Welcome to Kitchens!

This is a link to GW discussions of all drawer bases.

GW discussions--small appliances in drawers.

There will be more storage ideas in some of the threads. If you post an overhead drawing, we can help you get the best layout.

Your costs will go up exponentially. With 30” deep base cabinets, first the cabinet bases must be special sized. Then 3 drawer boxes per base cabinets. Then longer drawer glides. Then special sized drawer interior organizers. And about 1.5 SF extra countertop per cabinet ($100 or so). Any base pullouts must be custom sized to avoid wasting the extra depth. Then to be able to access the upper cabinets better, they need to be extra depth 15” instead of 12” depth.

In terms of pure space, this may be efficient if money is no object.

What I would do: To extent possible stay with two cabinet sizes, such as 30” wide and 15” wide, for reduced costs and better aesthetics. Keep base cabinets 24” deep. If you need a deeper countertop, frame out your base cabinets 6”, get an extra wide end panel to cover the gap at the end of a run, and either eliminate uppers or get uppers 15” deep. Framing out 6” may waste some space but on a run of special sized drawer bases will save thousands.

I have a LOT of cooking equipment and find that a standard 24" deep drawer is perfect for it all. I also did one drawer-in-a- drawer unit - perfect for canned goods and flat Pyrex cake pans of various sizes.

The whole thing about cabinet storage, just like regular depth vs. counter depth refrigerators, IMO, is PRACTICAL storage. One 30” wide drawer base is generally less expensive and more efficient than two 15” wide cabinets. Of course there are some things that are better suited for a 15” than 30”. A base cabinet 1” wider typically isn’t going to provide more practical storage. 30” to me is a sweet spot for cost-efficiency and storage.

Cabinet glides come in 3” increments. 24” cabinets use 21” glides. 27” glides use 24” glides, that are almost double the cost of the 21” glides. 30” deep cabinets would use 27” glides which almost tripled the cost of the 21” glides. Multiply that by every drawer.

Yes, deeper cabinets can work well if the kitchen is designed correctly for it all to mesh. But you end up almost doubling your costs if you do the whole room that way. Strategic locations, like next to a full depth fridge, can add to your storage and minimize the bulk of a full depth fridge.

You will get the best return for your money by hiring a good kitchen designer. Preferably one that does more than microwave take out. There are cost benefits scenarios for each choice, and you need someone who knows how to explain that to you and help the overall design and storage and organization without negatively impacting your budget too much.

Don't get too excited about 30" deep cabinets. You could take your existing cabinets, convert them to drawers and be amazed at how much storage space you have. It's all about the access and organization. If you want to maximize storage, I think frameless cabinets will give you about 20% more storage than the framed. Use a combination of 3 and 4 drawer stacks so you don't have a bunch of things stacked (making it difficult to access) or so you don't have a bunch of drawers that are full of air. Wide is better. Use a 30" wide drawer and put in a divider, if needed. You will gain a fair bit of extra width, and trust me, it all adds up. Good luck!

Does everything have to be stored in cabinets? What about a reach-in/step-in/walk-in pantry for some things?

Since this is a gut remodel, I suggest starting from scratch...

• Post a fully-measured layout of the space under consideration. That means labeling the widths of each window/wall/door/doorway and the distances b/w each window/wall/door/doorway. For windows & doors/doorways, include the trim in your measurements. Also tell us how high off the finishte floor the windows are.

• Label anything that cannot change (and tell us why it cannot change)

• A sketch of the entire floor -- it helps us see how the kitchen relates to the rest of the house and how traffic flows in, around, and through the kitchen.

.

How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information

Here's a sample of a fully measured layout:

I'm so sorry about your house. We too sustained substantial damage during Irma. Looks like we are both trying to "make lemonade" :)

I agree with a previous poster who said, that yes, you pretty much do have to measure everything.

For me, storing appliances works best in a more vertical space that is only deep enough to accommodate about one thing (I think mine is 18" deep?). So for things like a food processor, I might have that on a shelf with a basket next to it holding the accessories. Another shelf might have a waffle maker, panini press and a breakfast sandwich griddle on it (panini and waffle stored vertically) my instant pot gets a shelf to itself.

I have tried storing these items in drawers, but it just didn't work as well for me. Plus, the drawer construction has to be amazing to hold such heavy items.

I have a deeper upper cabinet elsewhere and things are always lost and hard to reach.

Just something to think about.

Be aware that you may not be able to get 30” deep drawers from all cabinet lines. We are pricing out cabinets now and wanted 30” drawers on the island and that wasn’t an option with the semi custom cabinet line we are looking at. The drawer glides they use don’t extend that far.

Blum Tandem(here) self-closing 27" drawer glides are $43/ drawer. 150lbs. capacity. The 21" slides with 90lbs. capacity are $21. You have to set your budget and figure out what's valuable. A 28-30" deep counter will, ime, greatly increase the usability of your workspace. I don't recommend 15" deep uppers. When working the open space above the deeper work surface in front of the upper cabinet doors is part of the value for me. I have no difficulty reaching into regular depth cabs that are mounted at 16.5" above the counter instead of at 18". And everything fits under them. Setup a mock full size 3D layout in cardboard to see what works for you.

We had 15” uppers in our old house, with regular 24” base cabinets and loved them. The little bit of extra room you get was great. We never felt closed in or lacking work space from having the deeper uppers even with the standard depth counters. That may in large part be because we had a peninsula with no uppers where we did most prep though.

That said, we have been in this house for almost a year now, and while at first I hated the 12” uppers (felt SO cramped, door hitting plates, etc) now I don’t even notice.