Does your dishwasher have a pullout basket that you can carry over to that drawer? It may not be an issue for you if it does.

My silverware is in my end drawer which happens to be next to the dishwasher. It is also the drawer closest to the table so if someone needs another utensil it's easy to get to. It is also out of the prep area so when we have parties people have easy access to that drawer without getting in the way of whoever is at the stove or sink.

Because it is the end drawer, it is far away (in a relative sense) from the stove and fridge. I have my cooking utentils (large spoons, spatulas, etc) in a drawer in my island. I had them in a container on the countertop but was able to clean out a drawer because I wanted less clutter on the countertops.

Seems to work for us!

Hi artemis...

I store mine in a drawer that is on my peninsula/breakfast bar. I find that convenient for setting the peninsula for meals. They're not super close to the dishwasher but as marcy said..with a DW pullout basket for utensils, it's not difficult to put them away after they're washed.

KA:)

Who will be setting the table? Chez nous it is my children who have silverware duty so I chose a drawer closest to the dining room. It is also to the left of my stove so #1 - they do not trip over me while I am cooking #2 - if we need an extra serving spoon or fork during dinner it is quick and close #3 - we have a pull out basket from the dish washer so it is easy for my 9 yold to take the basket over to the drawer and unload directly w/o impinging on activity at the sink or fridge. It is all about location,location, location isn't it!

our set up is similar to marjoriest's: the silverware is in the top drawer of our island, facing the kitchen table (napkins are in the 2nd drawer down.) It's the opposite side of the island from the DW, but the sliverware basket makes it easy to carry all the clean utensils to the drawer for putting away. We have had this set up for about 2 years and it's working better for us than in our old kitchen, where the silverware drawer was closer to the DW but further from the table.

My flatware is stored pretty much equidistant b/w the DW and DR (where we eat all our meals) and on the peninsula (where we occasionally eat snacks and breakfast.)

Our cooking utensils are stored under the cooktop, our prepping utensils & tools in the same place as well as in the cabinet above our Prep Zone. Baking tools & utensils are stored in the Baking Center.

I have found for us that for cooking, baking, prepping, etc., it's better to store utensils & tools at their point-of-use. For flatware, I think I would put it closer to the DW if I couldn't put it somewhere where it's convenient to both the DW and dining area.

It helps to draw up your kitchen, mark your zones, mark your traffic patterns (both inside the kitchen as well as the "through-traffic"), and then decide where to store everything.

Mine is on the kitchen side of the peninsula on the end - closest to the table. I, too, have a DW utensil basket which makes it easy.

I am curious if those with larger kitchens actually have two silverware drawers in different places in your kitchen? My mom had this and it worked really well for her. I just don't if I'm that organized.

In my kitchen it's all close so I can't help you there. :)

BUT! I can tell you if it were MY kitchen, I would NOT store flatware in a shallow inset drawer. You'd just be asking for forkmarks visible on the cabinetry! So if you think you might be keeping them in your inset drawers, take care to have those drawers deep enough that no matter WHO carelessly unloads the dishwasher, even if the forks are overstuffed and askew, they will have enough wiggle room to hold everything.

Same for cooking utensils. They aren't as sharp as forks but they are bulkier and don't nest as well. If you've EVER had a drawer shut in your kitchen that had something sticking out, skip the shallow inset drawers.

Some people have never had this problem and don't understand me. If you're one of those, disregard.

As far as having a drawer too deep for flatware, yeah 5.5" is deep but it won't work any less well because of it. You could even do a double stacked tray inside. Or if you really want it short and don't mind lost space beneath it, just put an extra large drawer front on a shallow drawer. Or put a phone book in the bottom of the drawer. :)

...Or have a cutting board added - the kind that hides inside the drawer until you decide to pull it out. :)

I think having the flatware closest to the eating area is the most logical, unless the walk from the dishwasher to that location is too much - e.g. if you have a huuuge kitchen. I also like the idea of it being somewhere near the dishwasher but i'd say being closer to where you eat (or the door you leave your kitchen to go toward where you eat, if it's a couple rooms away) is best.

