Kitchen drawers

What goes wrong in a kitchen drawer

Kitchen drawers fail in a specific way. The things in them are long and different lengths: a whisk, a ladle, a spatula, tongs, a peeler. Stock organizer trays come in two or three sizes, none of which match your drawer, so the tray slides back every time the drawer opens and the long things ride up over the walls.

Two fixes work. Cut the organizer to the inside of the drawer so it cannot slide, and give the long things long lanes.

The layout that works for utensils

A drawer divider kit is a set of slotted dividers cut to your drawer's inside width and depth, minus two millimeters, that press together by hand into an even grid of bays. For a utensil drawer, run the lanes front to back:

Bay widths are your drawer's inside width minus two millimeters, divided evenly. If one tool is too long for a half depth bay, use one row down rather than two. The configurator divides evenly; for one wide lane and three narrow ones, email us the widths and we will quote it.

Gadget drawers want the grid instead

The other kitchen drawer is full of small, odd shaped things: a can opener, measuring spoons, a thermometer, clips, a pizza wheel, twist ties. Fixed lanes waste space here. A drawer baseplate cut to the drawer with Fill the edges chosen, plus grid bins sized to each thing, lets every object have its own spot and lets you rearrange the spots when what you own changes.

A typical gadget drawer, 450 mm wide and 500 mm deep, takes a plate with 10 by 11 cells. Start with:

• Two 2 x 3 bins for the bulky tools, can opener and grater.
• Four 1 x 3 bins for long thin things: thermometer, peelers, a pastry brush, scissors.
• Six 1 x 2 bins for measuring spoons, clips and bag ties.
• A row of 1 x 1 bins for the things that roll.

Use the standard 42 mm height in most kitchen drawers. Under 50 mm inside, use low 21 mm bins.

Height, and the counter lip

Kitchen drawers close under a countertop overhang or a rail. Measure the inside height from the drawer floor to the lowest point of the drawer side or front, then check what the drawer passes under when it closes. Take ten millimeters off the lower of the two. Most utensil drawers end up with dividers 50 to 70 mm tall. The measuring guide has a full worked example for an 18 inch cabinet.

Wraps, foil and bags

A wrap drawer usually holds four to six long boxes. Run them front to back so each one pulls straight out. Measure the longest box first; most are 300 to 350 mm, so the drawer needs that much inside depth. In a 450 mm wide drawer, a four across, one down layout gives four lanes about 112 mm wide, which take one or two boxes each with room for a roll of bags. Kits need at least two bays across, so even a narrow wrap drawer gets a center divider.

Materials in a kitchen

Everything in this line is printed in PLA. It is rigid, it does not mind cold, and it is fine at room temperature for years. It is not for heat. PLA starts to soften at about 55 degrees Celsius, so a kit does not go in the dishwasher, in a warming drawer or on the stovetop. Clean it with a damp cloth. The materials page has the full story, including what we will not print.

We also do not make anything meant to hold, prepare or serve food, and none of our parts carry a food contact claim. In a drawer, utensils sit beside the dividers rather than in a printed tray.

Ordering

Divider kits start at from $28 and ship within 6 business days. Baseplates start at from $12 and ship within 5. Both are cut to your numbers and covered by the fit guarantee: if the piece does not match the measurements you entered, it is remade free.