Yesterday I tagged along with the HH to Home Depot and while he was loading up on supplies for the fireplace, I wandered over to the bathroom {kitchen?} tile section and spotted a tile I think would look marvlous, absolutely marvelous on the bathroom floor.
I love it so much that I should probably go and measure my bathroom and run back and swoop up all the tile I’ll need in case they discontinue it or something.
Note to self: It’s called Bianco starlite polished and it’s marble.
I also swung by the window covering section but didn’t see anything I was crazy about. And those prices… whoa Nellie! I kind of think a roller shade might be nice for the kitchen… but maybe I should wait until we have the whole thing done first before I start worring about it.
Once the HH was done making his decisions over in the tile section, we started to make our way to the front to checkout. On the way there, we passed by the appliance section and then wandered into where the kitchen cabinets were and HOLY CANOLIES PEOPLE…
We had no idea there were so many choices when it came to cabinet design! Seriously, we were like kids in a candy store oogling and pulling all the drawers and cabinets open to see what was behind them.
Did you know they make pull out drawers that will hold DOUBLE the amount of silverware? I suppose the top drawer is for everyday silverware and then you can just slide it back and fill the bottom one with all the oddball bits. How cool is that?
Five pull out drawers in 1 cabinet! I have no idea what I would use this for but it sure is cool. Maybe casserole dishes and fancy platters? I don’t know but now that I’ve seen it, I think I need it.
Talk about some serious organization!
This pull out drawer was kind of clever too. And while I like the idea of a spot for all the spatulas, I’m not sure what I would put on the awkwardly small lower shelves.
A pull out trash bin drawer. Outstanding
And last but not least… check out this pull out pantry drawer. Another great solution for a tight space.
I guess we have a little more research to do before we finalize our kitchen cabinet plans. We seriously had no idea all these options were available. It kind of makes me wonder what else we’re missing.
Here’s to a happy and productive day. {A high of 60° is predicted for today!}
~Mavis
Mel says
I highly recommend the two-tiered drawer option. Our drawers don’t have it, but I bought plastic inserts that kind of mimic it, so we have silverware on the top level and then veggie peelers, meat thermometer, pastry brush, etc. on the bottom level.
I agree that the spatula organizer probably creates too much dead space with the small shelves underneath, but I suppose I could see putting smaller items (salt cellar, kitchen timer, etc.) on those smaller shelves. There are probably other models that better utilize the space though.
Paula says
I have most of the designs that you featured. Yes, hidden organization is what it is all about!
Linda says
It was 58 at my house today at 5 a.m. It will dip to 16 for overnight low. There is a snow storm predicted to begin tomorrow evening thru Fri evening with total snow of up to 12″.
Mavis Butterfield says
The forecast for the next few days is crazy!
KimberlyAnne says
Designing for your kitchen is like being in a bakery. So many choices. The pull out drawers behind cabinet doors are great. Think about just stacks of regular drawers also. I have both in my kitchen and love them both but the deep drawers are my favorite. I have my dishes in there and so easy to access. If I did it over I would just have regular drawers wherever possible. Have fun with your project. Can’t wait to see the end result.
Katelyn says
I have pull out drawers for pots and pans in my kitchen and I LOVE IT. No more squatting on the floor and rifling around.
Those skinny lower shelves you wondered about are meant to be for spices, I think.
One way to consider planning for your kitchen is to get some post its and write different needs on them (spices, pans, casserole dishes) and then stick the post it in the place where you’d want to keep those items. It can really help you figure out what purpose cabinet you want in each spot. And don’t discount doing something “unusual” like keeping your dishes in a drawer style lower cabinet – use the space in the way that makes the most sense! Have fun!
Sue says
I don’t think I would like pulling out that drawer every time I needed a spatula or different utensil…
Virginia says
Agreed. And the “double decker” utensil drawers are shallow, which also limits what you can put in there.
Another thing to note is that every door with a pull-out drawer has four motions to access contents (open door, pull out drawer, close drawer, close door) vs two motions with a drawer (open, close). For that reason, I chose drawers on the base cabinets instead of doors for my last remodel.