Thanks all! (And yes, we actually will have pull-out cutting boards over the inset drawers already, which is another reason they're a bit shallower---though ours will be the type that have their own little slot. :)

@fori, I'm not 100% sure I understand the fork-mark issue---is it that forks would be piled too high and the drawer wouldn't close, so they stick out and scratch? We've been fine on that front with our current drawers which are around 3.5" tall, so I think we're covered...

We have a silverware drawer in our pantry cabinet which is in our dining area. It's right next to the fridge (which straddles the kitchen/dining area.)

I like dish/silverware storage closer to the point of use. It keeps table setters out of the main kitchen area and if I'm setting the table, then I'm usually in a hurry and want the stuff close to the table. My ds usually unloads the dw but if I end up unloading then I do it at a leisurely pace when I'm waiting for something else to happen (i.e. the morning coffee.) Dw unloading seems like one of the more flexible tasks and I can afford the extra steps then.

I keep some stray silverware in our food prep area--especially knives for spreading.

I have two silverware drawers, one by the dishwasher, below the cabinets where I store dishes. The other one is on the peninsula where I do most of my food prep, near the cooktop.

I had to get more of my stainless to keep two drawers stocked, but it's much easier this way. If I'm setting the table, I'll use the stainless from the drawer near the dishes, but if I'm cooking, I can grab what I need from the other drawer.

I may be in the minority but if I had to choose between close to the dining room or close to the dishwasher, I would choose close to the dishwasher. In my last house we had to lug the basket over to the silverware drawer. It wasn't all that far, but a hassle nonetheless. The basket was typically pretty full with maybe 25-30 pieces each load. In our current rental ("while we wait to build-house") the dishwasher is directly beside the silverware drawer. It is such a luxury to stand in one place and put away everything. The dish cupboard is above the silverware drawer and the glasses are stored directly behind the dishwasher requiring only a slight pivot. If the drawer is slightly inconvenient to the dining area, so what? You'll only be carrying a few pieces to the table at a time rather than an entire basket or drawer full, right?

DH just reminded me of how water used to drip all over the floor as we carried the dishwasher's silverware basket across the kitchen to the drawer. What a pain! Of course that was partially due to the fact we didn't have a super duper fancy expensive dishwasher and we used the energy saving "air" dry feature.

@ncamy, yep, that's exactly why we planned the silverware drawer on the opposite side of the sink from the dishwasher in the first place---it would be a single motion to put things away. (It's actually the top drawer in a blind corner, and I had to fight to get it into the specs since people kept pointing out, rightly, that it was rendering a chunk of the blind corner totally useless, but the location seemed key.)

It is the case that a deeper drawer doesn't *preclude* using it for silverware, so I guess we can always just play it by ear and see, too...I just hate noticing something, not changing it, and then regretting it later. We will have a cutlery tray in the d/w that is removable, I think---so that's an option too. And it had better dry the dishes for the amount it costs! :)

Our drawer will be under the dishes but over one stack of cabinets, next to the dishwasher and right by the table. In our current kitchen I stupidly put it in the interior corner between the sink and fridge. It's awful. Everyone comes right into the cooking area to get utensils, you can't get to it if someone is getting dishes or serving. I'll be smarter this time around :-)

regarding the frameless/inset question: Our cabinets are frameless. We used the Lee Valley drawer insert makers to make a custom flatware holder. These are much taller (3.5 inches) than a typical flatware organizer, so we have just filled it up with lots of flatware. We have service for 32 in ours, which we love. We never run out of flatware, even with a large group.

