My 36" wide rollout holds small appliances and the giant covered roasting pan.

That's what I needed to hear Marzhere! I do the once a month cooking thing, so want to make sure I can store my extra pans, big bowls, etc. in that space. I don't get them out a lot, but I definitely need them to stay where I put them. I have knee problems, so crawling around on the floor to get to the back of cabinets is not on my agenda! :)

I've got my son trying to figure out a way to get my (very crude) drawing in here so that I can upload something to give an idea of my kitchen. I just can't figure out how to get a .pdf file to drop in here.

Can you scan it in or take a digital photo of it? Then you can post the picture here.

It doesn't have to be fancy...just a sketch, to-scale. Graph paper makes it easiest for others to tell sizes, etc. Check out the Read Me thread for more info.

I'm storing small appliances in my corner pantry in my new kitchen (in my old kitchen they were either stored in a bottom base cabinet or scattered throughout the house!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

lissa... what program did you create the layout in? Depending on which one; I might be able to walk you through how to post a pic.

I'm guessing that's about all rollouts are good for...I hate opening doors and THEN pulling out rollouts. I prefer drawers. But of course, for less-frequently used and/or less drawerable items like appliances (and turkey pans), they're perfect.

I currently have rollouts that I use for stacks of things nested together---bowls, corningware, glass baking dishes, etc. In my new kitchen layout, I'm minimizing rollouts and using more drawers. I currently have drawers by the cooktop and love them---the main advantage is since the sides are tall, they hold things like pot lids that might otherwise slide off of the rollouts.

I can't tell from your post if the 36" cabinet with 3 doors will have 3 sets of rollouts (one set per door) or less. Just be aware that those rollouts are expensive---in my case they were $150 per cabinet for a double rollout. If you indeed have 3, well, that can really add up. You may find that putting a 36" deep drawer stack in that area would save you a lot of money. Also, you do lose a little space on the sides of the rollouts for them to slide in and out of the cabinets versus a drawer stack.

Thank you all for your responses. :)

Remodelfla, I can scan the drawing, but I haven't figured out how to get it from a .pdf file (Adobe) into the forum. I know how to do it from photobucket, but my camera isn't up to taking a good pic of the drawing. I tried. :)

Fori, The roll outs will be used specifically for small appliances and my OAMC supplies. This includes things like 6 - 6 qt. stainless steel bowls, 8 - 8x8 pans, 4 bread pans. You know, stuff you don't need every day, but don't necessarily want to have far away either. Since the roll outs will be under the only "long" piece of countertop I'll have, I definitely want to maximize the space. I'm hoping that my canning jars and supplies will fit in one of the roll outs as well.

Seaglass, My understanding is that the roll outs will be one set, although I wouldn't object to three since I've got certain miscellaneous stuff that needs to go in there. 3 might actually work better so that I can pull out one type of item at a time. I do know that the uppers there will have my baking center and spices in them. I will definitely ask my contractor if putting drawers there would save $$$ though! Thanks for the tip! :)

I'm confused too. Why would you have three doors on a 36" cabinet?

I have a 36" wide cabinet with two 36"wide pots and pans drawers, and just love them. (2 18" wide shallow drawers above).

I also have lots of pullout shelves. I have 6 in my 18" wide pantry- the advantage of the pullouts is that I placed them exactly where I wanted them according to what was being stored on them, versus, drawers which are fixed and not as flexible. I also have two pullout shelves in my only base cabinet that is not drawers- I use one for my liquor cabinet, so it can handle all the tall bottles, and have one fixed shelf above it for glasses. The other I use for my candles/napkins, and have a shallow space below it for my patio serving tray/placemats which would be too long to fit in a drawer. Drawers are not the be all and end all some people seem to think they are- sometimes the pullouts offer a flexiblity and storage solution that drawers don't. But you DO lose inches, I have spacers on mine to clear the hinges- in a smallish kitchen, you jealously guard every square inch, and I hated to lose them to those darn spacers!!!

Trying to post these again.

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I hope those are big enough to read.

Please remember that I'm not an artist and my drawings are not to scale. I made a couple of quick drawings, just to give an idea of what I'm working with. I'm definitely willing to look at better ideas.

Background: The trash pull-out is a necessity. I have nowhere to put the trash can without the pull-out, especially once I move the fridge to it's new home. I have a pantry outside the kitchen for food storage and I shop for a small army, then bring smaller quantities in the kitchen for day to day cooking.

I use towels instead of paper towels almost exclusively. Hubby drinks coffee as if it will never be made again, about 4 pots daily, so his coffee center must stay near the sink. I have done all of the layout tests and the budget will not allow major changes, so the sink, stove, OTR micro, hood, and d/w are staying in their current locations. Currently, there is a window over the sink, which looks into the back of a giant cabinet in the next room. That window is being removed.

Raehelen, I actually want 3 doors on the 36 inch cabinets. Inside, I want 1 roll out behind the single door and 1 roll out behind the double doors because of how I think I'm going to use the space. I love how yours works as a liquor cabinet! :) I also like the pics of your pantry in action! :)

I have had both and much prefer drawers. I use them for pats and pans, Tupperware, small appliances and I have one drawer for my foil, baggies saran wrap, coffee filters etc. The great thing about drawers is you can open them n one motion

There is a tradeoff between drawers and pullouts. Drawers are more convenient to use, and a bit more space efficient. But they aren't adjustable. Pullouts can be adjusted vertically to accommodate needs for various heights. But they are less convenient because you must open the door and then pull the pullout out, and it always seems to bump against the door.