Margo says
My husband designed and made all our pull out drawers for the cabinets. One thing he really made me think about before he did them was how deep I wanted them, especially in the pantry. We took out several different sized jars and cans, storage jars, etc. I’m glad we did. I’m glad we did, and found that skinny drawers in the pantry and under the center island weren’t going to work. You won’t regret putting them in. I’m older and getting on my knees to reach something in the back of a lower cupboard isn’t something easily done anymore. Good luck with your remodel and enjoy!
Lisa R says
I had drawers in my previous kitchen for pots and pans and I loved it. I have to redo my kitchen I am in now at some point and I want that again. Ikea also has a lot of good organizing ideas for inserts of cabinets. There are a lot more options than there used to be in kitchen design these days.
Elle says
I’ve seen pics of those 5 pullout drawers being pantry for cans-which doesn’t make sense to me since you’d have to pull up the cans to find what you’re wanting.
The first thought that comes to mind with the small lowest spaces is all the bending over/stooping when I’m old. I wouldn’t want spices near the floor, but at eye height.
As mentioned above, I love my stack of 3 big drawers (36w, 10d) for my glass bakeware and kitchen linens. I’ve hung spice racks on my pantry cabinets and it only takes 2 inches into the pantry. So easy to grab.
I agree with the person who said to make post its of what you need in your kitchen and place them in your current kitchen where you want them to help you design your new kitchen. I like my heaviest items above my knee/not higher than my waist for easy lift/removal from cabinets. Light long items on the lowest shelves like my griddle, stockpots and largest tupperware containers.
Your kitchen is really small. I wouldn’t waste storage space for a pull out trash can when a small can will fit under the kitchen sink.
I love my floor to ceiling pantry that is 36w. Dishes are at waist level and glasses/mugs just above. Left side is all our food. Rarely used items at the top.
It really is an amazing opportunity to design your own kitchen!!!!
Doncha love 50 opinions 😉
Carol says
I used to design kitchens in my cabinet business. I prefer drawers to pull outs, because you have to open the doors every time you want to pull out a drawer. Also, you lose space as they have to clear the door hinges.
I prefer round knobs to oval ones, so you aren’t forever straightening the hardware.
Have fun!
Tamara says
I have pull outs and really like them, but now would rather have drawers. One of the pull outs has vertical dividers for my casserole dishes and I love it. No more moving everything in the stack to get the dish on the bottom. For all our cast iron skillets we bought a metal rack online that keeps them stacked but separated and we really enjoy storing them this way.
Kristina says
My cabinet maker advised on just deep drawers, not drawers behind cabinet doors like you have pictured (and what I was originally drawn to like you are). He said the one extra motion of having to first open the cabinet door would drive me bonkers. I have no lower cabinets in my kitchen, only drawers with very strong hardware. I love it. I never lose anything in the back of a cabinet anymore, and store really heavy stuff, like stacks of cast iron pans and all my dishes in the drawers. Have fun with your kitchen remodel. You’ll be able to make it exactly like you want. (Also, that tile is gorgeous!!!)
Dianne says
I had a few large drawers in one of my kitchens as well. I loved them. I kept pots and pans in one and they were reachable standing up. I kept casserole and baking dishes in one and containers for leftovers, lunches, etc in the other. Never had to bend down. They were great. Now I have fewer draws, none that are big and hate it.
Poppy K says
Personally, I hate pull-out trash drawers. Unless you take out your garbage EVERY DAY the moisture from coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable discards, and really anything damp or moist, creates a nasty humid funk in the drawer and will cause mold to grow on the inside top of the cabinet and can eventually cause warping of the wood. I much prefer a dedicated niche or area in the kitchen for a full sized step-on can to keep the odors and moisture contained. Plus opening and pulling out the drawer over and over as you would do in daily use creates stress and wear on one particular cabinet causing it to age faster than your other cabinets.
