We had toekick drawers at our last house and found them very useful - thanks Gardenweb! The baking one held cookie cutters, sprinkles, and other smaller or seasonal stuff. The one here held platters. I had another one for table linens, etc. It isn't too obvious in this pic, but my toekick drawers had a lip at the top. I would just open the drawer with my toe because, at 6', I didn't want to be down there looking for a handle. Even at my height, I didn't have any problem reaching the stuff in the drawer (because I was reaching from the top and the drawer is shallow enough that you aren't rifling through it looking for a plethora of items), but I didn't store anything in there that I'd use every day. Note that our tile was installed under the cabinetry (otherwise the drawer may run into the flooring). When we sold the house, these were the sorts of things that drew raves about functionality.

I have quite a bit of silver that gets used on a regular basis, so it gets kept in kitchen drawers. I've always used plastic dividers made by Rubbermaid. They're readily available, they're washable, they come in a variety of sizes, and they interlock. I put a piece of Pacific Silver Cloth in the bottom of each compartment to reduce tarnishing, and they work perfectly.

I think you should try again asking about the Hettich. Also ask how easy they are to adjust, if they have a wearing in time, and how easy it is to remove and replace drawers. I've had Blum for about 5 years. They also have the expanding hinges (go past 90ð), which are very dear, but I wouldn't have anything else for my doors. Some people don't like how stiff the drawers are when they're first installed and remove the closers before they wear in or can be adjusted. There's nothing I hate more than losing stuff behind a drawer. Blum are so easy to remove and replace. You just pull the orange part on the bottom to the side to unlatch them, and pull the slides out and set the box in place to put them back. On advice from GW/KF I put a Roll Out Tray Shelf (also with the Blum slides) on the bottom of my big sink cabinet, which makes it really easy to get to the back, and especially easy to just lift out when the plumber needs access, with all the bottles and sponges still in place. Blum is excellent. So ask again about the Hettich and see if people are as pleased.

Ha, Growlery! I told you we have similar taste. Although I now worry slightly about having singlehandedly created a new kitchen porn genre (as it were...). Am always a little unnerved at what they choose to recommend as "related videos" when you post on a free site like TinyPic. I think you're solidly on top of your drawer issue. Caryscott et al make good points, but I myself don't have a single drawer without full extension where I don't wish I had it. Blums may all be tandem full-extension anyways, so the issue might be moot. ---- warning, with apologies to Growlery, extreme mid-thread digression from original topic -- Mindstorm -- nope, no door on the pantry shelves. We basically built a big narrow box out of cherry plywood to the right of the fridge box and then trimmed it out to match. I should think your cubby idea would be great, for wine or jars of truffle oil or pigeon pâté, etc. ;-) I'm very pleased with mine overall, it's not at all intrusive and fairly easy on the eye -- with the caveat that I'm not someone who wants everything tidied away and don't mind the odd bottle top leering at me. It has added a surprising amount of new storage to my small space. A few pictures, if these help -- ignore the ignominious ramen noodles *hangs head* and focus on the wholesome home-canned tomatoes and apple sauce! Here's how the stack fits in on the wall. My fridge is also narrow and tall, so it's a good preview for you perhaps: The drawer housing, from inside: We still have two drawers to install at the top of the stack (for 8 total), but I lost steam (drawer-slide levelling is a nightmare for the impatient) and actually rather like having the extra space on top. You can also see how we raised the bottom of the drawer box and trimmed it out to the height of the toe-kick elsewhere, for a little congruity. Here's a drawer prior to installation (I'm fairly proud of having designed and made these - cherry front with painted ply innards): Finally got my bin for potatoes and onions, yay: