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Sink Base- 2 doors or 1 pullout drawer? pros and cons of each?

17 years ago

What are pros and cons of a single big 36" pullout for the sink base vs. the traditional two doors? Quick responses appreciated. Cab order deadline soon! I will have an undermount sink

Comments (16)

  • 17 years ago

    Is there room for a drawer? If there's room I would totally go for that, since it would separate the plumbing from the storage.

    However, think about the actual plumbing which is going back there - can a drawer work around any pipes coming up through the floor? I don't think I've ever seen a drawer under a sink, so I'm not sure how that would work...

  • 17 years ago

    Will you be using a garbage disposal and if so will there be room for a pull out drawer?

  • 17 years ago

    We have a 36" sink base cab w/ a 30" wide, 10" deep sink. Our cab has two doors (full-height) and two pull-out drawers inside. One pullout is full-depth, the other is much shorter (front to back) to allow for plumbing--pipes, hoses..... We have no stile between the doors (we specified that), and no garbage disposal. Our pull-outs are wood, not wire, BTW. We did lose some space between the two pull-outs (mounting/tracks for the glides), but I am very glad we went with the wood pull-outs--things don't tip over like they do with wire (although I have mine so crammed full, I don't think anything can move, let alone tip over!).

  • 17 years ago

    Cat Mom, What do you keep in the drawers under the sink? Also, is it much harder to access the plumbing under the sink when necessary (I guess you'd just have to take out the drawers---probably not much more work than removing everything under the sink in a cabinet.)

    One problem would be that I don't see how you could use a Never MT with your soap dispenser with the drawers under the sink.

    Would love to see a picture of your sink cabinet with drawers, if that's possible.

  • 17 years ago

    I will take a pic later for you (just email me or bump this thread up as a reminder if I forget!).

    What do I keep--all the stupid cleansers I keep buying and trying out on all my new kitchen surfaces of course! Seriously; cleaning supplies (sprays for granite, SS, wood cabinets, BKF, DW deterg., new sponges.....).

    The pull-out glides are full extension, but you can just reach under them to to release the drawer glides (blumotion) and remove the pull-out from the cab completely for plumbing or other work if you need them completely out of the way. The full-sized one is heavy when fully loaded with "crap," but I can still manage to pop it out without needing to unload it.

    We use a Never-MT (thank-you GW friends for that!). The dish soap bottle sits on the floor of the cab behind the shorter pull-out, as close to the back wall of the cab as is possible. When I finished up our last small bottle of dish soap, and replaced it with the a new bottle (the largest size they sold in the supermarket), I had to change out to a larger size cap, and then maneuver the whole shebang into place on the other side of the drain pipe because there wasn't enough room for the larger bottle in the original spot. I don't know if there is enough room for a giant jug of the soap, but this size bottle should last us awhile. I'll take a look at the space though, and try to let you know when I post that pic!

  • 17 years ago

    bump--as a reminder to myself! I took the pics last night for you sail-away, but need to charge the camera batteries and have DH show me (for the umpteenth time) how to get the pics from the camera to the computer! Tonight!

  • 17 years ago

    I have two pull-out drawers under my sink and love them. We have two single undermount sinks that add up to about 33" in a 36" base. The upper drawer is a U-shape to make space for the garbage disposal and hoses, and slides in under the sinks. The bottom drawer is very spacious and easy to access. I feel like I can fit so much more in the drawers than I ever could in a traditional setup with doors.

    The first two pics are of my sink drawers.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sink drawers

  • 17 years ago

    We have a cabinet with one pull-out shelf. The drawer panel is a tilt out for the sponge and scrub brush.
    Pierreone: Love your kitchen!

  • 17 years ago

    pierreone--Like you kitchen. Question--Is than an appliance over you sink? Or just a contrasting flip down door?

  • 17 years ago

    ci lantro, that's one of the questions we get asked most often. It's just a contasting flip-up door in opaque glass to match the backsplash. We thought it would be a lighter feel when we use the sink, rather than red in our face.

  • 17 years ago

    Here are the pics of our pull-outs (finally!):

    And here's a pic of the space behind the shorter pull-out, showing the dish soap bottle (you can't see the Never-MT tubing, but it's in there!):

  • 17 years ago

    I've been spending a lot (a lot!) of my time lately visiting very upscale stores and showrooms to get ideas for my up-coming kitchen project. Everyone - the salesmen, other shoppers in the stores, everyone - seems to agree that pull out drawers under the sink are the greatest invention since someone thought to put wheels on suitcases. Typically, there is a U-shaped upper drawer with a narrow area on the perimeter to keep odds & ends such as washing pads, sponges & the like, and a lower drawer with lots of room for cleansers & the usual under sink stuff.

    If your plumbing allows for it, it really seems like a no-brainer. It seems, from what I've been told, that it can't be done if you've got a garbage disposal unit, and you might need to have a plumber make sure your piping will not get in the way.

  • 17 years ago

    Thank you, everyone, for sharing the photos. I was having trouble visualizing, but now I understand perfectly. Looks like a great arrangement.

  • 17 years ago

    I lurk here frequently and learned so much while building our house. We have a SS undermount sink with a two door cabinet and one drawer below. The difference is that the cabinet is on the top and the drawer on the bottom. I have found this setup very convenient. Although, I will say that I am very intrigued by the pull out and am seriously thinking of adding them to the cabinet. We also have the NeverMT, a wonderful invention. As a side note, we had to install other countertops, too many problems with those in the picture. I shuttered when I saw that the contractor had let the plastic slip while working on them but that's another story.

    {{gwi:1574033}}

  • 17 years ago

    BTW--you can't tell from the pics, but the pull-outs are lined with Cushy Cupboard(s) to protect the bottoms from spills, small leaks, etc.

  • 17 years ago

    Our 36" sink has what looks like 2 cabinet doors: one is a conventional opening one, the other a pullout on glides with a box attached for storage. The sink has its drain in the upper left corner, so all the plumbing, disposer, & insta-hot is on that side & has the conventional cabinet door. The pullout is completely available for storage, since it doesn't have to avoid any plumbing. One neat thing about this arrangement is that we don't have to open both doors to access either side, and can still stand in front of the sink with one side open or pulled out.

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