I have 10-3 drawer stacks and 3-4 drawer stacks.

Mine are mostly 4 drawer stacks. Love them. I also wondered about my choice when planning my kitchen as I read so much about how people love their deep drawers. Not me!! I don't want to be digging around a deep drawer in order to get to the bottom item in the stack whether it is a pot or a piece of tupperware (and it seems that's where everything that I want is). I do have a 3 stack, and the bottom drawer is deep enough for my pasta pot and pressure cooker and a couple other tall items. I've been using my kitchen for about a year, and I am very happy with my decision.

So theoretically I could even do my pot drawers as 4, which would allow
me to single layer my dutch ovens, skillet, and small saucepans. It
obviously won't work for my spaghetti pot or huge stockpot. But it looks
like the barker 3-drawer won't work for those either so.... I'm going
to need at least one 2-drawer or a door with pull-out shelves.

My kitchen is small and I didn't want to waste a drawer for a stockpot, so I had my cabinetmaker put a vertical divider in my over-fridge cabinet with an adjustable shelf on both sides. It's really handy for bulky items like large metal mixing bowls and paper towels. I also store my larger, lightweight appliances in it, some of which I don't use often so I don't mind getting out a stepstool for them.

Mushcreek, now I wish I had seen how your drawers were made beforehand. I could have done exactly that with my drawers since mine are being custom made by the Amish and they can basically do anything. How ingenious.

Oh and there is nothing plain about them. They're gorgeous!

I have two 3-drawer stacks (a 24" and a 34"), and one 4-drawer (18").

1. small utensils
2. bags and wraps
3. towels and dish clothes
4. a tub for potatoes, plus a rolling pin

These drawers are not all the same depth - they get deeper from top to bottom.

Great feedback everyone! I'm glad I asked :)

mushcreek - your kitchen is completely lovely! And I love that you don't have uppers. I'm hoping to forgo them on all but one wall.

mayflowers - that's a great idea! I don't use my huge stockpot all that often, so I might want to consider storing it somewhere like that. However, I do use my pressure cooker multiple times every week, so I'll need that in a drawer for easy access. So, I guess I need to figure out if I have anything else to store with it, or if I ought to just put the stockpot there.

Storage planning and deciding on precise cabinet sizes is definitely one of the more tedious aspects of remodel projects!

Thank you for asking this mshutterbug, I'm rethinking too with all this amazing feedback! The tape measure is a permanent fixture in our current kitchen now, and DH groans when I pick it up.... not sure why... it's not like I'm adding anything to our plans. Oh wait...

I think the OP hit the nail on the head by mentioning frameless vs. framed cabinetry. That is the crux of this decision. If frameless, then 4-drawer stack is wonderful. I have frameless, and my 4-drawer stack is similar to what Bethohio3 wrote above. If cabinets are the framed style, then 3-drawer is better.

I'm actually thinking stacks of 4 and a stack of two would have been good. I wasn't able to plan my drawers in this kitchen due to too much stuff going on and sort of let the cabinet maker have his way with a lot of it. I really wanted a file cabinet setup for my skillets and large lids!

mushcreek, your kitchen cabinets are gorgeous!! And all those beautiful windows are not too shabby either!

I have 4 drawer stacks and love them. One has 1) Flatware, 2) Drinking Glasses, 3) Bowls 4) Plates, The other has 1) Knives, Can Opener etc 2) Linens 3) Storage Containers 4) Oversize Storage Containers. I find they really help keep the drawers organized.

What if you have three drawers ... but the top drawer contains a drawer-within-a-drawer? Is it a three-stack or a four-stack? I like the idea of ALL the exteriors being three drawers -- you know, for consistency -- but, if it suits your needs -- throw in an interior drawer.

I cannot figure out the attraction for the drawer within a drawer. I would much rather have the functionality of separate drawers,

I cannot figure out the attraction for the drawer within a drawer. I
would much rather have the functionality of separate drawers,

The attraction is that all your exterior doors are identical and "line up" nicely. Here's an example of two 3-drawer stacks and one 4-drawer stack next to one another. A lot of people would rather have had all the drawers match on the outside ... yet also have the function of the second drawer on the inside.

mrspete, I know that some people want everything to line up, or have perfect symmetry. I just don't understand why that is more important than the function (which I agree with and also seems to be what almost everyone here preaches). And just to be clear, I do have 2 drawer in a drawer units. Thankfully though, they are not in my kitchen.

