Fill the void!

We'll have been in our house 2 years this June, and overall we've been pretty happy with how it was built.  Other than wishing it was bigger, we don't have too many complaints of the builder.  However, there is one area that has bothered me since the day we moved in:

Yeah, the fridge. Or more so, the huge blank space above the fridge. (sorry for the dark photos, pretty gloomy out today) You see, when we went down to the appliance store, we had decided that we were most definitely upgrading the fridge since we wanted something with an ice and water dispenser since we entertained often.  One thing we also remembered to do, was ask the sales guy to make sure that the fridge would fit in the space designated for our fridge.  His response after looking at the model "oh yeah, it's a standard size, so it'll be fine."

Being that he probably did this hundreds of times a week, I trusted him.  That was obviously MY mistake.  So a few months later, when we got the keys and took possession, I saw that the fridge was not only a bit too deep.  But it was too short.  We had this lovely gap between the fridge top and the cabinets...  I was NOT impressed.

However, I didn't ever think to complain to the appliance company OR the builder.  Why?  I really have no good answer for you.  I just didn't.  Somehow, I think I decided that it was obviously MY fault.

Anyhow, eventually, the top of the fridge became an eyesore.  It was the spot Cory decided to keep all his large, odd shaped kitchen items.  Creating this lovely look:

I was constantly emptying it out and telling him to keep it clean, but then a week later, there it would be again.  So I knew I had to do something about it. 

My first thought was to get a piece of wood stained the same as the cabinets and simply add a false front and just cover up the hole.  I even went so far as to ask the service guy to keep an eye out for trim in our color.  He unfortunately, never found any.

My next option was starting to price out how much it would be to get a millworker to come in and create something there, like maybe a built in wine rack or something handy.  But I just couldn't justify the cost for something so silly.

Last week, I have a great idea while grabbing a magazine.  You see, I kept them in these baskets.....

Five minutes later, I had my solution:

They're a pretty goosd size.  Almost the same color as the cabinets, provide hidden storage, PLUS they are shallow enough to still allow us to keep big, bulky things behind them!

SOLD!

We're always short on storage, so I use the baskets to store dishtowels, rags and cloths, freeing up space in the jam-packed tupperware drawer!

Here's the finished look:

Not perfect, but definitely an improvement!  Don't you agree?

The baskets were part of a 4 pack from Ikea . Although, I went back to get more since my magazines were now loose and they don't seem to carry them anyhow... I am sure you could find something similar though.