Most kitchens keep the paper towel roll standing right out on the counter, upright holder and all. It’s rarely a choice anyone actually makes, it’s just where the roll ends up when there’s nowhere else for it to go. These 13 kitchens skip that entirely, and the roll is still one pull away.
13 Kitchens That Prove the Paper Towel Roll Doesn’t Have to Live on the Counter
Stand a paper towel roll up next to the sink and it becomes part of the view whether you want it there or not. It’s one of those things nobody plans for when they’re picking out counters and cabinet colors, so it just ends up wherever there’s room: next to the faucet, on the island, wedged by the stove. These 13 kitchens took a different approach. The roll is built into a drawer or a cutout near the sink instead, so it’s gone from the counter completely.
What makes this work isn’t a fancy gadget or an expensive remodel add-on. It’s a small cutout, a drawer insert, or a mounted rod tucked into a spot that was already there, usually right below the counter where your hand naturally lands. You still get to it in one motion. You just don’t have to look at it the rest of the time. Our hidden kitchen storage roundup has more spots like this if the counter is feeling crowded in other ways too.
The Drawer That Holds a Spare Roll Too
Open this drawer and there are two rolls waiting, not one. The front roll sits on its own mounted rod so you can tear off a sheet with one hand, while a second roll rests right behind it in its own compartment for whenever the first one runs out. That’s the part people miss when they build this into their own kitchen: leave room for a backup roll in the same drawer, and you stop having to dig through a pantry mid-mess.
One Drawer, Every Cleanup Tool in Reach
This drawer isn’t just for the paper towel roll. Dish towels and a couple of scrub brushes share the same space, so everything you’d reach for at the sink is in one pull instead of three different cabinets. The roll sits on its own short rod along the front edge, close enough to grab without leaning over the towels behind it. If your cleaning supplies are currently spread across the whole kitchen, this is the fix: put them where you actually stand when you use them.
Why This Drawer Sits Right Above the Trash
Look at what’s directly below this drawer: a pull-out trash bin. That’s not a coincidence. Paper towels get used and thrown away in the same motion, so putting the roll directly above where the trash lives cuts out a step every single time you use one. If you’re planning a drawer like this, build it above your trash or recycling pull-out instead of somewhere separate, and the two jobs happen in one spot instead of two.
The Divider That Keeps the Roll From Rolling Around
A loose roll in an open drawer will slide every time you open and close it. This one solves that with a simple wood divider running down the middle, so the roll stays pinned in its own lane instead of rattling around loose. It’s a small detail, but it’s the difference between a drawer that stays neat and one that turns into a mess after a week of normal use.
Matching the Hardware Makes It Look Planned, Not Patched On
The detail that sells this one is the brass hardware on the drawers right below the cutout. That’s what keeps it from reading like an afterthought carved into leftover space. If you’re adding a cutout like this to an existing kitchen, pull the same hardware finish you’re already using elsewhere, even if the cutout itself doesn’t need a handle. It ties the whole cabinet run together.
Built Close Enough to the Stove to Actually Get Used
This cutout sits within arm’s reach of a pot filler and a range, which is exactly where a paper towel gets used most: wiping down a spill mid-cook, blotting something straight off the stove. A lot of people put their paper towel storage wherever there’s a gap, but the more useful move is picking the spot closest to where messes actually happen, even if that means giving up a few inches of drawer space right next to the stove.
The Simplest Version Still Works
No hardware, no divider, no second roll. Just a plain rectangle cut into the cabinet with the roll resting inside it. This is proof you don’t need a complicated build to pull this off. If you’re working with a contractor on a smaller budget, this version costs less and takes less time than a full pull-out drawer, and it does the same job of getting the roll off the counter for good.
For the Household That Goes Through Rolls Fast
Four rolls fit in this drawer at once, split into two sections so the stack doesn’t tip into the section you’re actively using. If your house burns through paper towels fast, whether that’s from kids, pets, or just a lot of cooking, one drawer built with backup storage in mind means fewer trips to the pantry and fewer half-empty rolls rattling around loose in a cabinet somewhere.
Recycling Gets the Same Treatment as Trash
This one pairs the roll with two bins instead of one, splitting trash and recycling side by side underneath. It’s a reminder that “hide the paper towels” and “hide the trash” don’t have to be two separate projects. If you’re already planning a pull-out bin system, ask whether a paper towel rod can be mounted into the same drawer frame above it instead of building a second cutout somewhere else.
A Spot for the Bags You’re Already Saving Too
Plenty of people keep a stash of plastic bags somewhere in the kitchen anyway, so this drawer puts them right next to the paper towel roll instead of stuffed in a random cabinet. It’s a practical pairing: both are things you grab in a hurry, both are a little awkward to store neatly on their own. Keeping them in the same drawer means one stop instead of two when you’re cleaning up or heading out the door with the trash.
The Cutout That Doubles as a Design Detail
Most of the spots on this list are drawers, but this one is a fixed cutout built right into the cabinet face above the sink. It’s a smaller move than a full drawer, and it’s easier to add if you’re not gutting the whole kitchen. Just a rectangle cut into the cabinet with a rod mounted inside, sized to fit the roll and nothing else. Because it’s fixed in place instead of sliding, it works especially well in a spot you pass by constantly, like right over the sink.
The Angle That Shows How Little Space This Actually Takes
Seeing this cutout from the side makes it obvious how little room the whole thing needs. It’s a shallow rectangle cut into a single cabinet, no wider than the roll itself, dropped in between a bank of drawers and the dishwasher. If you’ve been assuming you don’t have the space for something like this, this angle is worth a second look. Most kitchens already have a few spare inches of cabinet face sitting somewhere in the layout.
The Backup Roll Hiding Behind the First One
At a glance this looks like a single roll on a rod, until you notice the second one waiting right behind it. It’s the same idea as building a spare into the drawer, just done with stacked depth instead of a side-by-side split. If your cabinet run is too narrow for a wide drawer, this is the version to copy: one rod, two rolls, front to back instead of side to side.
Which one of these would actually fit in your kitchen?
