I don't think there is one best width. I have all of the above and an 18" set of drawers and I don't have a problem with any of them. 18" is used for my baking supplies. I use the 24" for my spices on top and things like strainers below. 30" is used for my plates and silverware, and 36" for my pots and pans, and another for storage containers. 36" it not too big, and 24 (or even 18) is not too small.

Do what fits in to your layout the best, and try to imagine how much width you need to keep like things together.

It depends on what you are planning to put in them. Think about location and what you would store there. I have 36" and 30" deep drawers for pots and pans, baking containers, mixing bowls, and other large items, a 30" shallow one for spices, 20" drawers for silverware, ladles, spoons, measuring cups, pot holders/towels, etc. Look at the types of things you currently have and then go look cabinet displays with different drawer sizes so you get a good sense of what you want.

Anything bigger than 24” is too big for me! 24” is perfect for my silverware in one, stove utensils in another, plastic wrap etc in another... I like only one type of thing in each drawer. I do not store my pots in drawers, but if I did, I would need bigger. It all depends on what you have to store.

It depends on what you want to store in the drawers. Pots and pans or dishes - nice to have a wider drawer. I have an 18" stack that's fine for bags and wraps, dish towels, and small kitchen gadgets. My 24" is good for cooking utensils, canisters of dry goods, and some pots and pans. I have a 34" that works well for storage containers, and cake pans.

The best thing you can do at this stage is inventory your kitchen things, figure out where you want to keep things (ideally near their point of use), and size drawers appropriately for your specific needs.

For example, when I was figuring out the design for my U-shaped kitchen remodel, I wanted to make the very best use of the corners. One has a super susan for small appliances - that one was easy. But between the sink and range - I studied every corner contraption I could find: susans, corner drawers, Magic Corners - and nothing really seemed to suit MY storage needs. I finally ended up voiding the corner, and putting drawer stacks on each side - a decision I haven't regretted for a moment, and it's been 6 years.

My thoughts, which seem to ramble a bit:

- Go down to Lowes and look at their sample kitchen layouts ... with a tape measure in your hand. YOU need to do this YOURSELF because what I think is ideal might not be so ideal for you.

- If you go with 36" wide, you can always "divide" the drawers in any number of ways: plastic inserts, spring-loaded dividers, etc. ... which makes wider drawers more versatile.

- Note that one 36" drawer gives you more storage than two 18" drawers. Why? Because the space wasted on hardware in the middle of the two 18" drawers is pretty substantial. Pay attention to this when you're looking at Lowes' cabinets.

- No matter what width you choose, make SURE your drawers reach the back of your cabinets. I know, you're thinking, "Duh", but mine don't. Lots of cabinets have empty space behind the drawers ... what a waste. No point in paying for wide-wide drawers, only to throw away 5-6" behind the drawer.

- I love heavy dishes (Pfaltzgraff and Fiestaware) and cast iron. If you love the same things, consider super-heavy-duty hardware for your drawers (it won't cost that much more while you're building, but fixing a broken door will be expensive later). I'm planning to hang my cast iron on pegboard in the pantry. AND, if you have heavy stuff, consider going with a more narrow drawer stack.

- In closing, if I could have everything I want, I'd go for all 36" drawers, but my numbers didn't quite work out ... so I will have 33" drawers. I'm not at all disappointed in that.

I think the absolute minimum usable width is 10 inches, which is a 15 inch cabinet. Anything less than that and you are better with a pullout or just a cookie sheet cabinet with single door. One set of drawers of 15, 18 or 21 wide would be ok for cutlery and utensils, perhaps dishtowels, plastic wrap, or the classic junk drawer. Past that, stick with wider, as long as you upgrade the drawer construction and hardware to match the contents.

Same width cabinets always look nice but I think I would choose function first and split a 48 inch space into 18 and 30, instead of equal spacing

You lose potential storage space to the cabinet carcass as well as the drawer boxes so it could be best to use fewer wider stacks vs more of the narrow stacks. Something to keep in mind.

I put my current cookware on my counter in a good arrangement and measured around it. This way I know that the most used items are in their easy to reach location, and can fit those drawers for sure. I'm not doing huge drawers because I love cast iron/Le Creuset and those are very heavy. I'm used to stacking my stainless steel ones so they also don't require a huge drawer.

We will have drawers ranging from 15” to 33”. The sizes were specifically chosen for the items they will be housing. Planning where everything would go was super helpful in finalizing my kitchen layout.

Thanks everyone! Such great input!!

Love my extra wide drawers but also have a few narrower drawers that are perfect for dish towels, etc. I think you need a combination of sizes. My kd and I figured out where everything would go when we were planning the kitchen. Think about what you have, what size drawer is needed and the best location for drawers that house certain things.