Jenny says
Just to add a contrasting opinion- I LOVE my trash and recycling drawer thingy! And I only take the garbage out once a week and have none of the problems you mentioned; after 17 years, I’d definitely do it again. Every week when I empty my kitchen trash I spray the plastic wastebasket with Lysol and put a few sheets of newspapers in the bottom of the garbage bag. I rinse out the recyclables before putting them in. Under my sink is where I keep cleaning products and plant stuff- I have no little ones to worry about now.
Jennifer Bouknight says
We once rented a house that was space aged compared to what we were used to. The entire house was wired for sound and you could hook up your TVs, phones, Ipads, whatever to broadcast. DH was so happy. In the kitchen, we had the pull out trash cans. I had a cabinet with pull out shelves next to my stove and I put all my pots and pans in it, including my cast irons. They were incredibly sturdy. Idk about anyone else, but I put my spatulas, tongs and whiskey in a giant jar next to my stove for easy access.
Jill says
…spatulas, tongs and WHISKEY!? Bahaha, love it Jennifer! 🙂
Jennifer says
Of course I meant whisks!!
sarah says
When we remodeled we opted for just drawers rather than pull outs behind the cabinet. You lose a surprising amount of space with regular cabinet fronts. We also went with rennovationangel they dismantle installed kitchens and sell them. They hire people who are considered ‘unemployable’ by many and pay fair wages.
Marie says
If you think Home Depot offered a variety of options; try IKEA! Their kitchen cabinets carry a 25yr guarantee unlike most of their other furniture. I completely rebuilt our kitchen 15 yrs ago and the cabinets, drawers and farmhouse sink are still like new!
Diana says
Have one of the designers at the big box store go over the options that are available. It costs you nothing except time. There are so many space saving cabinets and cabinets that can be tucked away in odd places, you would be amazed. The last cabinet you showed a pic of, the pull out pantry, can also be gotten as a tall cabinet that goes between your fridge and the wall. If you’re putting your fridge up against a wall, you will need to make sure a space is left between the wall and fridge (depending on which way the door swings) so that the door will open all the way. Might as well add a couple of inches to the space and put one of those cabinets there.
Just my suggestion of the day, lol.
Laura says
Also, I wanted to mention this in case you were noodling it…I would strongly consider ripping the fireplace out altogether. If you haven’t used it in nearly 2 years of living there, you likely won’t ever use it. You would open your view up to the water and the whole living and dining area. Would likely be worth the effort since this is your forever home.
Ruth says
Yes Laura!
The dining room is too small to have a fire going during dinner parties unless its a chair burning party!
View trumps painted brick in my opinion. And the square footage could be used for……. Lots of cool things, and add such value.
I would also allow the big floor sanding equipment to do its thing before installing tile.
Linda Sand says
I just saw. wonderful idea for pet owners. They had a low drawer with an inset top to hold the dogs’ food bowls and below the inset the dry food itself was stored. Remove a bowl, reach through the hole to scoop out food to put in bowls, replace bowl. When dogs are done eating, simply close the drawer.
We have a large tall pantry with pull out drawers in a corner of our kitchen. We put our trash/recyclables containers on the bottom shelf and appliances on the other shelves. We simply open the door and pull out the bottom drawer while doing food prep/cleanup then tuck it all away when done. So much easier than a trash can under the sink where the open door is always in the way.
Stacey says
Instead of kitchen utensils, I would use the skinny drawer by the stove for baking sheets. I have never had a good place to keep them and that would be perfect!
Tracy says
I second the poster who did not like garbage cans behind doors. Often when I’m throwing something out, my hands are wet or dirty from chopping, unwrapping meat, etc., and the last thing I want to do is touch cabinet hardware. I have a space —just an open space— under my island wide enough for a freestanding but fitted trash can and a recycle can, side by side. There is about 10” above the open tops so waste can just be tossed in. Perfect for me.