What about 5 drawer stacks? They're usable too.

mushcreek, wow, your drawers are brilliant!! beautiful too!

I currently have 3 of the 4-drawer stacks and probably spent 2 hours the last 2 days staring at them and going back and forth on whether I want to change any of them in the remodel. Thanks msshutterbug! ;-)

I'll probably switch one of them to a 3-drawer, but I still have today to ponder some more ... kitchen designer is stopping by tomorrow to double check some measurements.

I don't like the drawer within a drawer, either. I don't give a hoot about having symmetrical drawers. Much more important to me to have drawers that are more functional. I will be having two stacks in my island, a 3 drawer, and a 4 drawer, and none of that drawer-within-a-drawer nonsense.

Whether it's 3-drawer or 4-drawer, I want to echo the others who said they don't like drawer-within-drawer setup. My mother redid her kitchen 12 years ago, and has that for a silverware drawer, and for a cooking utensil drawer. I find it very annoying to have to slide back the top drawer-within-drawer to get to what's underneath. Also I find that full access of the lower drawer-within-drawer isn't that great. So I have been annoyed with them for 12 years, and I don't even live there.

Question for you - how much a price increase is a 4 drawer stack over a 3 drawer one? And what about the drawer within a drawer? How much more does that cost?

Comparing at Barker, for the basic cabinet at 24" wide, it's $500 for 3 drawer, $600 for 4-drawer. I haven't calculated it out for my entire kitchen (mostly because I haven't finalized my cabinet details.) I have no idea about drawer in a drawer...it's not something I'm looking into for my kitchen. Perhaps someone who has done that will chime in.

I'm somewhere in the middle between functionality and symmetry. Pretty much I want to have my cake and eat it too. (Actually, now that I think of it... I could really go for some cake right now LOL) I can see why the drawer-in-a-drawer would appeal to many. However, I think I'm with those who say they wouldn't like it. I think it would probably bug me. OTOH, having too many lines would be too busy for me. So, I'm going to try to really think it through (yes, I'm still thinking about it, in between unpacking and general mom'ing of 3 kids :D I think I will have at least a couple of 4-drawer stacks though. The one next to my DW, where I keep my plates, bowls, silverware, that one for sure. And possibly the one next and under my cooktop where I will keep pots and pans. Possibly more, but I need to really plan it out.

Thanks again, and carry on with the discussion :)

I'll add my vote against the drawer-within-a-drawer. Function wins over symmetry, although I can see how someone with a very modern/sleek kitchen might make that choice, but then they would probably do doors and silly pull outs for an even sleeker look! ;-)

I am thinking drawer within a drawer because I currently have 2 36" three drawer stacks planned for side by side in the stove wall. I think that is probably too many deep drawers and could see the drawer within a drawer useful. I have 4 drawer stacks elswhere but think side by side like that the same number of drawers would look better.

I am going to disagree on the framed vs frameless comments. This thread got me thinking and measuring. We currently have one 24" four drawer stack (framed cabinets, and Medallion, shorter drawers than some). Clearly it depends on what you are storing in them, but I took everything out of the bottom and a middle drawer of my 4 drawer stack and found I can put all my plates and bowls in one middle drawer! My casseroles fit in the bottom, as would my serving pieces (not at the same time though!). So basically I could get all of my dishes and serving pieces between the three bottom drawers and put silverwear in the top!

I am now going around measuring everything and reworking many of my planned drawers into 4 drawer stacks. I am really surprised how much fits in them!

strob06, frameless cab drawers are definitely able to hold more, in the same size cabinet.

I love my drawer within a drawer. I have it in a vanity right now.

I will never have framed cabinets again.

mrspete, I know that some people want everything to line up, or have
perfect symmetry. I just don't understand why that is more important
than the function (which I agree with and also seems to be what almost
everyone here preaches). And just to be clear, I do have 2 drawer in a
drawer units. Thankfully though, they are not in my kitchen.

Function isn't a yes-or-no thing. If drawer storage is a 10 on a scale of 1-10, I'd say drawer-in-drawer is a 9 ... certainly not disfunctional.

I'll take that trade-off for the sake of symmetry.

