What is on your kitchen bench?

[jmarvellous]

We have a lot of different surfaces, but the only things on our actual built-in counter are a dish rack, spoon rest, sponge and sponge holder, and dish and hand soaps.

Our galley-style kitchen only has thin, narrow cabinets on one side, so we brought in a sofa table (think long, tall table that goes along the back of a couch ordinarily), and we keep mixing bowls, a cake stand, wireless router and a glass vase on the bottom, and the coffee maker, toaster oven, utensil jar and fruit bowl on top, plus a sugar bowl and coffee scoop that live on the coffee maker, and cork hot pads/pot rests that live on the toaster oven.

Our microwave and serving dishes (chip-and-dip and small ceramic bowls) are on top of the short fridge. We only have 2 skinny cabinets for food, so I keep the spices and canned foods on a small plastic rack and some stacked milk crates in a back corner of wasted space between the fridge and oven. Our pretty pottery canisters and radio are on a shelf at the other end of the room, and our in-use dishtowels, lunch bags and apron are on a wall coat rack.

I am pretty frustrated by the kitchen here. Our old house had SO much more counter space and cabinet space, it never felt cluttered.

[cwm]

My apartment has an eensy weensy tiny amount of counter space. Right now it's got my toolbox (I've been using the tools a lot and there's no table to set it on to open it), a basket of cups (need to be washed before they get put away, and I run the dishwasher about once a month, as I create virtually no dishes) and some of my tupperware and cookware that won't fit in the cabinets. I need to go buy some shelving to put along the large empty wall, but right now I don't have enough shelf space to unpack all my tupperware and cookware, so while most of it's in boxes, some of it is on the counter.

Sis's apartment has less space than mine. She's got her microwave on one bit (filling it), by the sink she's got a dish rack (filling that space), the other side of the sink has dirty dishes, and the one last bit is the tiny space she has to store napkins, straws, and cut/mix anything that needs cutting/mixing.

Mom's house has a good amount of counter space. She's got a knife rack, coffeemaker, coffee and sugar, massive fruit bowl, small rack for holding napkins/paper towels that can also be cleared off to use as a drying rack, she's also got random cans of stuff or knickknacks out that don't really fit anywhere else.

[CakeBeret]

My kitchen is on the small side, but I cook frequently and hate getting my main appliances out every time I want them.

My Kitchenaid mixer, food processor, microwave, knife block, electric can opener, main cooking utensils [my large utensil jar won't hold them all!], salt/pepper grinder, and food storage canisters stay out, as well as DH's coffee machine.

The toaster, blender, hand mixer, vacuum sealer, rice cooker, crock pot, and sous vide stay in the cabinets because I use them less frequently.

[sunnygirl]

Dish rack, kettle, toaster, magimix, utensils tin, two biscuit tins (for sweet and savoury snacks), big tupperware thing filled with home-made muesli, and there's a wooden shelf thing I re-purposed from my childhood desk at the back which I keep tins and my tea collection on.

I have a fair amount of counter space, although my kitchen is tiny.
If I had space I'd love a bread machine and an ice cream maker with soft-serve attachment.

[Hmmmmm]

In my kitchen, the Keurig coffee maker, the electric kettle and a toaster oven. Microwave is in a built in shelf.

Kithchen Aide, Blender, crock pot, and other appliances come out when needed.

Came back to add after going and grabbing coffee....kitchen scales and a container of my frequently used spoons, whisks, and spatulas.

[lowspark]

I just replied to the spin off thread before realizing it was a spin off of this. (what DON'T you have on your counter?) But I'll answer here as well.

Other than a few decorative items in each corner, nothing lives on my kitchen counters. When we bought this house, there was one plug in the kitchen. Yes, one.  The house was built in 1961 so I guess back then they couldn't forsee the need for mulitple plugs.

So all my small appliances were plugged into a strip and bunched up in that one spot. We remodeled several years back and one of my requirements was that all appliances had to get off the counter (I hated the cluttered look and mish-mosh mess of cords!) but still be convenient to use.

