Hi all,

I'm setting up a 'baking room".  Our kitchen is rather small and does not allow for me to roll out fondant/have lots of room to work.  So, I'm taking a multi-purpose room that we have and making it into my kitchen 'annex'.  I plan on still doing all of my baking (flour/sugar storage and baking prep in the kitchen).  The other room will be for decorating.  So, envision a peninsula which will be I plan on higher than usual counter height, a nice smooth surface and then storage below.  

I've been taking stock of what I have and how I currently store it.  But would love to hear about your organizational brain storms and what you would do if you had this opportunity.

Thanks

Just one other addition - I am open to having my mixer in the annex - I'm thinking one of those 'lift' systems as the mixer is so very heavy. 

Are you really tall?  Becasue a counter taller than average on which you roll out fondant is not going to be comfortable.

add a sturdy step to make you tall enough to hover over the counter so you can just lean into your fondant -- i'm 5'8" and i usually use a step

Thanks!

What about bins vs. drawers?  Right now I have clear bins that I keep my colors, dust, etc.  Each time I use them, I need to pull out the various bins to find what I'm looking for.  How do you store your decorating supplies?

I you have a really great system, please post pictures!

imho bins suck the life out of me -- cahn't breathe ...

i have extra lazy susans and low rise turntables to keep food color, flavorings and dusts etc. -- store those in drawers/cupboards/shelves -- keep one empty one that you can use as a tray to load up with whatever you need for that project and you can keep everything all orderly on your worktable --

i also have two of these: 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QFYYT6/?tag=cakecentral-20

for piping tubes the best method i know is stick toothpicks in a sheet of foam cut to fit in a shallow drawer and place the tubes point up on the toothpicks so you can open the drawer and see exactly where you're going at a glance -- 

you need a marble top so you can cool things off quickly -- you need a speed rack with a cover -- maybe a half size speed rack and big tubs for storing icing-- and a couple bus tubs from the restaurant store so you have something to carry your dishes from room to room --

here's some great info from earlene:  http://www.earlenescakes.com/Kitcabnts.htm

and scroll all the way down to see how to make her airbrush cabinet

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one needing stools to make my buttercreams and rolling my fondant! I'm not alone 

In my case, I worked with what kitchen storage I had to use. I use clear boxes with lids to store cake dec tools in my kitchen cupboards and I pretty much know what I have in them by now and always return each item to the exact same box. For items such as dusts, gel colours, etc, I have little clear plastic boxes (free from the chinese takeaway!) for them. Cake drums, cards and boxes are all in one cupboard. 

Take stock of what equipment and tools you have and imagine trying to house them in your new room. Then figure out how many drawers and cupboards you might require, and add more to that. Use your wall space to install cupboards- spend as much as you can on this kind of storage rather than open shelving. You'll want to keep the dust away. Hope I'm making sense.

i keep my molds and things wrapped in plastic wrap -- even my fondant roll out mats and some of my baking silicone mats

yes in cling wrap -- yes because of dust and bakeries are dusty places -- then you are ensured to have as clean a tool as it was when you put it away --

Is the area big enough you could have a split-level counter?  I'm 5'9" and a table-height is perfect for me to roll fondant but kills my back when I sit at it to decorate.  Maybe one level for rolling that is lower (and could convert into a spot for a sheeter if you can get one) and a higher level for decorating that won't make you hunch to work.

Unfortunately, I'm only going to have room for one level .  Grand idea about having to counter heights however...