How to Break Up a Long Row of Cabinets in a Kitchen

Take off a cupboard door from the top cabinets along with all the door hardware. Use the exposed shelving as a bookcase or a place for some interesting knickknacks. To add more interest, paint the interior of the cabinet a contrasting color from the rest of the cabinets.

Find a lower cabinet that is not near the stove area. Remove the door, shelving and hardware and install a wine shelf. You can make your own by taking the measurement from corner to corner and making two separators from 12-inch shelving material.

Cut out a 1/2-inch groove half way through the middle of each. Connect and place these crisscrossing each other from corner to corner. Add wine bottles and you have a distinctive wine shelf in your kitchen.

Change the lighting if you have long fluorescent fixtures. Use track lighting with the same wiring, adjusting it to focus on key points of your kitchen, such as the stove, sink or refrigerator. Set a small table lamp on the counter to break up the counter length.

Create work areas within the long kitchen. Place a knife magnet on the wall behind a cutting board. Hang some hooks under a cabinet for coffee mugs near the coffeepot. Set a tall barstool near a planning area with a mug of pencils and a calendar.