Blum kitchen inspirations

20 EVERY INCH COUNTS Every inch is put to optimal use at the Port of Oakland Every inch counts! Bob Cathey is a wharfinger at the Port of Oakland, California, one of the largest container handling ports in the world. A wharfinger’s challenges are similar to those encountered in everyday kitchen use: Make the most of the space available! the whole kitchen," he says with a mischievous smile. "Now I know why. We work from top to bottom when handling goods, too. It’s a lot easier and you’ve got an overview of everything." She also got her way with the size of the pull-outs. Pull-outs that use the full depth of the furniture naturally provide more storage space. "Just like loading a container. You fill up the entire contain- er, too." But his wife didn't stop there. "She even wanted corner drawers to use all the space in the corners of the kitchen. But my favourite is the big larder unit with pull-outs. This is where we keep all my favourite snacks." Bob even had an idea of his own. "There was about 20 centimetres of space next to the oven. We had a narrow cabinet designed to fill the gap. My wife uses it for baking sheets, baking paper and odds and ends." So what's more demanding: Managing a port or planning a new kitchen? "Managing a port is probably more complex than a kitchen," he says, mulling things over, "but the tasks are very similar." If you'd like to know how much storage space you need to fit into your new kitchen and what solutions are particularly practical, take a look at our Blum Zone Planner: www.blum.com/zoneplanner Bob Cathey has more than 3,000,000 sq. metres of space at his disposal. Every minute, containers arrive that have to be stored in the right place or loaded back onto ships, and space is made available again. "I have to think about where the ships are scheduled to berth and consider stowage plans and transportation routes." Incoming and outgoing containers, the storage space required and shunting routes all have to be precisely planned. Not an inch or minute is wasted. "Planning is in my blood," says Bob with a chuckle. He thinks that managing a port can be compared to everyday kitchen use. The quantity and kinds of goods that go into a kitchen; what you need often; what you don’t need; and where you put everything so that you can easily reach it. Good storage space management depends on the space available and on good storage solu- tions. Bob knows what he’s talking about. But when it came down to buying a new kitchen, his wife was in charge. "She insisted on pull-outs in