My cutlery drawer is 36" wide. I love it. I haven't found any awkwardness at all. You'll also gain usuable space with the one wide drawer and will have more options with configuring one wide space--i.e make 2/3 of it for cutlery and 1/3 for knives or whatever works best.

zelmar: do you have a pic of your drawer? how deep is it? TIA!

We have a 33" cutlery drawer and I'm finding I like putting our flatware and then serving pieces, etc. all together. Our cooking utensils are in another.

Although not installed yet - our flatware and cutlery will be in the top drawer of a 36" base cabinet. Directly under that will be our 36" drawer for dinnerware - with those peg thingies that hold the dishes in place. Then there's another drawer under that, and I haven't decided what to put in there yet. Perhaps serving pieces, placemates and napkins. I like the idea of the 36" for ALL of the flatware and cutlery so that I can grab out what I need all at once - and when emptying the dishwasher, it'll all go in the same stack of drawers.
(Our drinking cups, etc will be in the upper just above this).

Our drawer is in our pantry. I don't have a picture of the drawer specifically, but do have one of the pantry fully open. We purchased "real" flatware during our reno to replace the odd collection we had scavenged over the years. I ended up keeping it all and had enough slots to separate out the good stuff from the other. The drawer is in a 24" deep (front to back) cabinet. The face of the drawer is 4 1/4" high but we have a wooden divider set in the drawer (we ordered with the cabinet) and it makes the drawer only 2 1/4" high on the inside. We have 9 spots for silverware across the front but behind there is one 6" (front to back) cubby that goes the full width of the divider where I keep plasticware and serving spoons. The drawer isn't pulled forward enough in the picture to see the back space.

I have a similar drawer in my work area, in a 39" wide cabinet. It's divided inside into 2 sections and it is where I keep dishtowels, dishcloths, and microfiber cloths. Since I am I messy cook, I'm constantly opening it and grabbing something--again, I find no awkwardness with the width. As long as the glides are good, there shouldn't be any problem (can easily open with one hand.)

{{!gwi}}

And here's the dishtowel drawer (top drawer) during installation before the upper cabinets and range were added. I've got to update my pictures of the peninsula.

{{!gwi}}

My cutlery drawer is 33" and is functionally terrific. Not at all awkward, but jockeying back and forth between two drawers might be. Another thing to consider is how much space you lose by dividing up that 36". For example, this 33" drawer has an interior usable space of 28", while another 18" drawer has 13". This mostly applies to framed cabinets and may vary still between brands, but in this case two 18" drawers would only leave 26" to use. The single large drawer is a better use of space. The only way two smaller drawers would be better is if you prefer the look; but then I have a smallish kitchen and every inch counts!

Thanks to the OP for asking the question and to those who posted pics. I'd never have considered using such a large drawer for untensils, but now I will. They look so functional!

Those are from Ikea, part of their Rationell line. I looked for them online but didn't see them, maybe someone more Ikea savvy can say if they still make them or not, I don't get there too often. They are nice though, attractive and flexible, and inexpensive! There were two sizes when I bought them, these are the larger.

Here they are:

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA inserts

I saw those but they're a little different. I bought these in 2006 so maybe they have just updated the design.

another vote for all 36"! I have a bank of 36" drawers including a shallow one up top that could be used for flatware... I use it for knives (and soon will also use for spices). With the nice smooth glide drawers these days 36" are great.

I'm a little confused about drawer measurements...when you say 36" drawer, are you saying the length of the drawer front is 36"?

shugee, yes, 36" across the front of the cabinet, left to right....or right to left. My 36" drawer is in a 36" cabinet that is 24" deep (front to back.)

Thanks for all the replies. I was worried that it would be awkward to pull out such a large drawer. I AM going with 36" drawers as much as space allows.

Thanks for the pictures of the drawer dividers. I think I will invest in several of these ... so cheap.

bump