Are Drawers or Cabinets Better for Your Kitchen?
Here's how to assess what will work best for your needs
Kitchens are one of the busiest rooms in a home, and having them set up properly will make meal preparation and entertaining easier. This guide will tell you all you need to know about kitchen cupboards versus kitchen drawers so you can decide which will work best for your home.
Before you place your cupboard or drawer cabinetry order or make changes to your current layout, here are some things to consider in order to make meal preparation, entertaining and kitchen storage easier and more efficient for your family.
What works best for you?
Most older kitchens have only cabinets, both below the countertop and above it, and while this is the easiest way create kitchen storage on a budget, it’s not always the best choice for modern living. But before you throw out all your shelving and replace it with drawers, it’s best to think about your needs, preferences and the way you use your kitchen.
Most older kitchens have only cabinets, both below the countertop and above it, and while this is the easiest way create kitchen storage on a budget, it’s not always the best choice for modern living. But before you throw out all your shelving and replace it with drawers, it’s best to think about your needs, preferences and the way you use your kitchen.
Drawers
My personal preference is to have drawers below countertops. The reason for this is you can maximise both depth and height while being able to see and access everything you have.
8 kitchen cabinet door and drawer types
My personal preference is to have drawers below countertops. The reason for this is you can maximise both depth and height while being able to see and access everything you have.
8 kitchen cabinet door and drawer types
Many times while decluttering older kitchens for my business, Simply Organised, I’ve crouched on the floor trying to reach into the back of a corner cabinet to retrieve items long forgotten. If you have space you can’t easily see or reach, it’s wasted storage potential.
Also consider the ergonomic features of having drawers below benches. No longer do you have to crouch down to rummage around in the dark, reaching behind stacks of bowls and having to move the things at the front to reach those at the back.
When I’m helping a client organise their kitchen, there are some items that just make sense to store in drawers. Pots and pans are so much more accessible in kitchen drawers than if you had to stack them in cabinets. The reason is simple; you can see what you have in a glance.
Plastic containers are best kept in drawers as they have greater capacity and it’s easier to stack items or use dividers to keep like with like.
The other question you may have as you consider kitchen drawers is how deep to make them. I’d avoid making drawers too deep as you’ll find you end up piling everything in there and, instead of making finding things easier, you’ll have to rummage to find what you’re looking for.
Measure the height of items such as your largest saucepan (with the lid on) to ensure you have at least one or two drawers large enough for your bigger items in your design.
Cabinets
Not everything is best kept in drawers though. I find that open shelving (say, in a walk-in pantry) or cabinets are excellent for storing kitchen appliances.
Not everything is best kept in drawers though. I find that open shelving (say, in a walk-in pantry) or cabinets are excellent for storing kitchen appliances.
If you’ve got a food processor, sandwich press, slow cooker or stand mixer, these are heavy items that are easier to store on shelving than in drawers. You may choose to keep just one or two cupboards for these larger appliances.
5 pantry solutions for kitchens
5 pantry solutions for kitchens
What about the dreaded corner cabinet?
The most frustrating and often under-utilised storage area in any kitchen is the corner cupboard. If you can avoid having this space purely as a cupboard I would encourage you to do so.
How to rework an awkward kitchen corner
The most frustrating and often under-utilised storage area in any kitchen is the corner cupboard. If you can avoid having this space purely as a cupboard I would encourage you to do so.
How to rework an awkward kitchen corner
Some options are to have the hardware installed so that when you open the cabinet, shelves slide out to become visible and accessible. These create great usable space, but often have weight restrictions to be aware of.
The other option, as seen here, is to have cabinetry custom made so that you can instead insert drawers in this space. They have great capacity, are easier to use and are a good place to keep items you don’t use on a regular basis.
Your kitchen is a high-traffic area and making it as easy to use as possible will make cooking and entertaining a pleasure.
TELL US
Do you prefer cabinets or drawers – or a combination of the two? Share your experiences in the Comments below.
TELL US
Do you prefer cabinets or drawers – or a combination of the two? Share your experiences in the Comments below.