The one thing you don't mention in your post is if you are doing framed or frameless cabinetry.

In my business, I provide frameless cabinetry. As a Designer, I prefer to plan drawer cabinets at no less than 15" 4-drawer cabinets & no less than 30" for 2 or 3-drawers (pot cabinets). However, it comes down to what size & height your pots, mixing bowls, etc. are. Best practice is to consider what will go in the planned cabinet. Take your pots, pans, etc, & lay them out in the way you might want to store them. Measure that space & then inform your kitchen designer/provider of the measurements. They should be able to tell you what the usable height & width is for your planned drawers. If the planned ones won't fit, change the design to accommodate. The planning stage is when you want to consider what each cabinet will store, not after your kitchen is in place.

If you're planning framed cabinets, IMPO, I wouldn't plan anything less than an 18" 4-drawer cabinet & no less than 33" for 2 or 3-drawers (pot cabinets). as you loose more space with the framing of the face of the cabinet.

Of course, all this comes down to your space & if what I've said above is actually doable within your kitchen footprint.

Another thing to think about is the interior height of the drawers, especially top drawers, which are usually pretty shallow. They might look tall enough when closed, but if the inside space between the bottom of the drawer and the top of the frame is small, things like ladles, double-decker tableware inserts, etc. will catch when you open and close the drawer. Ask me how I know!

Best thing to do is look at cabinets in showrooms with a measuring tape. That eliminated 80% of the cabinet companies for me due to the lack of usage storage.

The issues included shallow drawers that catches, up to 8” of space behind your drawers (average is 5” wasted), and shallow upper cabinets. I took along one plate and one coffee cup for my visit. It helped me walk away from cabinet companies within seconds.

The point about frame or frameless is key as well if you’re looking for efficient storage.

I designed my cabinet sizes around my space with fitting in as large as I can while using every inch and no filler. I have from 15” to 48” and they are all fully utilized efficiently.

Based on the advices above, I only have one space of 2 18” that could have been a 36”. I’m not sure if the 36” would have worked for me despite the extra storage inches.

Best thing is to map out what you need to store and plan it. I wrote down everything that I wanted and then designed the drawers to fit. With my frameless cabinets, I have a stack of up to 6 drawers per cabinets.

Ideal size depends on what you want to put in them. If it is too large it can be filled with dividers but a too narrow drawer is useless. I would try to stay away from anything under 12". I would also vary drawer depths. Shallow depths are good for silverware and tinfoil but deeper can also be used for storing pots and pans.

Thank you, everyone!! What a helpful group of people!! Where have you been all my life?! ;-)

I prefer frameless...hopefully Ikea. We plan to make the trip next week to the Ikea store and will purchase a cabinet and doors to bring home and test for off-gassing odors. If it passes, we will be the proud owners of an Ikea kitchen! :-)

i like 32".

Don't just focus on drawer widths, look at your storage needs overall. E.g., would a 3-drawer base be better as a 4-drawer base. In my case, my 24" wide 4-drawer base has:

• Drawer 1 (top) - Silverware
• Drawer 2 - Plastic wraps, plastic bags, wax paper, etc. It's just deep enough to store everything in a single layer (I don't like having to rummage through things to get to what I want!)
• Drawer 3 - Electrical "stuff" (extension cords, adapters, etc.)
• Drawer 4 - Bread (it's just deep enough to store a 4-pack of hamburger or hot dog rolls upright). This is drawer is also deeper than the upper three

You might also need a cabinet for a mixer or cutting boards or ...

Before finalizing your cabinets, plan for storage. There's an FAQ about that!

FAQ: How Do I Plan For Storage?

• https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500787/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage

Buehl, thank you! Great info!

30" and 36".

I store all of my plates and bowls in just one 30" drawer.

I have two stacks of narrow drawers - they hold kitchen silverware, dish towels, napkins, tools etc. The rest are either 30" or 36". A kitchen designer will figure it all out for you, based on what you have in your present kitchen.

Hopefully the standard Ikea configurations will help you avoid the following problem, but with frameless cabinetry in particular, a drawer can rack (meaning twist out of square during installation or usage) if it is too wide, deep and heavily stacked for the drawer glide rating or for the thickness of construction material. The shallower the drawer, the wider it can be without running into this problem. With a deep, wide drawer, you'll need to be careful with your weight limits, glide ratings and cabinet construction quality as to what you can store in the drawer. As others have said, wider is the more modern approach to kitchen drawer design, 30" and above if you have the space.

I have all 30" wide IKEA drawers except for a few around the range that I use for dishtowels, spices etc. I store everything in drawers except for glassware I never wanted to have to open two doors to get at a slide-out shelf.