Had them in a house because I thought they were clever. They weren't. They were a pain.

I never used them because they were inconvenient to use. Use drawers in all or most of your base cabinets and install a pantry cabinet for sure.

Here are some discussions that might be of interest:

• https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2691001/toekick-drawers
• https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2421614/considering-a-toekick-drawer-for-a-step-stool-y-or-n
• https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2478224/toekick-drawers-under-kitchen-cabinets
• https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2678010/what-do-you-have-in-your-toekick-drawers

I have three: One each under the two sets of drawers in my kitchen island. And one, which I've only just noticed because I looked for it, is under the drawers under my rangetop. (I moved back in after my reno almost exactly three years ago. I don't think I get good marks for observation!)

One of the island toe-kick drawers contains a small folding step stool. The others, so far, have held only air—and probably a little bit of dust.

Mine have push-to-open latches. I don't need the step-stool often, but it's nice to have a handy place to keep it. I think the one under the range top might be a better place to store cookie-sheets or baking racks than the drawer where I have them now. I'll have to play with it. The second island one is surplus to my requirements. I don't know what I would keep there. Placemats? I have them stored more conveniently for me, but I guess that could work for you.

Thanks to all. Thoughts:

- Yes to drawers and a pantry (not a pantry cabinet), but this is a separate thought.

- I will read these links!

- I have a library kick-stool, which will live in the pantry nearby. So even though I'm very short and rely upon my stool, that need is taken care of.

- Only holding air -- yeah, not a great recommendation for the product!

- Are push-to-open latches the best idea?

- I already have a good place for cookie sheets and baking racks.

- I don't own any placemats.

Okay, not sold. Thanks again, all, for the info!

Okay, read the four links above. Thoughts I garnered:

- I do like the idea of a drawer for appliance paperwork.

- One person says use it for the spare oven rack.

- One person says they're useless for tall people, but I'm not even 5' tall.

- One person says be sure to use floor mount glides. If you're going to do it, do it right. And be sure the drawer doesn't rub the underside of the cabinet as it opens.

- One person mentions using them in the bathroom -- I don't think I particularly need that bit of space there.

- Another person mentions them as a good hiding place, saying thieves would never think to look under the cabinets.

- How well do large serving platters store in these drawers? I'm thinking you could only stack two?

"Are push-to-open latches the best idea?"

I don't have a basis of comparison. But I assume they can fail, and that a pull might come in handy when they do.

I asked for one toe-kick drawer, specifically for the step-stool. The other two, as we have seen, were surprises. But they're not in my way, so they're harmless.

In my current kitchen I have a snap on removeable toe kick and in the space under the cabinets I store all the surplus tile, flooring, & spare parts for my kitchen. Similar to this one but longer.

I store all the user manuals for the appliances in a 3 ring binder I keep with all of my various cookbooks on a shelf.

They're so shallow -- realistically, what do you store in them?

Hair. Piles of German Shepherd hair.

When we remodeled our kitchen 2 years ago, I added a toe-kick drawer to hold cookie sheets and cooling racks, because I didn't have another good place for those items in our small kitchen. We love it!

Smiling, love your ideas - any pictures? How deep are they or how tall can stored items be?

smiling, that is darned impressive planning! I have other storage solutions for most of those things (some of them I've never owned), but I am keeping your list in mind in case I should want to shift things around someday.

wwwhhhhyyyyy do you want all those things almost on the floor? Besides the dust, debris aspect - you really want to bend down to floor level for a placemat?

I've spent way too long in the restaurant world to have things stored "on" the floor.

just_janni, our experiences are completely different. I think there is value in sharing how different home-kitchen (not restaurant) toe-kick drawers can be for different people. I love mine and use them all the time, you seem to despise both yours and mine. The grandkids retrieve their own placemats, the lobster stuff is handy but not used every week, (can't afford all those lobsters so often anymore), the hidden storage is especially useful, and as for the bending down, I'm happy to do it everytime for the exercise, balance, and convenience, it's actually good for me! I'm safer having a good step-stool so handy, and my tool dtawers serve the whole house. My toe-kicks have full sides and fronts, so they stay just as clean as my other drawers. Different experiences, different uses, different posts each responding to the OP.

