I love my spice rack, I used a lid holder for trays in the top of pantry that the middle section houses our microwave. Love the drawers. If budget not a question would have done under counter refrigerator/freezer.

I love my plate rack. Would not find trash cabinets useful. I keep my trash at the end of the peninsula counter. I would not find a separate spice cabinet/drawer helpful as they are fine in the small cabinet next to stove. I WOULD like better tray storage, more drawers rather than cabinets on bottom, easier access to corners, and better plastic "leftover" container storage.

Agree with the trash pullouts. Also, a knife block drawer, spice drawer, and inserts for cookies sheets/cutting boards. I'd also consider an appliance garage, or pullouts for a stand mixer if you do a lot of baking. Wine storage is also helpful. Here are a few details from a recent kitchen we designed:

Redwood City Kitchen and Bath Remodel · More Info

Redwood City Kitchen and Bath Remodel · More Info

Redwood City Kitchen and Bath Remodel · More Info

The above photo of the island shows the wine storage to the left. The trash pullout is the one with the dishtowel hanging from the pull.

Building a new kitchen (almost complete) & spent a lot of time thinking about how I use my kitchen & what I needed. For me:

1. A plan for where everything would go!!!

2. A pantry cabinet - (old kitchen had food supplies in multiple areas. Drove me nuts)

3. Built in garbage / recycling center

4. Vertical tray dividers

5. 2 - Appliance garages to store blender / toaster etc.

6. Narrow cabinet for a ladder to reach tall upper shelves (same size as your spice cabinet photo)

I planned a spice drawer to the right of the range - within easy reach while cooking.

Everyone has similar, but different priorities. Figure out what yours are & your kitchen will make you happy.

One of my favorite things in our new kitchen: pullouts above the fridge. I already had a narrow cabinet for cookie sheets, and a drawer for cake pans, so this made the most sense for us.

We also love the pullout cutting board, and one of our few regrets is that we didn't put another one next to the fridge.

I absolutely love shead's slotted baking pam/platter/tray storage above her oven. I had that in my previous house with the wooden dividers like hers. In my current house, the dividers are metal and I don't like them nearly as much.

We’re very happy with the makeover of our 1980s five shelf pantry with folding composite doors (either falling off the track or pinching fingers). Two specialty cabinets along with base cabinets, a soapstone counter, an outlet and three shelves is the new configuation. It’s satisfying to work with spices, flour, sugar at hand with the mixer. Organization is still in progress as the tiny side shelves are still being produced; I’m not convinced about the merits of wood bins vs wire.

re: garbage - a standalone stainless top loading garbage can doesn’t leak odors and is easy to clean; certainly my preference.

Gnumedia, that pantry looks fabulous! What an awesome use of space.

although mason jars are cheap I use leftover jars from IKEA lingonberry sauce. I saved them for quite a while before I had enough but our household really likes that sauce! I like their size, round smooth fronts for labels and metal tops also for labelling. I keep all my spices in a 24-x24 drawer in my island opposite my cooker. Love it. Wish I had a pullout for boards, pans etc.

Thanks mcarroll16. Here‘s a before view and a sketch of what i was thinking of.

Hands down best thing we did in our kitchen Reno. All spices at a glance! Saved drawer and shelf space and fit into a 4” deep section of wall with cabinet doors!

Love that in-the-wall spice idea! ^^^

I have space for my little folding step stool in my tray cabinet...

Drawers inside cabinets (except for heavy casserole pans) would drive me nuts. I would almost certainly crash into a door while open and end up with an expensive repair. Besides, who needs to inhibit access to the cutlery?

Also, I would dearly like one of those garbage pullout thingies....

Drawers. Drawers. Drawers.

No sense having anything but drawers for base cabinets.

After that, simply inventory what you have and decide on type of drawer to house items.

And think in terms of utilizing every square inch.

I do not want to do without:

• Specific place for cookie sheets, etc;
• Hidden trash receptacle (never liked it out on the floor);
• Utilizing space under sink; I have two pull-outs - one small trash and a two-tiered pullout for cleaning supplies, dish detergent, etc;
• Drawers, Drawers - Everywhere Drawers!

Decide where you want the stand Mixer, on counter or in cabinet. If in cabinet, and you have the space, get the wire pull-up insert that holds it (yes, behind a door).

There are Many in-drawer dividers and accessories with which to organize inside drawers.

I use a basket lined with cotton napkin for onions, potatoes, garlic (in a drawer).

$1 plastic holding bins are in a top drawer holding baking utensils, measuring spoons, etc. They come in varying shapes and sizes; I have about six different ones in the backing drawer, for example.

It's about Organization. Organization is about utilizing every square inch and having everything easily visible and accessible.

If this is a "new kitchen"...what about the Pantry?

Can not say enuf good about having a large pantry. Mine is a separate *closet* right next to the kitchen. Chock full of racks, swivel trays, shoe bins...you name it - everything organized for easy access and identification.

