I use mostly 36" wide cabinets when doing all drawers some 4 some 3 I actually like 2 narrower and shallow drawers for utensils and flatware and the deeper ones below for pots, pans and other storage . I use darwers for almost everything like baking supplies, all my daily use pots and pans , spices , tea towels and dishcloths If I was doing this now I would have even gone drawers under my sink. I have my taoster, waffle maker , rice cooker also in drawers. Pic with the orange stools is a realto pic and the other is mine and the oter side of the same kitchen.

Agree with aem04. Your 3-drawer units especially look narrow. The deeper drawers in those units are great for storing pots and pans, but only if they are large enough. At least 24" wide, but 36" would be better. 4-drawer stacks can be narrower and still useful, but you aren't going to be sad to have them at least 18" wide.

You need wider drawers mentioned.

I would also say you don't have enough room on your island as you have it now for prepping next to your sink. All it would require is you moving your sink and DW to the end so you have a long counter space on the opposite side for prepping.

Also what is in the corner? Is that a built in pantry? Is this a new house or is the pantry there already? Can you remove the corner pantry and instead do something that would give you a better layout?

Lastly have you figured out what you want to put in all those drawers?

That island looks reeeeeeaaaaaalllly long. As in, too long to be able to use a slab of stone. The wrong scale issues are more visually disturbing than a mix of 3 and 4 drawers.

#1 think about how the room is going to function. What do you need to store in your cabinets? How are you going to be working in the room? Are people going to be eating at that island? If so, is there enough of an overhang for them to sit comfortably?

I would definitely combine some of the narrow cabinets to make wider drawers, so you can use them to store dishes, mixing bowls, etc. Would be more functional than several smaller cabinets. Think about what you will be storing in them. Surely you don't have that many small items.

#2 think about getting a certified kitchen designer involved in your planning. It is the most expensive room in your house, and well worth having a good experienced designer pick apart your ideas. Lots of people here may help also. Need to see dimensions, as well as what is going on in adjoining areas, though.

Thanks aem04 and mcarroll16 - Right! I will follow up to ask for the dimensions. The deep middle one is 36" wide and matches the cooktop, I believe the others next to it are 30" but will confirm.

cpartist - There is plenty of room on the island, its 4 x 11' so i'm not necessarily concerned about prep space. We also have a separate walk in pantry + scullery with another sink/counter thats across from the kitchen (not pictured) so we should be good on prep areas. The "corner" is actually a walkthrough to a hallway that leads to scullery/pantry on the other side.

DeWayne - It is indeed a large island and it will be a slab, we haven't decided on material yet probably quartz or something that's more durable as we cook daily/often. Its a large kitchen and the angle for this view isn't the best, based on other drawings it feels proportional.

IMO you have way too many shallow drawers. Don't know why you even require ANY 4 drawer bases. Remember the top drawer will be for kitchen utensils, flatware, dishtowels etc. How many small drawers do you think you require for that kind of stull?

Don't forget that the panel next to the fridge is likely NOT GOING TO match the depth of your base cabinets. Likely closer to 30+" deep unless you purchase a counter depth fridge.

I would keep most of the drawer bases 30" in width to hold oversized skillets, woks, Cuisinarts, small appliances etc.

See how the fridge depth causes it to extend beyond the base cabinets.

You don't want the side of the fridge exposed.

Thanks everyone! this is all great info to consider

I agree with cpartist. Your dw should be to the right of the sink as well.

I have 5 feet of prep next to my sink and I wouldn't want any less. My island is 10' and my sink and dw are pushed to the end.

I have only 3 drawer lowers. No 4 drawers. I agree with Beverly.

I love drawers but I have one or two door cabinets in my kitchen to break up the monotony of all drawers. I store things in them that I don't use all the time, so the two-step opening issue is not a problem for me.

In my previous remodel and current new house I did a couple of 4-drawer stacks and they work great, specially for my kitchen utensils stack. I wouldn't want a kitchen without at least two 4-drawer stacks.

What cabinet company are you using or is it a custom cabinet maker? Check to see what their dimensions are for the 4-drawer stack. Not everyone does the drawer sizes the same.

In my previous kitchen I used Wood-mode cabinets and they did a 4-drawer stack with the bottom drawer the same size as the bottom drawer in a 3-drawer stack, so the top drawer and bottom drawers lined up across the kitchen.

For my current kitchen, we used a local custom cabinet shop and for a 4-drawer stack they do the top drawers lined up and a slightly larger bottom drawer which doesn't quite line up with the bottom drawer of a 3-drawer stack. I couldn't have told you that before I just went and looked, so it is one of those things that isn't noticeable in a finished kitchen.

For your kitchen, I would change the 4-drawer ones to the left of the range back into 3-drawer ones and keep the other 4-drawer ones you show.

The Wood-mode ones I had were similar to these with top and bottom drawers lined up.

Gerber · More Info

Mix of 2, 3 and 4-drawer stacks. Looks like these people had very specific ideas of what they needed to store in their kitchen.