We moved our flatware drawer from the end of the peninsula close to the eating area to a drawer next to the DW when we remodelled. We much prefer the new location, but it all depends on your kitchen layout and how you and your family operate in the kitchen. My kitchen is small (hence, the frameless cabinets) and my cleaning and prep zones overlap (sink, DW, drawers with flatware and utensils, corner cab, range - we prep between the range and sink). Both our old and new DWs had easy to grab silverware baskets. My teenage DS empties the DW, and moving the flatware drawer was one of his few requests with the remodel (surprisingly, he actually had good input!). It is much easier to put the flatware away in the new location. When I empty it (he has a tricky way of being busy/unavailable when the DW needs unloading...) I still pull out the basket and set it on the counter so I don't have to bend over. There are usually some non-flatware pieces in the basket (measuring spoons, small spatulas, small whisks, etc), and it is really nice to have the cooking utensils co-located with the flatware. I also find that I use quite a bit of flatware while prepping and cooking, so it's nice to have it nearby.

The table setting thing that others are talking about got me thinking. I always set the table myself while I have some down-time during cooking. I think I do it that way because my dish storage is above where I prep and in the way of cooking, so I don't want to invite anyone into the kitchen when I'm cooking.

So wise of you to think of this now! Good luck

Thanks! Sounds more and more like we're going to need to try it both ways and see what works. The drawer by the dishwasher is much more convenient for putting away...but also in a corner in the middle of the primary prep zone between sink and stove, like brittu notes. The drawer next to the refrigerator is below the dishes and much closer to the table--but far from the dishwasher. Just can't win, I guess! It's great to hear that people have so many different approaches and they all seem to work fine, though---that's heartening. :)

I have had that problem with my inset drawers, except it was knives instead of forks. I was trying to pile all my knives in one slot of the organizer and if any of them were tipped up they stabbed the cabinet. :-( I divided them into 2 slots and problem solved.

BTW, am I the only one who doesn't set the table? I put my flatware near the dishes, which are conveniently between the fridge and stove. We serve ourselves from the stove and island instead of the table, so you grab a dish and a fork/spoon from the cabinet and fix your plate, then go sit down. My kids are 5 and 2 and I fix their plates for them. Same routine (buffet style serving) when we have guests, although I usually lay everything out on the counter in that case, so they don't have to look for it.

My inlaws set the table and then move all the food over there before sitting down and it seems awkward to me, and a lot more work than necessary. LOL

V

@arkansasfarmchick---nope, we don't set the table either...it's more along the lines of grab-appropriate-silverware-and-balance-on-plate. :) I plate everything in the kitchen since then the leftovers go right into lunch containers for the fridge.

As an update, I got revised drawer specs from our cabinet guy and it turns out the 5.5" is actually the opening for the frameless cabinets, but the usable space is 3.5"---so that's perfect. So we'll keep everything as-is and try it both ways to see what works best. Thanks for all of the ideas!

Today I come to Houzz for a solution or comment to what seems to be a very COMMON challenge. My husband and I have many sets of china and silverware due to marriage and inheritance. We built a new home a couple of years ago and neglected to "build in" DR storage cabinets on one of the walls.

We have an open floor plan, but also traditional related to actually having a DR. The good thing is when we sell - someone could actually give that space another function. During the unpack process we purchased a sideboard server. (NOTE: All I ever had was DR table, chairs & corner cupboard from my first marriage.)

Now, I've run out of places to put things and at this point that leaves mostly silverware, flatware that I would use in the DR. My kitchen is adjacent and open to the DR and I all the kitchen cabinets full too! LOL.

I'm considering putting the silverware in the open space above the kitchen cabinets. Another option - our (small) mudroom space is near both (DR/Kitchen). Maybe put the silverware on the upper shelves of the mudroom storage since it's not as high as the Kitchen cabinets.

Better ideas.......welcome! Thank you fellow houzzers.

As one Artemis to another -- my silverware drawer will be at good accessibility to the DW. It's also at the best location for setting the table, but a main consideration was the DW.

(A little further away, as this will be less-used, will be my Asian implement "silverware" drawer.... chopsticks, Chinese soup spoons, shish kebab skewers....)