Please give me your opinions on the best drawer layout for my island. The island will be 9ft long with a 36" induction cook top centered (w/ proper overhead ventilation) with a prep sink at one end. There is a 36" double door cabinet under the prep sink which will have trash/recycle cans and an area for cleaning and general supplies directly under the prep sink. That cabinet is fine. My questions relate to the 36" area directly underneath the cook top and the 36" at the other end of the island.

1. Would you choose to store your most used pots/pans in two deep drawers under the cook top (only requires 2" clearance), or would you prefer to have a three drawer stack with a smaller drawer on top, or something else entirely? How deep would you want each drawer if you chose a 3 drawer stack?

2. For the 36" space (the non-prep sink area) at the end of the island, would it make more sense to have two separate drawer stacks 18" wide each or one 36" stack? And how many drawers in each stack would you prefer? The plan currently calls for two 18" drawer stacks with four drawers in each stack. That seems like too many drawers to deal with to me (a total of eight drawers in two 18" stacks vs. only four in a 36" stack), but I could be missing something. I plan to keep general utensils, spices, foil/plastic wrap/storage bags, potholders, etc. in this area (what am I leaving out here?). We have plenty of other convenient storage in the pantry and the perimeter of the kitchen designated for dishes, flatware, glasses, bake ware, small appliances, tablecloths/napkins, serving items, food, etc. How would you design this drawer space if it were your kitchen?

I know all this depends on how we use the kitchen, but it has been so long since weÂve had a functioning kitchen IÂm just not quite sure about anything anymore. We have a meeting with the cabinet maker tomorrow and I just want to feel comfortable with the final design. I appreciate any comments. Thanks!