Sandy, UT, ShanaLee White Kitchen With a Flare · More Info

These people even did a 5-drawer stack!

Family Heritage · More Info

There is no right or wrong and specially no one should be telling you not to use something because they have never thought of using it!

Seriously, think about the kitchens you have visited for a social event ... what type of drawer stacks did they have? Design it for your needs and don't worry about what someone might think, if they even notice!

I'm with Diana and chispa. I love my 4-drawer stacks. They store utensils, spices, knives, coffee, tea, glass and plastic leftover containers, paper rolls (plastic wrap/parchment/foil), towels, napkins, pyrex measuring cups, napkins .... All of those things would be messier and less efficent in deeper 3-stack drawers. And a few cupboards are also very useful. I have two lower cupboards for vertical storage of cutting boards, sheet pans, large skillets, and a griddle. But that's my kitchen, and my stuff. What do you need to store? Map out every item, and your drawer/cupbard layout will be clear.

Ok so the 4 drawer stack is useful but does she need 24 of those shallow drawers or just 8?

Too much of a great thing

Level the upper cabinets

Widen the drawers and stick to three.If you have that much stuff? It's still plenty of drawers for a caterer.

You don't need a set down space next to fridge. You have an island right there. It will become a junk collector and ruins the built in look of the fridge. Take the upper down to the counter, at upper cabinet DEPTH.

4 drawer stacks are useful but like Beverly stated you do not need that many. I have three 4 drawer stacks and the rest are 3 drawer stacks of varying widths.

The best thing you can do is go through all the stuff you will store in the kitchen. This will give you an idea how many 4 drawer and 3 drawer stacks you will need. Think about where each of the items will be used which will give you an idea where the different stacks should be located in the kitchen.

Here are some of the things we store in our 4 drawer stacks.

Once you decide how many and what drawers you want, you can customize the look somewhat--for example, you can put two drawer fronts onto a single drawer if you want that drawer to look like two shallower drawers.

Also, depending on your door style, it might not matter much what the arrangement is. If you have slab full overlay, for example, the individual drawers will be less apparent than with a detailed door style.

I agree with others who have advised writing down what you will store and how you would most like to store and access everything. Basic questions:

• What are you storing?
• Where should it be (near the fridge, near the stove/cooktop, near the oven, with other specific items, etc.)?
• How do you want to access it? Does it need to be a pullout or can you reach it without pulling it toward you?

I had a multi-tab excel spreadsheet before I was done with this process, but it was worth it. That is the foundation from which all of your cabinetry decisions will be started.

Consider everything in your kitchen in this exercise - it all has to go somewhere. Do you want to store your small appliances or should some/all of them be out on the counters? Do you anticipate potential future storage needs? After our gut remodel, I inherited a (free) stand mixer from a friend who no longer needed it, and we bought a breadmaker - two very large items for which we had not set aside space.

One thing to be mindful of - make sure your drawers will accommodate what you plan to store in them. One good way to do this is to use a box, modified if necessary, to replicate the inside measurements of your drawers and see how the things you plan to store in the drawer fit.

It all sounds like a lot, but trust me, you will be happier for it in the end.

Three or four drawers all around work. These are along a wall and hold A LOT of stuff.

To the right is the sink. The first drawer set are 36” for silverware, frying pans and lids.

The deeper ones hold pots.

Opposite side of the island has all of these drawers. Holds Tupperware, baking dishes, barbecue stuff, tableware, you name it.

I strongly suggest you move the DW to the other side of the sink. Right now, the logical place for a Primary Prep Zone is on the end of the island closest to the refrigerator so when you take food out to prep, you can place it on the island and then wash/rinse, cut, etc., and then carry it over to the cooktop (or oven).

Add an 18-inch two-bin trash pullout on the Prep Zone side of the sink (or move it from wherever it is right now).

Right now, the DW is in the way. If you move the DW, you not only get it out of the Primary Prep Zone, but you also get more prep space in that Zone. 36" is the bare minimum recommended, but I recommend 42" to 48".

As to 4 vs 3 drawers -- I have a 4-drawer stack that is very useful.

• Drawer 1 (top): Silverware
• Drawer 2: Foil, Plastic Bags, Wax Paper, Parchment Paper, Plastic Wrap
• Drawer 3: Electrical "stuff" such as extension cords, outlet extenders, etc.
• Drawer 4: Bread Drawer

The drawers are each a perfect size for what they contain -- I don't have to "stack" anything, which would make it more difficult to get to the items.

"We also have a separate walk in pantry + scullery with another sink/counter thats across from the kitchen (not pictured) so we should be good on prep areas"

But that space is not particularly useful for a Prep Zone, especially a Primary Prep Zone. It's not near the Cooking Zone or Refrigerator.

I love seeing what people are keeping in their drawers, gives me a much better idea of what I need!

@vinmarks How wide is the drawer with the bundt pan and pie plates etc? It's amazing those all fit in one 4 stack drawer!

What size drawer pulls are in the picture with the orange bar stools?