I lived in my new home for 2 years before I realized I had a hidden cutting board in one of my top drawers. 2 years later...I have never used it and just checked...it doesn't pull out to place on counter. I use cutting boards I have stacked on top of my counter top microwave. I think I haven't used my hidden board just for the thought of crumbs/etc. falling in the drawer.

I don't have an opinion one way or the other, but do wonder if I would use one that pulled out and sat on counter. ;-)

theresse, I grew up with the same kind of cutting board you did. In fact, I still have it--it became my mom's pasta-rolling board, which I inherited. She kept it even after we moved out of that house decades ago. Back then, they were called breadboards.

Anyway, I think using any kind of cutting board in place--meaning, while sticking out of the drawer stack--will put crumbs in your silverware, whether it's part of the drawer pullout or a separate pullout all its own. Even a standalone breadboard will deposit debris into your cabs when you slide it back.

The better solution, IMHO, is an old fashioned separate breadboard that you can pull it out easily and put it on the counter.

Personally, I much prefer the separate cutting boards---that's what we have now, and what we'll have in the new kitchen. But---we don't cut directly on the ones we have now, and don't plan to on the new ones either. Instead, we use them as extra counter---a landing place, or a place to put another smaller cutting board if you just have a quick thing to cut but already have a full counter. They work very well for us that way, and the new ones will be in the fridge landing zone/baking prep area, so hopefully they'll be as useful as the current ones near the sink (couldn't put one there in the new layout b/c of the dishwasher).

On rare occasions, I do take ours out entirely and wash them, though (spills, etc.) so I think that's a big plus to the separate kind. Ours will be wood to contrast with the painted cabinets, too, which I'm excited about! :) (Current ones are wood inside, of course, but the edges you pull out are painted to match the cabinets---new ones will not be.)

It just depends on how much counter space you need. My old 'vintage' kitchen had two exposed pullout cutting boards. They were a godsend because there was very little counter space. For anything messier than cutting bread, I used an acrylic board on the pullout. Now that I have plenty of prep space, there would be no need for a pullout. I don't have the heart to part with them (I used them for 28 years), so I use them on the marble counter for hot bread and baking pans.

My experience has been that the pullout type is best if it's against a wall - not useful if it is in the centre of a bank of cabs. I invested in a heavy endgrain cutting board that permanently sits on my counter next to the sink. My kitchen is similar to yours in terms of space. I like having it sit out as it is handy and from a design perspective, warms the space.

The only one who uses the pullout is my dd and there are crumbs in the drawer every time she does.

you have room behond the top drawer front for two cutlery drawers.
Either:
The upper one (interior drawer) would be pulled out only after the deeper one attached to the drawer front gets pulled out.
OR:
The upper one (interior drawer) gets pulled out along with the lower one at the same time. One can detach it in order to see fully what is in the lower drawer.

(might have missed something; I'm not sure I caught it all)

I fasten my apple peeler & pasta roller to my pull out breadboard. For that reason, I would want a separate one. Couldn't use it that way if it was part of a drawer--plus all the mess would end up in the drawer. And I do cut bread on it, too. It's easy to sweep the crumbs into a cupped hand. An integral one wouldn't be so easy to sweep clean.

House is c. 1964. . .mine is on the left of the stove above a bank of drawers. I never use it as a cutting board, but it comes in VERY handy as an extra space to put things while I'm cooking. . . give me a little cooking "L".

I think the separate board is more functional. You can remove it for use on the counter or for deep cleaning. And if you make a mess, you can clean it up before sliding the board to sit over your drawer. With the board-in-drawer, the mess is already sitting right over your drawer and you are scrambling to mop it up in time. Aesthetically, I think an opportunity for one more cute knob should never be passed up.

On another note. Have I told you lately that I love your steel counter? (Sing it to the tune of Rod Stewart's song.)

My experience has been that the pullout type is best if it's against a wall - not useful if it is in the centre of a bank of cabs

Can you describe this in more detail? It sounds like a good tip, but I'm not sure what you mean? Is it that a pullout in the center interrupts the flow of the counter with an obstacle? That makes sense.

A wall isn't absolutely necessary, but generally a pullout shouldn't interrupt traffic flow or access to key areas of the kitchen. We have two right now, an original one that is perfectly placed, and one that was added in a 1930s remodel and doesn't work at all. The one that works is next to the sink, and it's open maybe 50% of the time. When it's open, the kitchen is still completely functional---you can get to every cabinet or appliance, and it doesn't block any paths of travel. The other, in contrast, is on one edge of an L in a corner, so when it's open, you can't get to anything in the corner at all, and you can't open the refrigerator (though in fairness I don't think it was designed for a fridge this big!) So it never gets used.

Putting it next to a wall is an easy way to (usually) guarantee that it won't block access to things, but you can put one somewhere else too as long as you test the layout with it open and make sure you're not creating a barricade.

In my 1960 house, we have a cutting board that pulls out of it's own slot, so there are no crumbs inside, only those that might wind up on the floor. Infrequently, landing space. And on Turkeyday, pull it out, plop the roasting pan and carve away. The wooden edge of it shows in the bank of white painted cabs.

In the new kitchen, I will use the wonderful old breadboard just on the counter for a trivet or I dont know.

Anyone have pics to share of theirs?

Please pardon my posting this again. This shows 3 of my 4 breadboards. Yes, short drawers in the top tier are a byproduct; if the kitchen were smaller, I'd just have all the drawers at a shorter height, but we have some of each.

I've arranged it so that drawers can be pulled out below edge of breadboards so that I can put compost-catchers in place. I just today washed and cut up a bushel of tomatoes for the deyhydrator on the unseen board in the photo, and let the juice drool into a compost catcher tray positioned below it, then dumped the tray once in a while into compost bin. This allowed me to stay seated for a longer time than previously and I felt that the work surface was more efficient and cleaner, since I could immediately deal with the rotten hunks.

I would not like to have removable wooden cutting board that gets set on regular countertop for all usage; I need to get my feet and knees under the work surface whenever possible. And I like sitting on a stool whenever possible. I'm old.

With a pullout board, you can instantly have a work space with one hand. Can you do that with a concealed one that needs to be lifted out?

Here is a link that might be useful: three of four breadboards in photo

Ya see that small handle on the left side between the two drawers? That is a pullout cutting board. Can't imagine I'll use it since the entire table will be for rolling and stuff and I do have a FAB cutting board that DH made me for a birthday present several years ago. But you never know, I might lay things on there or shop up things that could damage the one day to marble top.

Thank you Florantha - I think it's great to have so many! Thanks for the link!

Remodelfla - that is one sexy table you have there. I love it and would want one like that in my kitchen if I had the space!! Thanks for sharing the pic!