It's also good to be reminded why I so rarely post on this forum any longer, except if it seems I might have some directly relevant info to share with a poster asking a question. just_janni, thanks for reminding me not to waste my time replying when it's useless.

just_janni, wwwhhhhyyyyy not remember that different strokes work for different folks? Any kitchen drawer is going to collect dust and debris, which is why we're supposed to clean them. I might not want to get down to floor level for some of the things smiling does, but I still think their system is clever and very utile. They answered Theresa Peterson's question. Did you?

Coming back after several days -- I appreciate the discussion! Thoughts:

- After reading more, I see that these toe kicks can 1) be built in as the cabinets are being built OR 2) can be added later. It seems to me that building them into the original cabinets (while not always an option) is by far the better choice because they can be built with quality hardware ... whereas some of the after-market toe kicks are sorta just, um, sitting on the floor. I hadn't considered the steep difference in quality between the two types.

- I'll say again, the two most-often quoted uses -- step stool and cookie sheets -- are not things I'd need to store in these toe kick drawers. I already have those things covered elsewhere -- especially the step stool; anyone my height already owns a quality step stool -- mine's a library kick-stool, and it lives in the nearby pantry.

- Likewise, the idea of storing batteries, candles, tools or craft supplies in these drawers doesn't appeal to me -- I already have ample space for those things elsewhere. We aren't sushi people, and I don't own any placemats. Largely, this thread is proof that we each have our own habits.

- I agree with the poster who says these drawers are "harmless". Except for an extra cost, if you don't use them, they're not in the way.

- I like that edge pull. I like that it's essentially "hidden", and it appears highly functional.

- I had not considered that a floor mat could block the opening of these toe-kick drawers. All the more reason to consider them for things I only rarely use.

- Lobster ... hm, I do have a small collection of "implements of destruction" that my husband and I use for crab legs. Somehow we raised a family of children who don't like them, so that's a him-and-me meal, and we do love it, but it's a rarity. This is the perfect kind of thing to store in these toe-kick drawers.

- These are strong enough to hold cast iron skillets? I have several, and -- while I love them -- I don't reach for them every day. Storing them in a toe-kick drawer is a great idea.

- I don't own a German Shedder, but I do have a Pitsky (half Pitt, half Husky -- most beautiful dog ever). Husky shedding is nothing to scoff at, so I brush her at least every other day. The creature's lucky we love her.

- I'd argue that restaurant needs aren't the same as home needs. In a restaurant, you use everything every day. In a home you have items that are used only for holidays, etc.

Things I'm still up in the air about:

- How many platters could be stored in a toe-kick drawer?

- Can a toe-kick drawer be placed under a Lazy Susan in the kitchen corner?

THANKS, ALL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS.

I think that if you are really tight for space and want to store things that you don't eat off of (thinking about smiling's stepstool and such) there could be a reason for toekick drawers. Most of what I saw in use case - there's a much better / more practical solution. Glad it works for some folks, but they are not that popular for a reason.

Beverly's solution seems practical and less expensive for sure - rarely used, non cookware...

I wouldn't put one under a lazy susan. The front would be angled, meaning you would have to pull it WAY out to use it. They are already not the most convenient storage; putting it in a corner makes it less so (unless you don't have a safe, and want to use it for valuables).

Theresa, I maintain that the most important art of a kitchen design is a storage plan. The kind of storage one needs depends entirely on what you want to store, and where. My last kitchen had a narrow base cabinet, perfect for cookie sheets and cutting boards. My current kitchen didn't have a good place for such a thing, so adding a toekick drawer for cookie sheets was just the ticket. In hindsight, I wish I'd put in another one - the number of items in mine just barely fit (cookie sheets, pizza pans, cooling racks). It would be nice if the cooling racks were separate.

I had a toe kick step stool like Beverly shows. It was a total PITA and I never used it, preferring to pull a chair over and stand on it instead. No more clever toe kicks for me again, even though I have a small kitchen where space counts.

Every manual I need is online. I don't keep paper anymore. Saves a ton of space.

I have 6 toe kick drawers. I love them and use them for small items. They are great rarely used containers and extra dishes. They were made with the cabinets and stay as clean as the other cabinet drawers.

They are about $600 each, +-. You have to really want them to pay that.

Perhaps they are $600 each from some cabinet lines these days, but mine were less than $100 each custom made, installed with full strength side-mount glides. Anyone considering the idea could check costs in their area. Toe kicks could be sourced from other than the cabinet lines. The "drawer faces" are not expensive, mine are cut from the toe kick trim to match the trim used elsewhere in the kitchen.

My cabinet maker charged $125 for our toe kick drawer, 2 years ago. Well worth it to me.