I would

makes them convenient but I agree it could ruin them as well

The location may be a bit odd but the general idea is pretty clever

Until I read your comment I thought "what a great idea."! Thanks for stating the obvious.

And now could we please have the answer from the cabinet makers themselves?

Just beautiful

Rich, yet not ornate, which I dislike. Spices convenient to the range. Very functional.

I agree that heat is usually bad news for spices, oils, and vinegars, but most ovens now are pretty well insulated. I have a standard GE convection oven and I don't feel any temperature change until I open the door. If it's that much of a problem, I would just swap positions and install several shorter spice shelves on top.

don't think that spices beside the stove would be that good. Heat from the side of the stove could make your spices go bad.... not matter how well your stove is insulated there will be some sign of heat off of it.

I don't think I like this and the spices by the oven is not a good thing...

I have seen a similar shelving unit to put next to a fridge - this makes a lot more sense.

you got that right....

Amen! There really is not a worse spot to put spices/herbs! They deteriorate with heat! Unless the spices are all for grilling and you never use the oven! You probably never use the spices either in that case!

Agreed, very bad idea, a home contractor should know better. Surely they can think of something else to put in that space, maybe hooks on the pull-out for pot holders, etc. or hanging utensils.

Have you checked the sides on a refrigerator? A convection oven produces about the same amount of side heat as does a refrigerator. Refrigerators, some not all, dispense heat through their 'skin'. Most do have lower fan/condenser units but some radiate the heat and some have 'skin' heaters to prevent condensation from forming that causes the refrigerator to 'sweat'. In tight areas this heat can build up. So in some cases the 'next to the refrigerator' may not be any better that the one shown.

A couple of more observations. There is not only the metal jacketing and insulation of the oven wall but there is also a 1/2" or 3/4" wooden barrier between the oven and the spices (see the photo). So the heat is not direct from the oven. It's not that bad of an idea and most of your spices are going to go bad from age anyway so we shouldn't just blame the cabinet design. And lastly, next to a dishwasher would be as bad as next to the oven. Maybe these slide-ins should be reconfigured for pie pans, pizza pans, cookie sheets or other flats.

I love the stove, though....

Snoopy1955 has the answer! It would be absolutely be the perfect place for pizza pans, cookie sheets, etc. Right near the place they are used! Spices don't deteriorate as fast, but herbs just degrade so quickly that even a little heat is bad. They should be kept in the dark as much as possible too. I love the idea of putting all you flat pans there, otherwise they end up getting scraped by the heavier pots stacked on top of them. I've got mine vertically stored in a narrow cabinet next to the stove and they take up so little room that way.

pull out your stove when it is one and you will see how warm it gets on the sides. any heat all over time would not be good for spices and oils.

It's really about putting those items near the cooktop - unfortunate that in this case the cook top and oven are integrated...

I keep all of my spices in the refrigerator, they last a lot longer that way and keep a fresher taste. I am always afraid of bugs when spices are kept in cabinets. I keep a lot of things in the refrigerator for the same reason, that many other people probably do not, like cereal, flour, sugar, grains, pastas, any kind of boxed food, etc. I just feel they are protected more that way and they last longer and most importantly they stay fresher longer. I do have two good sized refrigerators.

I was just going to say Maggie, where on earth do you have the room in your refrigerator. I never have room enough for other stuff that I have to keep in the fridge. If you keep them in a cool, dry, dark space they last long enough...

Ya, I dont think the spices keep well so close to the heat of the oven. Not a 'cool dry place'.

i think that is a very good idea

SasanAlizadeh....Haven't you read any of the comments? It's the worst place to keep spices, the heat kills them and they go bad very quickly.

By the way, hot air rises. ; ) Relax, really. When I cook my whole kitchen is hot. With 4 burners and the oven going. Besides, with all the seasonings I use I would be doing a marathon to the pantry and back. Are there any laws on this? You will have these people ripping out their cabinets. Smile people! Have a nice day. And by the way, everybody loves my cooking. = )

@zazfuzzroc: spices last much longer and are FRESHER when kept chilled, I know from years of experience. Plus, I feel my spices keep bug-free when kept in the refrigerator. I had one bad experience with bugs years and years ago, but it "stung" me for life. It just makes sense that they would stay fresher when chilled.

@Maggie Marting And I don't disagree. I just cannot believe that with all that goes on in life that some of the people seem so angry over something so small. Plus, I buy spices every couple weeks, so they are usually really fresh. But sometimes I buy fresh because I wonder how long they actually sit at the store. Yeah, I really don't like bugs. ; )

the compartment for the spices is just what I was looking for,thanks for the wonderful idea I have a open space and could not think what to do with it until I saw your spice rack thats what I am going to do with that space great idea i love it .

Try cookie sheets or something, not spices, they will ruin.

I love the spice rack area - perfect for when you're cooking. You don't have to leave the stove. Excellent!!

The functional design of the spice racks adds a nice touch to the kitchen.

