Thanks! Yes, I meant standard upper cabinets. I usually store Pyrex baking dishes, Corningware baking dishes, and glass storage containers in the lower cabinets, but I wonder if I'd move those to the uppers if we start storing dishes in drawers. Though, they are heavy and usually stacked, so I like having them below the counter. Just trying to get ideas of how we'd use drawers and upper cabinets, especially since my husband needs convincing of drawers in general, and even moreso of storing dishes in drawers.

DH was also skeptical about it but less so when our GC told him that he and his wife stored their dishes in drawers. Even though they are both tall, they prefer the dishes in drawers because that meant that they could have a wall of windows instead.

I carefully planned my storage to minimize my uppers so that we wouldn't have to reduce the size of one of our windows. So happy we made this decision. It looks like I have less storage but because it's so well planned - and nearly all base cabs are drawers - I still have room to spare.

Oh, nearly forgot to add that DH now shows off our dishes in drawers to guests so he's definitely come around. =)

I have nearly all drawers in my island which is about 12 ft. I placed one bank of drawers next to the DW and it is so easy to unload. I don't have to walk across the kitchen or into our butlers pantry but for a few items. It makes unloading sooooo much easier!

I suppose it depends on how you cook and serve. I often plate at the range so I prefer to have my most often used plates on the bottom shelf of a wall cabinet adjacent to the range. Makes it easy to reach and grab on handed, one easy motion. I can grab a dish with my left hand while my right hand is still on the spatula,ladle or serving spoon. Although I am shorter than average I wouldn't want to be bending down to lift plates up from a stack. I go against the grain on a lot of things that are loved here at this site. I like a more compact cooking zone with narrow aisles for example. Efficient to my way of thinking, similar to a restaurant kitchen. My kitchen is mine. It's not an entertainment zone. I do prefer drawers for all my mixing bowls, platters, Pyrex/Corning ware, bake ware and small appliances that I am apt to take out before I start cooking. If I was a table setter perhaps I would feel differently. But I'm not except for company sit down dinners and then everything has to be toted to the dining room.

Windows and art work- we have no uppers at all! I built one wall so that uppers could be hung from it, but so far, we haven't missed them. It makes the kitchen seem so much larger and airier. We have 32 drawers in our kitchen, and about ten of them are still empty. If we did have uppers, we would probably use them for food storage.

I still keep my plates/glasses in the uppers. Big, heavy things go in the drawers.

I love having my dishes in a drawer. But, I also love having pyrex, casserole dishes and pots & pans in drawers. I have glasses, mugs, wine glasses, flower vases, & dishes (china) I don't commonly use in my upper cabinets

Great question pippiep! I am switching over to drawers for my everyday dinnerware and mugs. Three of my uppers are spec'd for glass fronts, so I'll be limited to glassware and some of my nicer looking dinnerware/serving pieces that I don't use too often. In the two small closed ones, I will have spices, small pyrex/glass storage containers, kitchen scale, and ??? I'll have to watch this thread closely!

Thanks, all! There is a lot to consider here, especially the notion of going against the GW grain, LOL.

We have a huge china cabinet/hutch in the dining room, where we keep wine glasses, nice china, specialty plates, vases, water goblets, etc. I'll have to take an inventory of what we need to store and figure out if we can change things up. One thing I never liked at my old house is how everything was stacked and blocking other things, and I was constantly shifting/moving/pulling things out just to reach what I was looking for. All the while, I scraped my hands on the sharp shelf/cabinet frame edges. I know it seems small, but one priority for me will be cabinets/shelves that don't scrape me!

We tend to "set the table" but not really. We pull out all plates/glasses that we need for dinner, then serve in the kitchen. But, my 9yo LOVES to set the table, complete with napkins and silverware, so I'd love to encourage that. He will be 100% more likely to do it if the plates (and even glasses?) are in drawers. It's one of the few things he's capable of and proficient at, so to me, it would be worth making it happen.

I love it when people set the table, especially if the kids help. We always used to set the table, but went through a period of eating on snack trays in front of the TV. Now in our new home, we have gone back to setting the dining room table every night- for just the two of us. We may even go back to the cloth napkins we always used!

Our everyday dishes are in drawers right by the DW- couldn't be easier. My wife is vertically challenged, and always hated the uppers in our old house, but the kitchen was so small that we didn't have much choice.

My dishes, casseroles, bowls, etc. are in drawers, but glasses and mugs are in uppers. Also in uppers - cookbooks, less often used spices, daily-used cereals, flour, rice, panko and the like. The rest is just miscellaneous. Even though my kitchen is small, with a pantry (down the hall), I have extra space cabinet space in the kitchen.

Hmm...makes me think I should move my coffee mugs to the drawer immediately under the coffee maker - now that I have shorter mugs. It will make more room for the jars of coffee beans in the cupboard above it! I think I'll add some organizers for sugar/creamers/stirrers there too.

@loonlakelaborcamp excellent idea! I'm going to have to find some nice looking canisters or jars for the cabinet above the coffee machine. Maybe include the teapot and some teas.....

-Bread cabinet above the toaster area, with lazy susan for peanut butter, honey, etc.

-Lots of spices, teas, hot chocolate mixes, above the baking area.

-Cake stands, less commonly used plates and large bowls. These bowls now that I think of it, are stacked and I never use them!

Definitely try to incorporate some vertical storage into your uppers (and of course lowers) and take full advantage of that lovely deep space above the oven(s).