All so helpful! Take home message is all bottom drawers and no spice rack. I love our garbage pull out and will donut again. Definitely need a cookie pan organizer. I am trying to decide if we should do an appliance garage for the mixer and blender, maybe the air fryer too? Does anyone have a design they love or hate?

I had forgotten about the pull out cutting board. Everyone had them in the 50's/60's.

PS-I am planning to use the mid shelf of my pantry for a charging station and bills area to get all of that off my counters. So I wouldn’t have room in there for appliances.

@kishoris,

An appliance garage may work well in the countertop corner, a traditionally hard-to-use space. I favor less is more on the countertop; (hidden behind garage door is good.)

You will get a different answer from everyone, because we all like something different. Many will say drawers. I detest drawers in my lower cabinets. Some will say shelving on the wall, and no upper cabinets. I also detest shelving on the wall, but, love upper cabinets. I would love to have the pull out breadboard, maybe even two of them. I do like lazy susans, in both uppers and lowers (not every cabinet). Many want lift ups installed for appliances. I prefer to keep my big mixer in the corner on the counter, and would never use the lift up. Its all what works, for whoever owns the kitchen. Many want their countertops empty. I want things, I use almost every day, to be right there, but, not to the point, that it becomes clutter. Most want cabinets to the ceiling. I detest cabinets to the ceiling. I have to stand on a ladder now, to reach the top shelf, and cabinets end about a foot below the ceiling, sure dont want any higher ones. Pick whats important to you, its your kitchen.

@tangerinedoor

Not sure how you would crash into a door. They fold flat against the adjacent cabinet.

My recent new build for aging in place, has a built-in paper towel holder just above the pull out garbage/recycling center which I love, keeping them convenient next to the sink and off the counter. I have a 36" spice drawer below my induction cook top which is organized in alphabetical order making everything easy to reach and visible while cooking, especially if I must use a walker. My base corner cabinet has Reva-shelf corner pullout that bring items in my baking area out to my reach. It is the best for me! A corner appliance garage stores my blender, bosch mixer and attachments out of sight yet within easy reach for simple, convenient use. I appreciate my built-in "bread board" to extend workspace in my baking area. It is located to the side of my pullout flour and sugar storage and so that the drawers beneath it are still accessible even when it is open. I have a French door style built-in oven with a large pullout shelf below it to give a place to set pans going in and out of the oven. The doors open with the use of one hand and make the oven easy to reach without lifting and reaching over the open door as in traditional ovens. I tried to plan a kitchen that is safe for seniors with mobility issues. It works very well!

"a built-in paper towel holder just above the pull out garbage/recycling center"

This is my husband's feature of our kitchen He has a hate for exposed trash cans that borders on irrational.

Our kitchen designer fought me every step of the way on nearly every choice but she was right about one thing - buying the drawer inserts, storage systems, etc. separate from the cabinets. I bought exactly what I wanted and it took the contractor less than two hours to custom fit/install all of them.

Those counter drawers make me swoon!

Get the pull out trash - we have the one with two large bins, one behind the other- where the bins hang from the metal slides rather than a drawer with the bins sitting in, much easier to access and keep clean!

latifolia, the reason most folks here prefer drawers over pullouts like yours is because they are more efficient: one motion to open the drawer, as opposed to first opening a door (making sure to open it all the way), then pulling out the drawer.

My Mom had those in her kitchen (built in 1977), and we rarely bothered to actually pull them out - which meant we only used the pots and pans we could reach just by opening the door.

Of course, sometimes we have to improvise. We moved a year ago (leaving my wonderful remodeled kitchen behind!), and the new to us house was built in 1995. After living with lower drawers for 9 years, I couldn't go back to base cabinets, so I added aftermarket inserts.

The doors are attached to the pullouts, so the items on the bottom shelf require one motion; the top pulls out separately, but I can close both together by pushing the door closed. The first one I installed was the trash pullout! And I moved the knobs to the center of each door.

@AnnKH

I understand the preference for drawers, and I have some. However, with our particular inset cabinets, the CKD calculated and you lose space with the drawers, which was critical in our small kitchen. I also like the fact that the pullouts are adjustable. I was commenting on tangerinedoor's comment about the doors. One of the reasons I prefer inset doors is butterfly hinges allow the doors to open flat.

All drawers beneath counter. Pullout trash cans. Divided drawers. My spice drawer was full until we moved. They took most of them. This drawer is what I miss most in my new house.

Don't know how to edit. My kids took all my spices.

@granny4ten what is the size of your drawer under the ovens? Such a great idea!

@Feline Fit size is approximately 30 inches or a little more.

I have two spice pullouts and love them. One has cooking spices and the other has baking items.
Drawers! Dividers in a cabinet or drawer to slide cookie sheets, cutting boards, etc. into.
Full glide drawer slides and soft close. Also soft close on cabinet doors.

Some people are so lucky to have great storage spaces in the kitchen.

My kitchen has a similar look to the one on the picture. I even couldn't decide where to put the stove in my small U-shaped kitchen. I had the same wall-mounted cabinets made to order https://finaldraftcabinetry.com/kitchen-cabinets. I'm OK with this model so far, but I keep only oils, spices and cereals in my cupboards.