If that area doesn't get hot, what's the problem? It depends on how many spices you have. We have a LOT of spices and seasonings - and of course, they are not in the same shape bottles. There are large spice jars, small spice cans, even packets of spices. I had them stored in plastic drawers (cheap) and recently bought a 'chest of drawers' that is heavy and made of metal of all things! I was able to put all the spices in the drawers, not in any particular order, and filled every drawer. All in one place. The chest is heavy but on casters so I change the location if I want. Right now, it is right near the stove, but not up against the stove.

I have the same spice drawers and not only does the heat dry and prematurely age the spices but access to them is annoying. Having to bend or squat to locate the small jars makes it less than perfect. To do it again, I'd prefer to use this space for cookie sheets, cutting boards etc and put spices away from heat in a drawer that pulls out, displaying the jars flat.

Good point, E M! I didn't even think about how you have to bend down and search for spices. My eyesight isn't as good as it used to be and I imagine it would be difficult to even read the labels.

I have the same drawers in my kitchen that we just remodeled. I was worried about the heat factor as well. I tested it a couple of times after the oven was really hot and the heat does not radiate out of the sides of the oven. I think the newer models are more efficient in that way. We have the GE Café series double oven. My oils and spices stay cool. The heat comes out the back though so I can't put any oil in the niche above the stove. As for bending down to look for spices, a lot of spices are labeled on the top of the cap, or you can make your own label.

I'm glad to know that, Teddy, since I was wondering the same thing. I want to move my refrigerator over near my stove and figured I'd need to put a pullout shelf unit there, to keep the heat from the refrigerator. If the heat doesn't radiate to the sides, I should be able to put either next to the stove, though I wonder about the heat from the burners.

Thanks for the explanation, Teddy. It does make sense that newer models would be manufactured more efficiently.

Hi, I'm a cabinetmaker researching this issue and wanted to weigh in. Yes, heat and humidity will prematurely age your spices and oil. However, almost all modern ovens are insulated enough to contain the heat so that this isn't a problem. There is nothing wrong with this design, and here's why.

In order to reach the spices stored in this photo, the oven would have to produce enough heat for an extended period of time to heat up the outer metal wall hot enough, to heat up the cabinet side wall (3/4" to 5/8" plywood) hot enough, to heat up the air inside the cabinet pullout hot enough, to transfer through the glass jar enough to damage the herbs. Thats a lot of heat required. If your oven is putting out that much heat, its also cooked the paintjob on the outside of the cabinets by now. You'll see heat damage on the front of your cabinets long before your spices get cooked through sideways heat transfer.

And yes, I did just go turn on my oven to bake at 425 degrees, and let it run for an hour to test this and the result was the side panel was barely warm to the touch - like a chair someone has been sitting it for awhile. Its not going to be a problem.

This issue is a bit of an urban myth. It started when people started storing herbs and oils on wall mounted racks directly above the stove, or on the top of their oven's console. That space is much more exposed to heat and humidity than any cabinet pullout.

But to be fair, yes if you pulled out the spice rack and left it open while also opening the oven door to let all that hot air out and then let them sit like that, you will indeed heat up your spices and age them.

Okay, so for people who have one of these and do not want to store spices in it, WHAT do you use it for? Just got this in a kitchen renovation--now wishing I had a bank of small drawers instead, but hindsight is always 20:20. Now I would love some suggestions for alternate uses. Thanks!

D A-C, that is my question also! We just did a kitchen reno and that's where the spice rack is, beside the stove, now I think I would prefer it in a drawer, because of eyesight problems also and it is a pain to have to crouch down... I was thinking of putting my larger spoons and utensils in there... I seem to have so much space now I don't know what to do with it all lol, I know I will fill it in no time though :D

I'm a cabinet maker and am working on a design that has a base spice rack pull out adjacent to a base cabinet mounted oven. This is a face frame design which means there will be a 1.5" air space between the oven cabinet and the adjacent pull out cabinet which I plan to fill with insulation. With this design the oven heat would have to travel through the 3/4" ply oven cabinet, 1.5" of blanket insulation, and 3/4 ply side of the spice pull out cab. That's more than enough protection given that modern ovens dissipate little heat through their sides.

thanks Jared for confirming what I figured anyway. I for one am going to go for it. I think my current kitchen is worse because the spices are in the upper cabinet right beside the cooktop. Something is always bubbling and steaming there, and the heat, of course, rises rather than sinks. The wall oven, of course, is on the other side!!! It's amazing we even taste our food at all!!!

DA-C and Ilene

I unfortunately have this in my kitchen (Reno being planned now). It’s an awful arrangement in my opinion, whether it damages spices or not. Jars fell over, it only fit some, not tall ones, not some salts... I hate it.

So now I use it to store my daily wipe up counter top sprays and a couple rags, a kitchen candle. On the second shelf I have my eyeglasses cleaner sprays and rags. Works for me, though totally underutilized space. Dumb idea.

I meant Dumb idea for the whole stupid narrow pull out cabinet. Not my brilliant fix it solution hahaha.

I know this is old, but just confirming that it’s not the greatest idea. If I could redo this kitchen over, I wouldn’t do the spice rack next to the oven. We let our custom cabinet maker talk us into it 4 years ago. And I wish I had found this thread back then.