How to Set Up a Coffee Station in Your Kitchen

Last Updated: November 18, 2021 References

A coffee station puts all of your coffee making supplies in one convenient area. If elegantly designed, it can make your kitchen feel like a professional café within the comforts of home. To create your own coffee station, plan out exactly what you want, taking into consideration the limitations and space offered by your kitchen. Setting up the coffee station itself should not take long. If you want, you can add your own personal touching by decorating and organizing it.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Designing Your Coffee Station

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Take inventory of your coffee supplies. Before you start, make note of everything that you want to go into your coffee station. This includes not just the coffee maker and coffee themselves but everything you need to make the perfect cup of coffee. How you design, arrange, and install your coffee station depends on how much has to go in it.^{[1]
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Garrison Hullinger
Interior Designer
Expert Interview. 11 November 2021.} You may include:^{[2]
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- Coffee makers, including single cup coffee makers, espresso machines, drip coffee, French presses, or any other coffee making equipment you own
- Cups, mugs, teacups, and saucers
- Sugar and other flavorings, such as syrups, dried creamer, or cinnamon
- Coffee
- Grinders
- Trays
- Spoons
- Electric kettle
2
Look for inspiration online. There are hundreds of photos, Pinterest boards, design blogs, and home magazines that have examples of both professional and amateur coffee station designs.^{[3]
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Research source} Look for your favorite examples, and use these pictures to brainstorm how you might design your own. If there is a particular feature that you like about a coffee station, take note of it. Try to think about how you can use that in your own kitchen.

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3
Decide where the station will go. You will need to find which area of the kitchen you want to dedicate to your coffee station. This should be a clear surface with access to an outlet. Once you have determined which space you are going to use, you should measure it so you know how much room you have to store your things.
- Countertop space is great to use for a coffee station. Make sure you have enough room for your equipment. If you are limited on counter space, try organizing everything on a single tray.^{[4]
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  Garrison Hullinger
  Interior Designer
  Expert Interview. 11 November 2021.} Place that tray on your counter. This will help you confine your coffee supplies to a limited area.^{[5]
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- If you can’t use counter space, you may want to invest in a sofa table, side bar, food cart, or hutch. The surface should be at a convenient height. You can move this surface anywhere in your kitchen where you have sufficient space and access to an outlet.^{[6]
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- Some people use built-in cabinets for their coffee station. If you want an uncluttered look, you can remove the shelves from a cabinet, and place your coffee makers, cups, and ingredients inside. Make sure that the cabinet is at a convenient height for you to make coffee.^{[7]
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4
Decide how you will store everything. The equipment itself should remain on the counter or table surface, but everything else can be stored elsewhere if you decide. If you’re short on space, you may want to think of other storage options. You might consider:
- Installing hooks on the wall for your cups and mugs.
- Building shelves above the station for cups and ingredients.
- Using cabinets above and below the station for storage.^{[8]
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Think about your kitchen’s design. If your kitchen has a theme to it, you should try to think about how your coffee station might fit within the larger design scheme. Try to match the color scheme, theme, and organizational pattern of your larger kitchen.
- If you have a minimalist kitchen, you may not want a cluttered coffee station. Hide your supplies in cabinets, or try to build the coffee station within a cabinet.
- If you have a small kitchen and not enough counter space, try to find a corner where you can place your coffee station. This will make appear as though the coffee station is not taking up too much room.^{[9]
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- If your kitchen follows an industrialist or modern theme, you might want to use steel canisters for your ingredients. Try to find a design that utilizes straight lines.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Putting it All Together

