We are remodeling our kitchen with solid cherry floors on the diagonal done already under all the cabinets. When I ordered my Kraftmaid cabinets, I insisted on toe kick drawers on every base cabinet that could have them (which excluded a blind base, sink base, and 12" cabinet) because we aren't using upper cabinets (we want to make the kitchen look less cluttered and more reachable). The problem with the toe kick drawers I ran into yesterday had to do with the EZ-Level cabinet levelers I ordered which will not work with toe kick drawers because of the way they are made. My husband is putting in the cabinets and insisted on the EZ-Level system along with a cross plane laser level because shims are such a pain to try to get right and we need things perfectly level so our granite doesn't crack. The solution we came up with, which we later found out is used for handicapped kitchens so wheel chair front rollers can go under toe kicks is to raise every cabinet up by 1.75", making the overall height for us 37-3/4". I happened to have a large quantity of 3/4" x 3"x5' cherry boards that are suitable to cut down and make the frame under the cabinets, then, instead of the floppy plywood trim Kraftmaid sent to cover the toekick drawers face, I am going to make matching cherry toe kick drawer faces from this wood as well. We also will be making a platform trimmed in cherry to raise our range up to the new level of the cabinets. I have been playing with these drawers ever since the cabinets came and, as they have full extensions, I am going to fit everything from a short folding stepladder to trays, platters, extra table linen, screw gun, hammer, lightbulbs, etc. in them. They are easy to push open with a nudge of the foot, and pop out enough to pull out the rest of the way with a toe. As for bending to the floor, I find that keeps me spry, just like laying the floor ourselves helped strengthen my knees and aid in kneeling. I am 68 next month and my husband will be 70 in August and we have done all the work ourselves, including putting up a Kleer Beadboard ceiling (which I won in an HGTV contest!)
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Herringbone in different colorways
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