Thus, the appliance garage. So now I have my KitchenAid Mixer, can opener, toaster, citrus juicer, food processor and blender all inside the garage, all plugged in and ready to use. I simply lift up the door and drag out what I need, then shove it back in when I'm done. Voilą! They live on the counter and yet are not visible clutter!

I'm sort of a messy person at heart and when the kitchen remodel was completed I wondered how long it would be before my own shortcomings would win over and the counters would get used as landing places for things that didn't belong. I'm proud to say that almost nine years have passed and I'm still able to keep everything neat. There's a lot to be said for a workspace which functions as you need it to. I love my kitchen!

[Jones]

Coffee maker, container with non knife sharp objects (peelers, can openers etc), knife block, spice rack, toaster, and sometimes the blender base. Also currently is the mini (drinks) fridge, as children were getting into it without permission and leaving it open without our noticing in its corner by the bar. Loss of counter space was deemed better than floor puddles. The kettle lives permanently on the range. Everything else has a spot in a cupboard or shelf.

[WillyNilly]

I have two squares of kitchen counter, each 18inches deep by 22 inches wide, with the sink between them. One is completely taken up by my countertop dishwasher. The other has a compression grill (similar to a 'George Foreman') and a crock of cooking utensils. The remaining space is my work area.

I have a table on the other side of the room on which lives the microwave, KitchenAid mixer and the food processor. All other appliances (rice cooker, blender, crockpot, toaster, 12-cup coffee pot) are stored and only taken out when in use.

With the exception of the food processor the items that live out on a table or counter are ones that are too bulky/heavy to store and take out for use. Putting them in a cabinet would be the equivalent of throwing them out as they would be rendered useless. The food processor gets used several times a week so it makes sense to have it handy.

[Hmmmmm]

I just replied to the spin off thread before realizing it was a spin off of this. (what DON'T you have on your counter?) But I'll answer here as well.

Other than a few decorative items in each corner, nothing lives on my kitchen counters. When we bought this house, there was one plug in the kitchen. Yes, one.  The house was built in 1961 so I guess back then they couldn't forsee the need for mulitple plugs.

So all my small appliances were plugged into a strip and bunched up in that one spot. We remodeled several years back and one of my requirements was that all appliances had to get off the counter (I hated the cluttered look and mish-mosh mess of cords!) but still be convenient to use.

Thus, the appliance garage. So now I have my KitchenAid Mixer, can opener, toaster, citrus juicer, food processor and blender all inside the garage, all plugged in and ready to use. I simply lift up the door and drag out what I need, then shove it back in when I'm done. Voilą! They live on the counter and yet are not visible clutter!

I'm sort of a messy person at heart and when the kitchen remodel was completed I wondered how long it would be before my own shortcomings would win over and the counters would get used as landing places for things that didn't belong. I'm proud to say that almost nine years have passed and I'm still able to keep everything neat. There's a lot to be said for a workspace which functions as you need it to. I love my kitchen!

I want an appliance garage so bad but I've never had a kitchen where I can make it work.

In my retirement house that DH and I will one day build, I'm going to have 2 kitchens... A "prep" kitchen. It will be galley style with a door that closes. One counter will have a huge sink, a built in pastry board, a place for my Kitchen Aid  and prep space. The other counter will have a counter for all of my counter appliances like crockpot, bread machine, food processor, ice cream maker, and blender. It will have a dishwasher, a freezer/fridge combo and a single oven and maybe a single or 2 burner range if I ever get really into canning. It's where I'll go to make a mess and make noise. Then I'll still have my "public" kitchen with my standard appliances.

[lowspark]

I want an appliance garage so bad but I've never had a kitchen where I can make it work.

I won't tell you how many iterations I went through in designing this kitchen till I finally got the appliance garage to fit in well. The final design was perfect though so it was worth it!

[Arila]

Electric Kettle, Toaster Oven, Spice rack, 4 decorative canisters for sugar/coffee/flour, Fruit Bowl.....clean dishes (They aren't "stored" there, but they are in the de-facto sense. heh.).

[cwm]

My favorite thing on a counter was from college. Admittedly, it wasn't a kitchen counter, but we had suite-style rooms, so we had a sink and countertop in the dorm room, and two rooms shared a bathroom with toilet and tub between them.