Cecile says
I saw on one kitchen reno where they put a multi drawer pull-out beside the dishwasher and that’s where they stored their every day dishes. Empty the dishwasher right into the drawers they belong in AMAZING-bet a woman thought of that! lol They had cutlery on the top and the extra tools then the next drawer was glasses and coffee cups and the next was plates and bowls. I think they used the bottom one for plastic storage containers. My daughter has one of those pull-spice drawers beside her stove. She got jars that were all the same height so she could label the tops and stand them upright to get even more in the drawer.
Alida says
I have all of these and more in my kitchen and love all of it. By the way the 2 level drawer for cutlery can be made with both levels being exactly same size and depth that you want. I had a specialized kitchen cabinet maker make all of my cabinets and drawers. My inserts are in stainless steel and I chose the sizes for the various I sections including a knife block. The pullout drawers I have for my pantry again in stainless steel. If you are considering an island in your kitchen you can put the garbage and recycling pullouts there. Since I compost in a different bin never had an issue with any funny smells etc. You can find many more inserts and storage solutions for your kitchen on Pinterest, Houzz, or Ikea website and kitchen design websites. There are so many space saving options now that were not available before.
Katherine says
We are getting ready to renovate our kitchen and have been looking online at RTA kitchen cabinets. They are premium cabinets that are shipped to your home unassembled. You put them together and install them yourself. So many styles and colors to choose from.
https://www.primecabinetry.com/
Lea says
We did a gut and remodel of our main floor last year and highly, highly, highly recommend using a kitchen designer. They’re trained in talking you through all the “stuff” you don’t think about and talk about how YOU cook in your kitchen – not how the designers *think* you cook or how you *think* you cook. We ended up with several different things in the kitchen than we thought we would and it works perfectly for us!
Also, the inserts are made for the drawers to size after the drawers are installed and can be ordered up to a year after installation. Our designer recommended using the drawers and then ordering after about 3 months of use. He was right!
As for the garbage can debate – we have pull outs with a toe touch release and soft close. Excellent! We’ve always had the garbage cans in the cabinets and have never had the problems mentioned. We live in a climate with low humidity – don’t know if that matters.
Enjoy your planning and dreaming!
So much fun!
Lea
Laura says
We have the touch toe release for our trash and recycling. Love it!
DENISE says
I am at the beginning of a rebuild after a fire destroyed my home and really appreciate all of this wise advice! The kitchen is my favorite room. I love to cook, preserve and garden.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
Denise, I am so sorry you experienced a house fire and will be thinking of you as you rebuild. I found myself rebuilding after a fire destroyed our home 17 years ago. I was VERY overwhelmed at all of the decisions that had to be made, especially since we had never built a new house before. (We had previously rehabbed a 65-year-old house, including gutting a kitchen so not total novices) Many people asked if it was “fun” getting to start anew. For me, if was not. It was very stressful, since it was so unexpected, separate from my emotional state. I had a period of great anxiety after our fire that I needed to work through. However, now that I’m out from it, it is wonderful to have an updated house (we built the same house back, just a newer, improved model with some additions). We were able to make it our dream house with a great kitchen, including many of these cabinet options that Mavis is currently considering. Wishing you the very best of luck. Take care of yourself. It took 18 months for us to get back in our house and a few months after that before everything was fully furnished.
And for all readers, check your homeowner’s policy regularly to be certain you are adequately insured and purchase replacement value insurance. Also, have pictures of your house and your belongings in case of disaster and you have to inventory the entire contents of your house. Thankfully I had pictures and video (we live in a hurricane prone area) which made a still very difficult task somewhat easier.
Linda says
I second the suggestion to look at RTC online ordering of cabinets. Higher quality than offered at big box stores . Come knocked down, but my husband and I assembled very easily. Many options and GREAT prices. I also encourage you to evaluate the suggestion to remove that unused fireplace! That wide open space and VIEW for the rest of your life, is worth really considering and NOW is the time to do it.
Kim says
I have a slender pull out cabinet like that next to my stove that is for spices. I would use the lower portion for that and cooking wines, vinegars, oils and such – so handy to have it all right there!