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Install wall storage first. If you are planning on adding hooks, shelves, or cabinets for your station, you should install them before setting up the station itself. Place the coffee maker where you think you might put it, and mark its height on the wall with a pencil. This will help you measure where you can install shelves or hooks. You should not build it right at the mark but rather start measuring your shelves and cabinets from above this mark.
- If you are installing hooks for mugs, use rounded hooks. Nail them into the wall. Do not use adhesive tape for your hooks, as they may not be strong enough to hold mugs. You can nail the hooks below a wall-mounted cabinet or buy premade mug racks.^{[10]
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2
Plug in your coffee maker. If you are using an electric coffee maker, you should go ahead and place it where you think it will be most convenient. Make sure that its cord can reach the outlet. You will arrange all of your other supplies around the coffee maker.
- If you are using a manual maker, such as a French press or pour over drip brew, you should still organize the space around the equipment. You may have more flexibility, however, in where you put your coffee maker.
3
Add in your other items. At this point, you can start adding in your cups, sugar, creamers, syrups, and the coffee itself. Arrange these items as you please around the coffee maker using the storage options you have chosen.^{[11]
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- If you are using hooks for your mugs, place the mug’s handle on the hook. It should hang slightly tilted to the side.
- If you don’t already, you may want to consider buying airtight jars to store your coffee, sugar, and other powdered ingredients in. This will help the coffee station look less cluttered and more put together.
4
Rearrange as you see fit. The coffee station should make you happy. It should be convenient for making coffee, but you may also want it to be neat, uncluttered, or stylish. Make a cup of coffee using your coffee station to see how easy and convenient it is. If it does not work, take some time to reorganize the coffee bar.
- If you are having trouble reaching the coffee maker or if there is not enough space for you to use it correctly, you may need to shift where you place it.
- If you need more space for your coffee maker and cups, consider storing the ingredients in a cabinet or pantry.
- If the space you have chosen is not working out, you may need to move the entire station to another place within the kitchen.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Sprucing up Your Station

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Add some color. If your kitchen has neutral tones or if you do not have a color scheme for your kitchen, a color station is a great place to add a burst of color. Choose a bright color that you enjoy, and think about how you might incorporate it in your coffee station. You may want to stick to a single color theme, unless your kitchen has a larger pattern that you are using.
- If you are using a cart or side table for your coffee station, you can paint it with your desired color.^{[12]
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- If you are using counter space, you may want to incorporate this color into the cups, jars, and plates that you use. You can even paint a tray your desired color. Place the coffee maker and other items on top of this tray.^{[13]
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Paint a chalkboard. A chalkboard will give you an authentic feeling of a café at home. You can buy and hang a chalkboard on the wall. Alternatively, you can paint your own by painting the wall directly.^{[14]
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Research source} Use two coats of chalkboard paint, waiting for the paint to dry between layers. Invest in some chalk so you can draw and write to your pleasure.
- You can write inspirational quotes, funny drawings, your daily schedule, or notes to your family on the chalkboard.
3
Hang art around the station. If you are not using your wall space, the area above the coffee station is a great place to hang art. Find a piece of art that fits in with your kitchen’s theme or the colors of your coffee station.^{[15]
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Research source} Some ideas include:
- Ceramic tiles or a mosaic
- A hand-painted sign about your love of coffee
- A clock
- A wall decal
- Vintage café boards^{[16]
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Place your ingredients in decorative jars. What you store your ingredients in can help bring out the character of your coffee station. Find jars for your coffee beans, grounds, sugar, dried creamers, spices, and anything else you like to put in your coffee.^{[17]
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- Glass jars and containers
- Vintage tins
- Painted ceramic jars
- Antique sugar bowls
- Steel canisters
5
String up some lights. If you have free space above your coffee station, you can put up a string of lights to make it cheerful. This will also give you some extra illumination when you are making your coffee. String lights are a great addition to any kitchen, as they can create atmosphere at night and wake you up in the morning.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you organize a coffee station?

Garrison Hullinger
Interior Designer
Garrison Hullinger is an Interior Designer and the President of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design (GHID). With more than 15 years of experience, he specializes in client-centered design that balances beauty and warmth with comfort and functionality. Garrison and GHID’s work has been featured in numerous publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Interior Design Magazine. Garrison attended Oklahoma Christian University.

Garrison Hullinger

Interior Designer

Expert Answer

It's all about keeping things collected and gathered. A tray is what sets off the whole tone for how much you can put in an area and keep it contained so it doesn't get too crowded and messy.

Warnings

Do not place your coffee station in an area where people might bump or trip over it.

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Milk and liquid creamers should be stored in the refrigerator, not in your coffee station.

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