Drawer slides are the mechanical system by which drawers open and close.
The most basic drawer slide is to just allow the drawer to slide on the
wood of the cabinet or on plastic guides to reduce friction. Next up
from there are slides that mount to the bottom right and left edges of
the drawer box. They have a roller which fits into a track mounted to
the cabinet. Improvements upon this include full extension drawer slides
which allow the drawer to open all the way, giving better access to the
back of the drawer. Another upgrade are self-closing slides which return
the drawer to a fully closed position when you give it a shove. Hidden
drawer slides mount under the drawer box making them invisible. Finally,
are slides which are rated for heavier loads or which provide ultra-smooth
gliding action when opened and closed.
Lazy susan turntables are circular platforms that mount
inside cabinets and can be spun to bring items from the back of the cabinet
to the front. They are most commonly used in corner cabinets. Corner
cabinets are too deep to easily reach the back. A large lazy susan enables
you to efficiently store and retrieve items in these large cabinets.
Self closing doors and drawers are sometimes standard
now or may be an upgrade. These use hinges and drawer slides that have
a positive lock to snap them the last bit of the way closed. A nice way
to keep the kitchen looking neat.
Appliance garages typically bring the upper cabinet
all the way down to the countertop and create a nook for storing appliances.
They are called garages because of the roll-up doors which resemble a
garage door. This handy feature enables you to keep small appliances
convenient to where they will be used while avoiding the visual clutter.
Corner cabinets are a good place for this option because the space is
often wasted and provides a fair amount of storage space.
European style hinges are a cabinet door hinge that
mounts entirely inside the cabinet, hidden from view. This hinge is a
popular choice for modern style cabinets and particularly important when
clean lines are the goal. These hinges are popular with manufacturers
and so may be standard on their cabinets.
Silverware organizers can be built right into the drawer. The advantage
is that they typically take up the entire drawer. With an added organizer,
there is often wasted space around the organizer. However, we don't like
the lack flexibility with built-ins. Furthermore, they get a regular
pounding from silverware being dropped in and removed. We prefer being
able to swap in a new organizer every few years.
Pull out spice cabinets and drawers. These can be placed in upper or
lower cabinets and some manufacturers offer drawers hidden in the stove
surround. These can be nice because they are built for the scale that
spices come in, unless you buy bulk products. Bulk packaged spices do
not fit, but you can transfer them to smaller containers for daily use.
While these seem like a good idea, they lack flexibility and some of
the space may prove to be less than easy to access. It is best to see
a real example of what you will be getting make sure all the space will
really be usable for you in your kitchen. Remember, there are plenty
of after-market organizers that can be added later.
Pull out shelves found in bottom cabinets may be the
single best improvement in cabinet technology in the last 50 years. Open
a base cabinet door and pull the shelf all the way out to select
what you need. Before these handy shelves, you might have to get on your
hands and knees to reach to the far back to get that fancy platter you
hardly ever use. Now you can save strain and get that platter out for
dinners other than special occasions.
Drawer pegs are showing up more often in cabinets in the United States.
The bottom of the drawer has a grid of holes into which you can place
heavy-duty pegs. These pegs allow you to create niches for dishes or
pans and helps to keep things from moving around. This is particularly
useful with dishes stored in lower drawers or pull-out shelves.
Plate shelves are an open section in the cabinetry
with wooden dowels spaced to create niches for individual plates.
This is an efficient way to store plates and protect them from damage.
It puts the plates on display, but only from the edge view. This is more
a style preference than a practical feature. If you like the look, go
for it.
Wine racks are available for upper or lower cabinets.
They replace a single cabinet with diagonal supports to create a grid
to store bottles on their sides. These are often suggested for upper
cabinets, however the problem is that heat rises and storing wine in
a hot kitchen, up where the heat is, really isn't a good idea. A better
location is to store them in a lower cabinet, such as in a island or
other lesser used cabinet space. Kitchen cabinet space is usually at
a premium and so giving up an entire cabinet to store wine may not be
the best use of space. Wine refrigerators are also very popular and may
be a better choice than storing wine in a rack.
