I love my spice drawer! Very accessible, I wouldn't want to have them in an upper cabinet. And I need them close at hand while cooking. Running off to the pantry would not be my preferred option.

In my new kitchen the drawer is right under the cooktop, in my old kitchen it was in a drawer to the right. Both locations work well for me.

{{!gwi}}

jakabedy -- I'm also trying to reno an MCM that has an inappropriate kitchen. I've been stymied on the layout. Any chance you might be willing to share?

We abandoned the 1950 galley and put the kitchen in the DR. We have no upper cabs, because we didn't want to lose the window wall effect of the DR. Spices ended up in a pullout next to the range:

We have nothing quite so fancy as a spice rack. I just keep the spice bottles I use on a regular basis standing up in a long drawer next to the range. Heat's not an issue. I have spice bottles with the names on the lid so I can see easily.

Works for us.
Ivette

I also store my spices in a shallow drawer in bottles, standing up, with labels on the lids. I have them in a 15" drawer which holds them all (and there are quite a few).

Thanks, Beatrix. I like the look of that. We'll have a standard range so I won't be able to put it under the cooktop like that. But I think it would work fine in one of the 30" base cabinets on either side of the range. I could have the spice drawer on top on one side and the utensil drawer on top on the other side. Deep drawers beneath both for pots and pans.

The only question would be tall leaky things like oils and vinegars. But I might be OK with those in a pantry. The pantries are just a few steps away.

Sara -

Our layout is pretty straightforward, and I'm not planning on relocating anything. First, because I'm cheap (although the thought of switching from a range to cooktop/wall ovens is enticing). Second, because I don't think there is another layout that is better than what I already have. We're planning on using Ikea cabinets. I have done a draft layout and the pricing is about $2,500 -- quite the deal. That leaves more $$ for countertop, backsplash and range hood.

I don't have a straight-on shot of the kitchen, but the photos below sort of show it. The island is behind the brick wall, overlooking the groovy indoor garden. The two pantries are the tan doors on either end of the range wall.

I'm planning to remove the soffit and have a great range hood and backsplash. And maybe some open shelving for display or cookbooks.

What a cool space! Where is the house located? (Please feel free to be as unspecific as you wish.)

We're in central Alabama. We were shocked to find the house -- in the middle of three wooded acres in a rural location -- and had to have it.

We prefer our spices in a drawer! I ordered squat jars from Specialty Bottle that hold 4 ounces, which is what the regular spice jars hold. The jars are about 3" high & have a wide opening, great for spooning out, & we have them all labelled. I get most spices from Penzeys, which sells them by the bag in addition to jar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Specialty Bottle spice jar

WOW - what a cool house!! I have spice drawers and a pullout for larger stuff I used to have in an upper cabinet - oil, vinegar, etc. It seemed strange at first but it works very well.

Duh! I totally did not connect the dots from the hone decorating forum. I am envious of your truly MCM space. I've got such a half-baked MCM house it doesn't know which direction to go. I'm also thinking ikea, but can't get a layout that seems to really sing, just yet. Current layout is the pits.

sara -

Are you the one trying to figure out what to do with your asymmetrical fireplace? I love your place -- very nifty. We're very lucky with the uber-galley layout of our kitchen. Just two straight shots of cabinets. No inside corners, no outside corners, just square boxes.

I am the one with the asymmetrical fireplace! Sorry to highjack your spices thread. I'm jealous of your uber galley and your gorgeous transom windows. Unfortunately, my vaulted dining room vaults the wrong direction for triangular transoms. How long is your galley? I'm actually considering ignoring my back wall and creating a galley kitchen layout, but not sure the 11' island will give me enough storage with the sink in it. Plus -- what do I then do with an entire blank wall?

BTW -- (so it's not a complete highjack) -- saw some nifty spice holders that look like little makeup pots, with magnetic backs. Very pretty, and seemed functional. This picture is from sohospices.com, but saw something similar (presumably less $$) at ikea.

I've always had upper cabinets but still put spices in drawers--those little bottles get lost in the back of an upper cab!

I do prefer to keep them next to the cooktop and not directly below it. Some cooktops do get hotter than others, and if you have multiple cooks, it's actually more convenient to have the stuff nearby instead of under.

I have my spices in a drawer, standing up, to one side of my cooktop. The oils and vinegars are in an upper cabinet on the other side of the cooktop (the upper cabinet on the other side houses baking items), but you could put those in a pullout on the other side.

I think my bottles are the same as the specialty bottles above. I got 110 in a 24" wide cabinet. Most folks don't need that many, so you could balance a drawer and a pullout -- or use a deep drawer for the bottles -- create inserts to keep them standing upright.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I meant to tell you that we get no heat in the drawer or in the cabinet next to the ovens. The only heat I get in the cabinets is from the undercabinet lighting, and that seem to be a little on the bottom shelf only.

Maybe mindstorm will chime in here, but I believe she has her oils at least stored in a deep drawer. She has ikea cabs, and their organizers are well suited to making that kind of set up work.

Her kitchen is on the FKB.

Here's our spice drawer:

I LOVE mine, BTW, and am so happy to finally have one!

Mine are in a 3" pullout:

Jakabedy, our house also has an atrium bordering the kitchen! Although it's not as close to the kitchen action as yours is.

The drawer next to our induction cooktop is a very handy location for spices and doesn't get warm in the least.

Here's mine, in a regular drawer:

...that's better....a bit smaller. :-)

Please, Don't get Stuck on having to have your spices next to the cooktop. Mine are in two drawers in my prep area which is actually where I use the bulk of the spices. (I do keep my pepper mill, salt and olive oil in a tray on top of a counter next to the range.) Baking spices are stored in my Baking Center (on a shelf with a lazy susan), which is in an different area than everything else. I don't have upper cabinets either and the drawers work well.

There are so many different ways to store spices now, that I don't think it really matters if they are in a drawer, hung on the wall or stored in a cabinet (mine used to be on a lazy susan.) It really depends on the layout of the kitchen and kind of storage is available. As long as it's convenient of course!

Thanks again for all the input!

My plan was to use a drawer next to the range and that seems to work for a lot of folks. I can either get the organizer to lie the bottles semi-flat, or label the tops and stand them up.

We plan to use IKEA cabinets and there really isn't a pull out narrow enough to still allow for reasonable deep drawers on that side of the range. The smallest pull-out is 12" and I think I would lose the spices in that. Also, that would leave room only for a 24" deep-drawer unit -- not deep enough. The drawer it is!

amys - I love your backsplash. I'm hoping DH will agree with something like that for our place.

Amysrq - so glad to see you post here! I love the pic of your kitchen in the FKB, but there are no details or more pics. I would love to see more of it! I really love that you have just the one big wall cabinet on the range wall.

End hijack!

I did what Claire did: baking spices are on the opposite end of the kitchen from the range.

And other spices are over the work area, prep counter.

I don't use many spices, in all honesty. And those I do use, I don't use AT the stove. I use them while I'm mixing, prepping, etc.

I toss basil into the biscuits before adding the milk; I mix mustard into the sauce ingredients in the glass measure; etc.

Yanno, I may need to steal the spices in the prep area idea. My only decently sized drawers are across from the stove under my largest expanse of counter. One of them full of spices may be just the ticket.

Jakabedy, my 3" pullout is a filler from revashelf and it is compatible with just about all brands of cabinetry. It also comes in a 6" version.

I second what everybody's saying about keeping spices near the prep area! That's what's so great about my location. Even though you can see the pullout by my rangetop, that's actually right across from my main prep area. So when the pullout's open, spices are easily accessible from both places.