How to Maximize Storage in Kitchen Drawers
With the exception of appliances and the sink, the purpose of the kitchen is largely one of storage. It's a place to house the cookware, cutlery, food, and coffee mugs that allow us to create and serve family meals or host dinner parties for friends and neighbors. The more effective a storage space the kitchen is, then, the more efficient and purposeful it will be. One of the most overlooked parts of kitchen storage is cabinet drawers. They're often simply installed as big, empty bins and either crammed full of left half-empty because they're not large enough for the pots, but too large for the silverware, for example. One of our main goals when designing a kitchen, then, is always to maximize storage in kitchen drawers. Doing so can help keep a space far more organized (and make it far easier to keep it that way), ensuring that there's a place for everything and everything can easily be kept in its place.
When we start the kitchen design process we always implore our clients to think about the ways they actually use their space: what appliances, spices, and utensils they use on a daily basis and need at the ready, and which ones they rarely bring out. We also ask them to think about flow and ease: do they prefer their dishes next to the dishwasher for easy unloading, or the sink for washing by hand? Is it easier to grab spices from the pantry, or would you prefer them closer to the prep area. This helps us narrow down the function and design we assign for each kitchen drawer.
Once a purpose is assigned to each drawer, we custom-create depth dimensions and storage solutions for each one in order to make it almost mindless to stay organized and efficient.
For example, in these drawers, customized drawer dividers were added based on the family's flatware collection and cooking tools.
While here, a drawer was custom measured to house the homeowner's collection of stemware.
In this kitchen, multiple drawers were hidden behind a single cabinet panel to maintain a streamlined look in the kitchen but maximize the use of drawer height.
Overall, kitchen drawer storage is a crucial element of the design that shouldn't be overlooked. A little careful planning can help make the most of your space.