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How to make the most of kitchen drawers
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Large drawers are fast replacing cupboards in modern kitchens. But how can you make the most of them?
While kitchen drawers used to be limited to the storage of cutlery, tea towels, tinfoil and freezer bags, today they have taken on a much more active role. Drawers as wide as 80cm are now being used to store everything from crockery to saucepans, as more and more people discover the superior accessibility they afford.
But how can you make sure you choose the right drawer for the task? And what other considerations should you take into account?
Size matters: When planning and designing your kitchen drawers, the first step is to work out which items you plan to store in them. For example, if you plan to stash your pots and pans away in drawers, the drawers will need to be wide, deep and tall enough to take your bulkiest items. "Go for rows of big, wide drawers," says Michael Kitchener of Kitcheners Kitchens. "Not only are they more flexible in terms of what you can store in them, but they'll instantly give your kitchen a sleek, streamlined look."
Closing for business: Probably the most expensive item you'll have to invest in when you're buying kitchen drawers is their closing mechanisms. According to Kitchener, it's worth investing in a quality product. "It's important to get a mechanism that not only lets you extend or open the drawer up as much as possible, but that has a soft-closing mechanism too, particularly if you plan to store fragile items like china."
What about drawer furniture? To really make the most of your drawers, you'll need to think about some internal drawer 'furniture'. Depending on which kitchen company you go with, there will be a few options to consider, but at the very least, think about buying internal organisers (which are usually sold in customisable sets so you can construct a configuration that suits your needs), as well as plate stackers to stop crockery sliding around in the drawer, and non-slip matting.
