How drawers work hard in a kitchen

Welcome to Kitchen Week at Boulevard West! All of this week’s posts were written with kitchens in mind.

When I posted our kitchen remodel, a few friends asked for more information about the drawers. Almost all the cabinets in the main part of our kitchen (not including the pantry) are deep, deep drawers, and these friends were curious if we truly had enough storage.

Here’s a peek inside so you can get a better idea of how much they actually hold.

First up, let’s look at the drawers that hold mixing and serving bowls. This one holds eight mixing bowls (I do not need this many since I hate to cook, but I can’t resist a beautiful dish). It also has room for eight dinner plates that aren’t used often.

Next, this bank of drawers holds many of our daily dishes. Note: We also frequently use the dishes on the open shelving to prevent dust build-up. So no, the drawers do not hold all the dishes in high rotation—we actually use those on display too.

Each of these drawer holds more dishes than you’d expect. The top drawer for glasses is currently housing 29 glasses, plus a few plates. Our plate drawer holds 20 dinner plates and 16 salad plates, and our bowl drawer holds 23 bowls and eight plates. Obviously I need to do a better job organizing—I’ve got plates everywhere. These drawers are close to the dishwasher for easy unloading.

Last stop is our island. These two drawers are the biggest in the kitchen. I knew I wanted to keep cereal close to the counter so my kids could easily serve themselves breakfast as they always have, so the drawer on the right stores our cereal boxes upright. I like the look of decanting cereal into pretty clear containers, but the reality of that? Not so much. So the cereal stays in the boxes, and everyone can get themselves a quick breakfast in the morning.

Purely by coincidence (or stupidity), I ended up with the ideal spot for a trashcan—in this final drawer. After the cabinets were installed, I realized I did not have room under the sink for a trashcan. Luckily, the space in this island drawer has been pretty perfect. The trashcan is up higher and in a drawer that can fully extend, so trash (almost) always ends up inside the can instead of close to the can—no groping around under the sink to drop it in the right spot. Also, when I wipe the counters, I open this drawer and push the crumbs directly into the can.

Some might wonder if the size of the trashcan is adequate, and that’s another perk. My son takes it out every day or occasionally twice a day. But because it isn’t huge, it doesn’t stink up our kitchen much before it’s headed out the door.

One last comment: When selecting drawers, ask for glides that allow you to pull out the drawers all the way, giving you full access to the space at the back of the drawer.

Okay, one more last tip: Soft-closing drawer glides have seriously added a few years to my life. There’s nothing like the slamming of drawers and doors to put me right on edge, but we’ve eliminated that in our kitchen, and my nerves are thankful.

Do you have drawer storage in your kitchen? Do you prefer it over cabinets with doors? If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if you have cabinet advice to give, please share it in the comments. •

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