I guess it depends on how wide the bank is, but in my plan I have a 30" wide with 3 drawers. Top drawer is shallow for silverware, but possibly a 2 tier drawer, then 2 deep drawers beneath. I'm not even sure how much I'll need the bottom one. Glasses and mugs are in an upper.

FWIW, I went with three to get a deeper top drawer for my utensils and larger pieces like spatulas, pizza cutter, meat thermometers (which I keep next to the silverware tray). But my stack is next to my range right across from DW, so I wanted utensils in that same drawer.

I have plenty of room for plates etc in the second drawer. 30" wide stack as well.

The bank is 24 inches wide - I can't go wider as you run into a full length window.

Sounds like the consensus is 3 drawers - even with a 24 inch bank?

This is just to confuse you. J. I measured my dishes and went with a 4 drawer 33 inch wide stack.

If your kitchen isn't packed up yet, take your dishes and arrange them in 24" wide stacks. See how tall they are and if you have to split stacks and if they still fit in that drawer footprint. (Also remember that the drawers will only be ~22" wide inside.)

Ideally, you won't have to use the bottom drawer for every day stuff but that's just lazy talk. :P

It probably depends more on the "look" you want and the heights of your dishes. Do you plan to store tall things like pitchers in one of the drawers? Also, dishes are heavy! Our look calls for 3 drawers for all stacks, but some of our drawers have drawers within the drawer. Love the flexibility that gives us and it streamlines the look. (more $$ though...)

Thanks!

Silverware in top drawer only, Everyday use plates and bowls in the rest. Cups in upper. (Pretty plates in an upper with glass).

Not as worried about the "look" as getting storage and practicality in my kitchen. This bank of drawers is the only one on that wall (dw, sink and pull out trash make up the rest).

I have our every day dishes in a 30" wide three-drawer stack. The top drawer is silverware. The middle is plates and bowls. The bottom is pots and pans.

If I weren't storing pots and pans in the bottom drawer, I'd definitely never need such a tall drawer (the bottom drawer is the tallest of the three) for normal dishes. I think a four-drawer stack makes far more sense for how normal dishes, even when stacked, aren't very tall at all.

However, all our dishes fit in our second drawer. That includes three kinds of bowls (large, small, and weird) and two kinds of plates (large and small). I definitely wouldn't need two more drawers just for more dishes. Would you? Do you have a lot of every day dishes?

The advantage of shallower drawers is that you wouldn't have to stack different items - no stacking saucers on top of dinner plated, stacking different sizes bowls, etc.

I recommend 4 drawers if all you're storing in the drawers is dishes. I did something similar in my upper cabinets - I ordered extra shelves so I wouldn't have to stack/

Here's an example:

Here's my inspiration picture from Jamesk:

Agree with Buehl. I have the 3 drawers with corelke dishes and I stack things. For my dishes shallower might be better.

So I set out all my dishes and placed them within a 22" square (24" drawer bank, 24" deep). I need to double check with my cabinet maker on the height of the drawers, but I think they'll fit in shallower drawers. Having 4 shallow drawers will give me more flexibility, as long as they're not so shallow that I have to split stacks.

Thanks for all of your insights!