Kitchen counter space is valuable real estate in my kitchen as well. I have my Kitchenaid blender on a 1-cupboard-wide counter between the stove and the fridge. On the opposite side of the stove on an identical-sized counter I also have a pottery pitcher with wooden spoons and spatulas. I had more there, but recently rearranged the bookcases in the dining area of the kitchen and now one next to that counter holds the spinning Pampered Chef tool turn-around and a couple of large recipe boxes and jars of pasta that used to be out of sight in a cupboard so I always forgot about it. I have reached a point where I want to see everything, and can't decide what should go in the cupboards. With the dogs in the house I'm not going to take off the cupboard doors (at least not down below). My cabinets aren't Martha Stewart tidy so I'm not ready to take off those upper doors either.