Adding more kitchen storage can be an expensive endeavor. You need to move things around, buy new cabinets, or even a complete overhaul.
There is extra space hiding in your kitchen that you can take advantage of without doing any major renovations.
The toe kick is the space at the bottom of your cabinets that is set back from the face of the cabinet and the doors, it is there to help prevent you from smashing you toes into the base of the cabinet when you are working on the counter top.
Behind the piece of wood that makes the face of the toe kick look pretty is an empty cavity with nothing but air.
Making use of that space with a toe kick drawer will add storage space for things like baking pans, cleaning supplies, storage bags and wraps and many other items. We’re sure you will find things to fill them with.
Without tearing apart your whole kitchen you can install a Toe Kick Drawer, or many of them if you would like, in that dead space.
Toe Kick Drawer
Photo source: Davisville Kitchens
If you are doing a total remodel you can have them built right into the cabinets when you order them.
In your existing kitchen you can also retrofit your existing cabinets and use all that space for needed storage.
Will it work with my cabinets?
The vast majority of kitchen cabinets are similar to the ones we show here, with sides that extend to the floor (see Photo 1). But there are a few rare exceptions. Some cabinets, for example, stand on legs rather than the cabinet sides. Open the cabinet doors and take a look at the bottom of the cabinet box. If you see screw heads or holes near the corners, your cabinets probably stand on legs rather than the cabinet sides (the screws or holes allow for height adjustment). In that case, installing drawers will require different steps than we show here.If your cabinets are constructed like ours, you can install drawers just as we did. There are just a few things to keep in mind:
- If the cabinet is more than 30 in. wide, consider installing two drawers rather than one. Wider drawers tend to bind as you slide them in or out.
- Your drawers will be shallow; don’t expect to store kettles in them. A 4-in.-high toe space will give you storage space that’s about 3 in. deep.
- You can install drawers under a sink cabinet (or a bathroom vanity). But if the sink’s plumbing runs through the bottom of the cabinet, the drawers will have to be shorter.
Figure A: Drawer Unit
The drawer, cradle and slides form a complete unit that’s simple to build and easy to install under a cabinet.
Figure A: Illustrates the drawer’s details.
Check out the step by step video on the Next Page.
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