Kitchen Cabinets Designs that you love or hate?

My wife and I are planning a major remodel of our kitchen, including new cabinets and possibly an island.

Over the years, I have heard many people make comments about features they had put in because they thought they would allow more efficient storage, better space management, etc., but that turned out to be such a hassle that they never bothered. I'm specifically thinking about various slide out racks and baskets, special plastic lid holders, lazy susans, and other "space-saving" designs. One of my favorites was the lazy susan that had too small a lip on the shelves and spices would fall off during the rotation and get stuck behind the shelf.

What I'd like to know is, what are some of the cabinet ideas and special features that you have in YOUR kitchens that you really do like and use regularly? What are some things you thought you'd love but now hate?

We want to learn from your experiences so we can make our using our kitchen a truly enjoyable experience.

Thanks,

Steve

Reply to
Steve Thomas
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Ours are being built as we speak. I shall try to remember some of the things .....................

EVERY shelf that is lower than countertop will roll out.

A vertical pull out spice racks, approximately 6" wide by 30" high on each side of the cooktop.

A tiltout in front of the stovetop.

A tiltout in front of the sink.

Two Lazy Susans.

Tambour counter garages ........... rolltop desk style vertical sliders so you can hide the blender, toaster, etc., and pull it out when needed.

A cookbook rack and stand to hold an open cookbook.

Raising up the dishwasher by about 16".

Making the oven and microwave accessible to the 5'2" hostess.

Putting the electrical for soffit lighting above.

I know I've forgotten something, but that should give you some ideas.

Good luck.

BTW (CAPS INTENTIONAL) HAVE THE GUYS LEAVE THE SINK UNTIL THEY JUST ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO TEAR IT OUT. YOU CAN GET BY WITHOUT A LOT OF THINGS, BUT NOT HAVING A KITCHEN SINK FOR A FEW MONTHS IS NOT A GOOD THING.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Well, lazy susans are almost unavoidable in under-counter corners. We have one corner that's a big lazy susan, and another corner that's a blank space (it was next to the dishwasher, no other way to handle it). They can be frustrating to keep clean (as long as they're closed the dust will stay out, but try telling that to your kids), and getting stuff that falls behind can be a hassle (but see: kids), but they do allow you to use that space.

Problems I can note include the under-cabinet paper-towel rack that actually eliminates space inside the cabinet (creates a weird half-shelf that nothing fits in), the marble cutting board on a reduced-height counter that was laughably intended to double as an office-type workspace rather than the place all the stuff from the kitchen table gets shoved onto, the useful-but-awkward end-of-peninsula vertical pan storage that runs into the silverware drawer on the other side, the over-fridge cabinet that (in more than case I know of) turns out to limit the height of a new fridge years later unless you awkwardly modify it, the pull-out breadboard (cutting board) that serves that purpose as well as never, ever being put back so that not only does it jut out into the kitchen and kill your hip occasionally, it encourages the behind-it-on-the-counter area to become a catch-all for jam jars and the like, the bread*box* in a drawer which was never, ever used for that, the under-counter pull-out trash drawer which is useful but a problem to clean and always needs to be opened when something is blocking it, the next-to-fridge "pantry" that only holds about 1/3 of the cans and such that a typical family needs and is about 1/2" too shallow to store the extra-large fruit or pie filling cans from the supermarket, the under-sink cleaning junk wire drawers that instantly rusted out ...

Then I could mention the apartment that had enormous plate-glass fronts to all the cabinets. It didn't happen to me, but to a neighbor -- you guessed it, open cabinet door, pressure at the wrong time in the wrong direction, bits of plate glass all over the kitchen in the middle of cooking dinner.

Reply to
Dan Hartung

I'd be interested to know if you've had these before? I saw them for the first time a couple days back at Home Depot. How do you like them? (I wondered if my fatter spice bottles would fit on some of the ones I saw...?)

Reply to
1924fixer

I don't have here but have always had in previous homes.....corner lazy susan for food storage. I've never seen, but wish I had a drop-down compartment for dish drainer. I rarely use the dishwasher and would gladly give the space over to storing my ugly dish drainer :o)

I also like the idea of deep drawers beneath the cooktop to store pots and pans. We have a wood drapery rod along one wall that we hang them from, using hooks from garden dept at the box store.

Reply to
NorMinn

What kind of dishwasher do you have? I've used Bosch for a while and I would never go back to not having a dishwasher. With a Bosch, you put the stuff in there -- no rinsing whatsoever, and they come out clean. I recently moved into a house with a GE dishwasher, and now I wash all my dishes (until I can afford another Bosch -- which won't be for a while due to the expense of moving, buying a softwater system, etc.).

Reply to
Bob

Reply to
nospambob

Any DRAW above your head is USELESS. a pull-out shelf works much better

Reply to
Adam

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