Wow mshutterbug, that is definitely inconvenient! I don't plan to have much more than 36" between my island and my counter, but there is no dishwater there to deal with.

strob, I also have a 30" three drawer stack on either side of my range
... well the kitchen designer placed them there ... for symmetry! Told
him that symmetry was not important and I wanted a 4-drawer stack on the
right. The island sits in front of the range so it isn't like you get a
full view of that wall and the room is pretty asymmetrical too.
3-drawer is for pots/pans and 4-drawer for all the cooking utensils.

mshutterbug, I might be tempted to take that door off!

Chispa - I am definitely more function than form. My architect tried to give me 4 18" cabinets on the range wall because it he thought it looked symmetrical. I told him absolutely not! What the heck am I going to do with 4 18" cabinets????

If I had no choice I might do the two side by side 36" stacks different number drawers, but if I can make it work with dividers or drawers within a drawer it is the best of both worlds. I get the function and the pretty.

I like hidden drawers inside the deeper drawers in three drawer stacks. It gives you more flexibility as the hidden drawer can be removed if needs change, but mostly because you can have two levels of 'like' things in a single space without stacking which I find to be super functional. It's one stop shopping. I put one hidden drawer in each of my three-drawer stacks. I would compare it to not being able to change a double bowl sink into a single bowl, but you can always make a single bowl into a double bowl by adding a wash basin.

Here is how I plan to use mine.

In the stack next to my DW the top drawer is for cutlery, middle drawer is everyday dishes and napkins, while the bottom drawer for outdoor dining includes a hidden drawer for placemats and plasticware with outdoor plates and cups in the space below.

In my baking stack, the hidden drawer is for pie and cake pans, while the deeper space below is for mixing bowls, etc. In the stack next to it, the hidden drawer will hold my shallow Pyrex while the Corning casseroles with domed lids will reside below.

I also have a couple of four drawer stacks which I find especially useful for spices, oven mitts, serving utensils and dishtowels. My preference is for three shallow and one deep.

Because 4-drawers can't hold anything.

Get bigger drawers and add inserts if you must. You can always make 'em smaller, but you can't make 'em bigger without a lot of retrofitting.

Don't ask me how I know.

Yes, but a whole lot of little stuff.
What about the big crap?

My kitchen paraphernalia consists of big crap and little crap hence why I will have 3 stack and 4 stack. I feel like if I had all 3 stack I'd end up piling stuff on top of each other to get the full use of the space.

Oh, I read 'em. I've read 'em for 13 years.
Sounds like you're making them work.

I find them as useless as 6" wide vertical pull-outs, corner cabinets and apothecary drawers.

But that's just me.

I like the deeper 3-drawer stacks for pots & pans, Tupperware, and mixing bowls. I also found hanging file inserts that work in my 10" deep drawers in my 3-stack, which has been a huge help in organizing my kitchen paper clutter. That said, I do wish I had a few 4-stack drawers in my remodel. A mix of 3 and 4 is ideal I think.

i think wide 4 stacks work really well. I think when people think they don't work for much they are thinking of one narrow 15-18 4 stack they might have. But with 30 inch wide range 4 stacks they can fit tons. Again, I measured asked cabinet maker about INSIDE dimensions and found 4 worked most places. And for easy access 4 drawers keeps things from being stacked on top of each other and have to be moved all the time. I have a bunch that are 6-8-8-8 configurations. The bottom 8" drawer is slightly shallower than the middle due to cabinet construction.

mtnmom9, I love your idea for putting paperwork in the deep drawer. I have a stack of printed recipes from on line, that yes, should get copied onto cards. But some can't get copied, til they pass the test. And I don't always rush to try one out, so it lingers, and then there's another.... until I have a stack. I am determined to keep this pile off my new counters. This is a great idea, thanks!

Our 4 drawer stacks fit everything we own except the KA mixer, which is too heavy to haul up out of a drawer anyway.

I added file drawers to my kitchen remodel - I no longer have a desk in the kitchen, and I love having a place for papers! I'm too much of an old fart to go completely paperless.

I really like my 4-drawer stack:

• Top drawer -- silverware/flatware
• Second drawer -- wax paper, plastic bags & wraps, and foil
• Third drawer -- electrical items like extension cords, etc.
• Fourth drawer -- bread drawer (for bread with gluten in it!); it's perfectly sized to fit a bag of hot dog or hamburger rolls stored upright!

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Dimensions below:

I love four drawers in bathroom vanities. Very little I want to be stored in the bathroom isn't better in a 4 drawer vanity.