating a box-frame system that smoothly glides open on a single, full-length hinge with a little help from a roller attached beneath the bottom shelf. Walas chose a heavy-duty hinge used in conjunction with a diagonal steel tension band so Saffer can stuff the shelves with weighty titles and still pull open the entire unit with a gentle tug. Saffer filled her entire 416-square-foot kitchen with similar organizational elements. "I'm a space fanatic when I design," says Saffer. "I like to use every square inch of room--especially in kitchens."