Go big!

I have 40" drawers and they aren't too big. They are to the left of my range and all my pots/pans fit in the two 40" larger drawers. The top drawer is divided into 2 x 20" drawers. I keep spices in one and trivets and oven mitts in the other.

The kitchen is 17 years old with not the best quality cabinets and glides, but these drawers work fine.

I am doing a gut/remodel and will be losing these drawers. I am getting back a blind corner, so the new drawer has to be reduced to 30". I'll need to move some less used pans to another location.

Make sure to spec heavy duty drawer glides.

What would you put in those 12” cabinets? Obvs could be a spot for cookie sheets and the like - tho maybe 1x24” might ultimately be more flexible b/c you can partition as you need to..

chispa - really? 40" is not too big? I have a 36 right now, but i thought that it was the biggest.

In the back of my island my kd planned two 42" drawers with heavy duty hardware. She assures me they will hold up without issue.

I think you almost need a front perspective to see what each looks like to help you make the decision. I would be tempted to go with the big drawers vs the smaller drawers and the 12" pullouts.

Also look at your stuff - what do you want to store in that area? How much space does it need? What kind of space does it need? (Ex. Pots and pans fit into a different space than cookie sheets, for best organization.) You can go around the whole kitchen like that, actually. Doing so might turn up a better location for some things, or some things that will be homeless, and you can adjust the plan accordingly.

40" is not too big. I have two banks of 36" drawer cabinets and love them. Talk to your cabinetmaker to make sure they are willing to reinforce drawers for added width (e.g., with wood struts under the bottoms, or with thicker bottoms), as some cabinetmakers won't make them wider than 30-36".

I love my 12" base cabinet adjacent to my stove that I store cookie sheets and cutting boards in sideways & upright. Looking at your island, I think you should swap the microwave and trash. I think you will like the trash at the other end of the island closer to the sink and stove.

One of my main goals in my on-going remodel was to eliminate the 12” drawers and cabs that I had...I succeeded. A 12 inch drawer or cab is not very useful storage (because you do not really get 12 inches) unless you have no other place for vertical storage.

Fori - Genius!

I think that might be the answer if I can pull it off. If I split one 40" into 2 actual drawers and then make a single 'fake' 40 on the other side, then I would have symmetry and a full size pot drawer!

Anything over 36" does bump you up into thicker walls, and thicker drawers, with heavier glides. That can be a hefty upcharge. I find it a bit unwieldly, and you do need tray bases and some type of storage for ladles and spatulas, and whisks and turners. Consider doing a tray base, and an pull out "implement" base, and the rest drawers.

Also, you need to account for filler in all the corners and against any walls. That will reduce the available space for storage. Voiding a corner works well if you can access it from another room, but a Super Susan will provide enough space to be able to store all your small appliances, or pots and pans, and it's very very accessible as well. You'd maximize your storage better if you chose that for your corner option.

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My customer here stored all of the pots and pans there, and only uses her pot and pan drawers for stock pots.

It depends what you have to store. I have two 12” cabinets and I love them; one is for trays and one has a pullout for oils, etc. I’m in the minority, but I have a 33” drawer that I think is too big. It’s my most disorganized drawer and I hate how it has both potholders and spices in it. I like one thing for each drawer. OCD maybe.

emilyam819, do you have a divider in the drawer? I have a 34" drawer stack, and divided the top into two - I wish I had made it a single drawer, to save the space taken up by a wall and two drawer sides. One of mine has potholders, the other is a very well-organized junk drawer. I would have put a permanent divider to keep the potholders on their side, and gained room for a hammer in the drawer.

Thanks, AnnKH. I do have to get some kind of divider.

I also vote for the larger drawers. A 12" drawer will have about 3" less of available room which, imo doesn't give you very much space.

@emily, I was so used to having the "one thing per drawer" that I wasn't happy with having different things co-exist in one drawer either. After a year though, I'm used to seeing my ziploc bags living with my cutlery, and I'm very happy that I didn't do separate drawers. I do have drawer dividers (spring loaded which are easy to move around if necessary) and I appreciate the extra inches.

Sherri - what are spring loaded drawer dividers? PIc?