I agree with Hallet & Co as well…but I've also added some pics of my favorites in my kitchen.

I love my corner drawers too!

Oh, and my flatware drawer is also a favorite - the organizers are from Ikea (ordered online w/precise measurements…I’ve actually never been in an Ikea…even though there is one about 20 mins. away!)

I have a duplicate drawer on the opposite side of the island, so utensils can be accessed from either side - heaven!

And my very shallow (under the gas cooktop) knife drawer is another favorite.

I’m tall, so my spices are in an upper cabinet to the right of the cooktop. LOVE the organizers for them.

For pullout trash, is there a pros/cons for under sink or standalone? I would want two good size cans (Ie, not bathroom sized), one for trash and one for returnables. (Sink will be right drain, 30"). I know I don't like the idea of silverware in a drawer above the trash.

The major con of under sink trash is that whoever is using the sink is frequently asked to move by someone else who wants to dispose of trash. If you have under-sink trash, you need an obvious free-standing trash can somewhere else nearby that family members are trained to use whenever they aren't actually cooking.

@snappity I don't see any pros for under sink or stand alone trash. I have a pullout drawer next to my sink that holds 2 tall sized cans.

@snappity - For years we had trash uner the sink…even when growing up. that’s just where everyone put it. It seemed fine…even though the can was smaller. Then we had stand-alone for many years prior to our remodel. That worked great too…with a much taller trash can. It was so convenient. I wanted to use that very tall can even after the remodel, so I designed one of my trash pull-outs specifically sized to hold it. It works great!

And I agree that I wouldn’t want a trash pull-out under a silverware drawer. If it has to be under a drawer, I would suggest considering the trash placement first (near prep area, near sink, etc.), then decide what is is the drawer above it (maybe less frequently used items).

@MaryBocaTX You are describing my experience! My parents house has a trash under the sink but not a pullout (and a compactor next to it, built in 1978, it was very fancy then ;) ) and at my house we have two basically full size standalone cans - for trash and bottles, and then a gallon can for compost, and it's across the room from the sink, so a real pain. I'm wondering if smaller cans under the sink is better or worse than giving up a lower cabinet/drawer bank. I won't actually put silverware IN the drawer, I have another place for that, just that that drawer above seems a little gross. Maybe good for cleaning supplies? (and then have a narrower, 30" sink base.)

@snappity - I feel your pain! Can you do what I did, and make your trash pull-out full sized (from floor to counter - no drawer above it)? My can is that large - it’s great. And my counters are 38 1/2” - not 36”. It’s great to be able to pull out either trash can and just wipe straight from the counter ditecly into them (no drawer height space above can).

It all depends on your amount of lower cabinet space. If it helps, I designed drawers below my sink - not doors, so that gives me much-needed (and incredibly convenient) storage for cleaning supplies, etc.

*directly 😉

Oh, I love the drawers under the sink idea, @MaryBocaTX! We will have all drawers for lowers, but honestly, very few lowers. My builder comes next week to see if we can take down a partition wall and extend the counters by about 4 feet, but it's essentially a one wall kitchen design. (with shallow pantry opposite.) I do think it's something I really WANT - if I don't do it, I will have a beautiful new kitchen ..... with the trash can across the room again.

We just finished our kitchen and these are my favorite storage and function features…

Double sliding flatware drawer

Oils/vinegars/sprays pullout with lower shelves used for baking items, sauces and jams. This pullout came with 1 more shelf but I felt it made access to contents too tight so removed the shelf and installed it under the sink.

Leftover storage in large deep drawer

Stainless steel dividers in cabinet above fridge separates cutting boards, cookie sheets, sheet pans, cooling racks, griddle, etc…

And what I am probably most thrilled by and addicted to are the white heavy powder coated steel risers and organizing items from Williams-Sonoma. They are sturdy and don’t say or slide and just amazing!

Here they organize mugs in the cabinet closest to our coffeemaker on the right and above left, organize canned goods. I have several risers, baskets, dividers in various sizes. Love them!

And the cheap Joseph Joseph knife holders are fantastic.

@Susanne Woolley - thanks for the info on the Williams Sonoma organizers - those look great, and I’m always on the lookout for that type of thing. Your organization is wonderful! I really wanted those knife holders as well…but my problem is I can never remember exactly what blade is on which handle without pulling every one out 🤦‍♀️. That’s why I had to do mine the other way.

@snappity I think with your limited lowers (even after doing the additional drawers under the sink) I would be fine with the free-standing tall trash can. I don't think I’d forfeit any cabinet space for it either. And I was perfectly happy with my free-standing can for years. At least you can still drag it where you need it for prep, etc. I did that all the time.

Your kitchen will be wonderful; I’m so excited for you!

@MaryBocaTX, agree, regret giving up what could have been more base cabinet drawer space for trash cabinet, esp. since I have ideal space for freestanding trash can.

Excellent article full of great info! Thanks