It was a coffee maker used as a fish tank. Got a tiny fish, he lived in the massive pot, and the well where the water would have gone to brew things, as well as the filter holder, was converted to storage for the food and water treatment for the fish. The thing didn't even have a plug (I had a friend who was an electrical engineer remove it entirely), so it didn't break the injunction against heating elements in the dorm rooms. It caused a lot of raised eyebrows, but nobody in a position of authority complained.

[katycoo]

Microwave, kettle, toaster, coffee and tea making things, knife block, mortar and pestle, stereo, dish rack, tissues and pen holder, misc bowl for random things, notepad

[Bluenomi]

Toaster, kettle and Thermomix as far as appliances go. I also keep out the wooden chopping board, a knife block and a utensil holder with my most used utensils such as tongs and wooden spoon (I could actually probably throw out all the ones in the drawer).

What is a Thermomix?

I was going to ask that myself, so Googled it: http://www.thermomix.com.au/.  Those things do everything a food processor and blender would do, plus it somehow cooks.  I wish we had that in the U.S.

I'm surprised you don't have them They started as professional kitchen appliances. They aren't cheap though, you are looking at $2000 for one so they are a serious investment.

My bench has a bread bin (in the tiny space between the fridge and sink that us useless for anything else), knife block, DH's coffee machine (too big and not really suitable to be taken in and out of cupboards) and a holder for utencils.

The kettle and toaster live in a special shallow cupboard that opens up onto the bench so they are kind of always out but easily hidden. It has an awesome little shelf at the top just the right size for mugs and the sugar bowl.

[Dindrane]

In my retirement house that DH and I will one day build, I'm going to have 2 kitchens... A "prep" kitchen. It will be galley style with a door that closes. One counter will have a huge sink, a built in pastry board, a place for my Kitchen Aid  and prep space. The other counter will have a counter for all of my counter appliances like crockpot, bread machine, food processor, ice cream maker, and blender. It will have a dishwasher, a freezer/fridge combo and a single oven and maybe a single or 2 burner range if I ever get really into canning. It's where I'll go to make a mess and make noise. Then I'll still have my "public" kitchen with my standard appliances.

In my husband's home country, it's common to have a "dirty" kitchen (often outdoors, even). It's where the actual cooking takes place. People who have them then have a "public" kitchen that they hardly ever use, except maybe to store the dishes, so that it stays clean. People think my in-laws are exceptionally weird for only having one kitchen and then actually cooking in it.

My kitchen is a U-shaped apartment kitchen, so it is in some ways very spacious, in others very cramped, and in all ways totally awkward. I don't actually have much counter space (and the fact that it's U-shaped means I have less than it looks like I should), and all of my counters are exceptionally deep. So I use them as storage, both because I have to stretch to reach the back of them (especially in the corners) and because my apartment has barely any storage.

So between the fridge and the oven, I have a microwave with cutting boards, oven mitts, and a microwave plate cover on top. Then I have the Cuisinart food processor (because it's heavy enough that we only use it if it stays out), a small wine rack, a cookie jar I haven't used in ages but don't want to get rid of (it's a penguin with a muffler! what's not to like?), bottles of oil we use a lot, paper towels, a cookbook holder, two utensil crocks with spatulas and spoons and the like, and salt and pepper shakers.

Between the oven and the sink, I have a spice rack with our most commonly used spices, a box of baking soda (placed in a handy location in case of grease fires, and also for cleaning), my coffee maker, my coffee grinder, a small glass container where I store about a week's worth of ground coffee at a time, a coffee pot that was a wedding present and has nowhere else to go, a spoon rest, a sugar bowl, my popcorn air popper, the electric kettle, the toaster oven, and the dish drainer. There's a teensy strip of counter on the other side of the sink, and that collects things that need to air dry before going into the recycling and dirty dishes.

And none of this includes the two large metal shelves between the end of the counter and the end of the room (it's an eat-in kitchen) that hold our less-frequently-used appliances, mixing bowls, tupperware, pitchers, travel mugs, water bottles, canned goods, dry goods, cans of soda, and other miscellaneous items that can't easily be stored elsewhere.

I am so envious of people who have appliance garages. I want one so badly.