I have pullouts in my pantries. Otherwise I have drawers. I would not consider switching any of those drawers for pullouts. Conversely, even if such a thing were available I would not consider replacing my pantries with a floor to ceiling stack of drawers. It would just look weird, and higher up ones wouldn't be very usable.

I had pullouts behind doors next to my range, was talked into them by KD who said that you can fit more stuff in (the handles can hang over the edge). I didn't think that was true and was definitely a PITA. However, if you think pullouts are what you want in that area, I'd still look hard at how narrow they'll be, unless two of the doors are opening to reveal a 24" space. You will lose a huge amount of storage with 3 sets of pullouts that have to fit inside 12" cabs: The pullouts will be closer to 8" wide. Just ask your cab person how this will work, and consider combining at least two of the doors.

In the next kitchen I did all drawers and prefer that in the lower cabs. The drawers' depth is deceptive, and you can put a lot of stuff in a 10" high space. Also, my pullouts were not adjustable, so be sure to ask if yours will be. Drawers were the same or less than the pullouts for my cab maker, so it was an easy decision.

Paul, I think the adjustable by height feature of the roll outs may actually be good for me. That means I would be able to set the upper roll-outs higher to hold shallow things, and would possibly give me more room for small appliances on the lower?

Md, do you use the drawers to hold Tupperware containers for things like flour, sugar, etc? That might be handy in the baking center. Or, do you use the drawers to store your plastic-ware when it's not in use?

I have pantry space for most of that, just outside the kitchen.

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I actually have three of these floor-to-ceiling, side by side in my laundry room. While they aren't the most efficient use of space in the world, since they are 2 feet deep, they do hold almost everything I'd want them to hold. I could probably find space in them for small appliances, but I don't want to go to the laundry room every time I need the food processor, for example.

I compromised and the back section of each shelf holds something that is not in daily use: Roasting pans, a box of extra glasses, cases of small canning jars, etc.

Right now, I think I may end up with too much storage in the remodeled kitchen, but we all know better. ;)

I use the drawers to hold my Tupperware ( I used to sell it so I have plenty) but you could certainly use it for a baking center. I also want to add my husband has been in the industry for years and we owned our own cabinet shop a few years ago. I asked him about adjusting the pull outs. He said the only way they can be adjusted is if you have them built with that capability. Mine are not and cannot be adjusted. So if you decide to have pull outs make sure you specify that you want o be able to adjust them.

Thanks for that, MD! I'll definitely ask my cabinet guy about making sure the roll-outs are adjustable. :)

If they are a euro-style frameless cab, they will probably have rows of holes drilled down the sides to accomodate shelves, pullouts, etc.

This not only allows you to adjust, but to add more if the situation permits.

We ended up with a combination of drawers and roll outs. I agree that the drawers are great for most items but I really like our roll outs too--despite almost being scared away from them by this forum. The major negative is that space is lost with the roll outs (especially since we have inset cabinets.) But I really like them for storing stock pots and for storing a mixture of items in the same space (i.e. the electric pancake/waffle griddle is stored on the same roll out as the tall stack of pyrex pie plates in our baking center.) I wish I had a roll out for storing canning jars since we use them all the time for storage---great idea.

I like the layout. It looks like you'll have a nice variety of storage solutions for everything. Now that I see you'll use the one rollout for oils, etc that makes a lot of sense. I also forgot to tell you that at least in my line of cabinets, you had a choice of 4" or 6" rollouts (height). My KD suggested doing a 4" on the top and 6" on the bottom in each cabinet, again to maximize flexibility.

Just to clarify what I said previously about price---in all the cabinet lines I quoted the price of a three drawer stack was roughly equivalent to same size cabinet with one set of rollouts. If you are comparing a 36" three drawer stack to a 36" with multiple sets of rollouts, the drawer stack will likely save you money.

Thanks again, Seaglass. Nothing is definite yet, but we are working toward a finished design. I feel like I've re-drawn my kitchen about a zillion times, and it's only now that I can "see" where everything will go.

Lissa,

Its all in the details. IMO the adjustability of the pullouts is of more value in a floor to ceiling pantry than in an under counter cabinet. Especially if that cabinet has a shallow drawer at the top, there just isn't a huge amount of vertical space to carve up, and so only so many ways to do it that make much sense for most people. And I think the cabinet makers probably offer most of those options as different drawer layouts.

Now this may not be true in your case. You may have a unique need. Or if you think this is something that you will want to change over the lifetime of the cabinet.

In the end its up to you to decide what will work best for you.

But do be careful to understand exactly how things work - how big the pullouts are relative to the width of the cabinet, how close to the bottom you can put a pullout, how much effective vertical space you will have, etc.

I found it very difficult to get that information. Its better if there is a showroom sample you can look at and measure.

Good luck.

Thanks, Paul. I'm doing all of this the hard way. I kind of knew what I wanted when I first started, at least lay-out wise. Then, I went to the box stores and beat and banged around in their kitchens, trying to see what I liked and didn't like.

I'm sure the guy at Lowe's thought I was nuts because I spent a good bit of time in one of their galley kitchens. He kept wanting to give me numbers on the cabinets, etc. that were in the kitchen. I just wanted to see how things work when you're opening and closing them daily.

I don't mind the way roll-outs hide behind doors, and I think they'll work better for what I want to put in them than drawers would. I eliminated most of their fancy add-ons just by playing with the cabinets. For example, I don't like wine or plate racks, mostly because they seem really flimsy.

I have an appt with the GC next week to go look at the actual doors and corian that I'll be ordering. Once that's done, then I plan to start looking for backsplash tiles (or something). That will probably be my next research project, trying to figure out if I can DIY the tile installation. :)