Drawers: 2x18 or 1x36? Corner: lazy suzan or deadspace/drawers?

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I discovered this place while working on an upgrade. This place is awesome. I'd great to find fellow obsessives using their powers for good. I'm hoping you'll help me out with a couple of things. We're buying a new place and are adding on to an existing IKEA kitchen.

First, would it be better to have 2 18" drawers or a single 36" drawer? The other cabinets are all drawers and consist of a 30" and a 24" (both 15", 10", 5" configurations). This cabinet will be location immediately to the right of the stove. Based on these forums I'm leaning towards the 36" and using it for vertical pan storage. As a side note, you folks have turned me into a drawer fanatic. The drawer in question is labeled "3" in the picture and is at the upper left corner.

As a side note: Does anyone know what the actual useable space of a 15"x36" bottom drawer is in the Sektion system?

My second question is about the corner of the peninsula we're adding. I currently have it set up for a sort of half lazy susan thing. It has two shelves which swing around but the back of each shelf will always require a reach. I imagine this space will largely be home to prep bowls and mixing bowls, as the peninsula will be the primary prep area.

The more I look at it, the more I wonder if I should just put another set of drawers there? While it would leave a 24" "dead" area in that corner, it almost seems that 3 30"-wide drawers would offer more actual space that the two curved shelves with all of the advantages of drawers. What do you all think?

General context: We're adding on to an existing IKEA kitchen. Not pictured above are the sink and a generally useless l-counter which extends along the black wall. There are upper cabinets along those walls which will hold flatware etc... and lowers which will hold some food storage, etc...

The additional cabinets will be:

90"x30" pantry with 3x15" drawers, 2x rots and fixed upper shelves (to be used to store all dry/canned goods).

90"x15" pantry with 3x15" drawers, 2x rots and two fixed uppers (to be used to store stand mixer with attachments, food processor and other small appliances.

30" and 24" cabinets both with 10, 10, 5 drawer stacks.

Either lazy susan or more drawers.

Featured Answer

homechef59

10 years ago

Make sure the drawers are deep enough to accommodate your tallest booze bottle. Wine is fine on it's side. Just a random thought.

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Comments (15)

homechef59
10 years ago
I'll opine on the size of the drawers. A single 36" stack will be preferable.
marcosmcqueen thanked homechef59
Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
10 years ago
Drawers in dead space. 36"
marcosmcqueen thanked Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
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funkycamper
10 years ago
Agreed. It looks like that cabinet run is a peninsula. If so, you can put drawers in that corner that face the other room so that space doesn't go unused.
marcosmcqueen thanked funkycamper
jmarino19
10 years ago
For the peninsula, drawers facing into the kitchen and use the "dead" corner to orient a cabinet to open to the other side of the peninsula.
marcosmcqueen thanked jmarino19
marcosmcqueen
Original Author
10 years ago
See, this is why I ask. You folks are brilliant. It is a peninsula that faces into the dining room. It would be great to have some drawers there or even a pull out with wine/booze storage.

Thanks, and please keep the opinions/ thoughts coming.
blfenton
10 years ago
If you already have a 24" stack I would do the 36" stack.
And yes, use the dead space and have it reachable from the other side of the peninsula.
Is the peninsula going to have an overhang and if so how much. That might affect what type of drawers/cabinets/open shelving you put in that space.
marcosmcqueen
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, it's going to have a 15" overhang.
blfenton
10 years ago
That would affect what type of drawers/cabinets that you put there as you will have to be bending over (and hopefully not hitting your head or back) to get into that area. I think it is a good use of space for seldom used items. Also make sure that if you have corbels and supports under the overhang that you take that into account when considering how the storage will open. It will take careful planning but will be worth it.
marcosmcqueen thanked blfenton
marcosmcqueen
Original Author
10 years ago
So, I sent in the plan changes today. I asked the designer to swap the corner unit for two base cabinets, one a simple bank of drawers facing into the kitchen and the other a pull out with nested drawers facing into the dining room. I figure that the adjustable drawers should allow me set the drawers at appropriate heights such that they aren't blocked by the overhang.
romy718
10 years ago
For your 36" stack, get heavy duty drawer glides for the 2 bottom drawers. The glides are have a weight limit which includes the weight of the drawer. I had standard weight glides on my 36" drawers (which I love) and had to have them replaced.
marcosmcqueen thanked romy718
sjhockeyfan325
10 years ago
Just reiterating - I also had standard weight glides on my 36" drawer that holds my dishes and one side failed early on - they were replaced with heavy duty glides and work fine now (but I still out of an abundance of caution keep my very heavy soup bowls in a different drawer since we use them infrequently)
marcosmcqueen thanked sjhockeyfan325
marcosmcqueen
Original Author
10 years ago
I'll start researching the glides now. Thanks for the heads up(s).
Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
10 years ago
If you have drawers under an overhang, you won't be able to access the top one at least, potentially more.

In a space like this I'd store the linens for special occassion meals, or the silver, or something only used 1-4x per year. For me it would be the trifle dish, the crystal butter dish, my gravy boat, and some themed linens. Maybe all of my napkin rings too.
marcosmcqueen
Original Author
10 years ago
That's what I'm thinking... Tablecloths, formal place settings, serving platters. Stuff that we rarely use. Just to be clear, what I've asked the designer to add is a full height pull-out (imagine the sort of thing that folks use for garbage inserts) with several rots. I've not used rots anywhere else but since the overhang would block a standard drawer it made sense. It was rots or standard shelves, so it seemed like the lesser of two evils. I'll post the updated plan tomorrow.

Thanks again, everyone, for all of your wisdom.