We have two that are placed in our kitchen. Our cabinet maker often buys drawers through Conestoga (I believe), so he probably got them from there. We are using a drawer and then attaching the toe kick that is going along the rest of the toe kick area.

You want to be sure to use side mount over-travel glides - that allows you to remove the drawer if you need to (you won't be able to reach underneath the drawer to release the latch if you use under mount glides. The over-travel means that less area of the toekick drawer will be concealed under the toekick set back.

Also, you need to be certain to allow a bit of room where the toe kick front doesn't rub when opening and closing (remember if you have hardwood, the wood can swell and contract a bit.

Lastly, consider how you want the drawers to open - do you want a push release or do you want a knob or a pull?

Personally, myself and a friend both have toe kick drawers, and neither of us really enjoy/use them. Other then to store stuff we never use and admit we should probable donate to goodwill. They're just not convenient to access, and you have to bend WAY down to get anything. Maybe because we're both over 6' tall?? I dunno, but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle or expense...

Awnmyown makes a good point - you MAY not need them. For me, I had two specific things that I was doing - one drawer will house my folding stepstool and the spare rack to our oven. The other drawer is holding appliance manuals and receipts for our kitchen stuff. Because they aren't the most convenient access, you are better putting things in them that you don't need all the time.

I've seen some people put in cookie/cake pans...that probably works great also if you're someone who doesn't bake those items often, but need some place to put them. I wouldn't plan on putting something like a cutting board or things that you use on a daily basis like that in there since it's not the most convenient access.

adreak100 - do you like your step stool in the toe kick? I was looking to put one in my kitchen...but I use my step stool at least once a day, so I am not sure if I am going to like having to constantly put it back under the cabinets. In our current kitchen I just leave the step stool out, but it looks ugly :)

NDSA - we're still mid-remodel, so I can't tell you if I will overall like the stepstool in the toe-kick. I think that I'll be quite happy with it. BUT, I will mention that if you are using a stepstool daily, you may want to re-examine how you have things stored. I'm 5'3", so I'm not tall by any stretch of anyone's imagination, and even in my old, woefully inadequate kitchen, I managed to keep my stepstool usage to a minimum by planning where things lived in cabinets.

I've taken a picture of our unfinished kitchen and marked up a 36" upper cabinet and 3-drawer base to illustrate a bit about usage and planning. All of my cabinetry will follow this "access zone" as much as possible.

Personally, if I HAD to use a stepstool every day or nearly every day, I would not put it in a toekick, but would instead perhaps create a 6" wide base...might put my stepstool in there along with an area to hang a hand towel and have that next to the sink. But, I think that most kitchens can be designed to minimize needing to climb on something to access most often used things.

below is a link to really simple DIY toekick drawers:

http://www.familyhandyman.com/kitchen/storage/how-to-build-under-cabinet-drawers-increase-kitchen-storage/view-all

And finally here is a link to floor mount drawer glides that come with attached sides and slots for bottom and back. Using the techniques above and these glides it should be easy-peasy. I have the guides waiting for me--just gotta quit doing other things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rockler's floor-mounted drawer guides.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 19:48

I know this probably sounds stupid, but isn`t dust a factor at that level. In my kitchen, it seems the grittiest and most spilled food is at the kick plate of the cabinets (well, whatever food the dog hasn`t captured). I sweep every day and wash the floor at least once a week, sometimes twice with the dog running in from playing in the snow, but that grit is still worse at the kick plate.

thanks everyone, have been busy with kitchen things. In fact, my Conestoga cabinets arrived very early this morning.
I wanted to store things like appliance paperwork, cookie sheets, extra placemats if I need to and maybe a step stool if I can locate one that would fit. Where did you find the stool?

I am looking for push release drawers. I ordered flush mount toekicks, so now I am wondering if I will have to cut into the face frame to allow this option before I put the cabinets together.

Accuride makes Touch Release. I just have to find a company that will sell them to me. Seems they only deal wholesale to cabinet makers.