Hi Quiltgirl. Sorry it's taken me so long to be able to grab enough time to answer you properly.

First, my cabs are full overlay, not inset. I prefer the inset look, but needed to stretch our budget to cover a whole house reno and inset was too much to spend an already expensive room.

Before deciding on a cab/drawer configurations, I had made an inventory of every single item I had to store in the kitchen. Every whisk. Every corn poker. Every serving tray. Etc. Then, I grouped those items on paper by the zone in which they would need to be stored. When my new kitchen layout was settled (which took over a year and hundreds of drawings), I labeled each zone on my plan and looked at what needed to be stored in the space I had. That drove the type of storage each zone needed.

I know people rave about deep drawers, but I found that many of my items were small and would get swallowed up in deep drawers. I wanted quick, easy access to my needed item when I opened a drawer, not a scavenger hunt which would necessitate lifting or moving other items in the process. So for me, 4-drawer stacks were better in most places.

My 4-drawer stacks hold a ton of stuff. Many drawers aren't as full as they could be. Top drawer to bottom interior height:

3.25"
3.25"
3.25"
8.25"

Drawer front height:
6.25"
6.25"
6.25"
11.25"

*****Most of these pcs are old and have been at least a little differently organized now.****

Right of rangetop in 38" 4-drawer stack:

Left of rangetop in a 38" 4-drawer stack:

15" wide 4-drawer stack in my prep zone to the right of the prep sink:

Top

I enjoy my 3-drawer stacks in other areas of the kitchen also, but they aren't a good place to store spatulas, baking tools, brushes, serving spoons, cork screws, spices, scale, graters, and other small kitchen tools. They are, however, wonderful in my prep zone for my large and small prep bowels.

Interior drawer heights from top to bottom:

3.25"
7.25"
9.75"

Drawer front heights:

6.25"
10.25"
13.5"

Prep zone drawers. (DW hadn't been unloaded into these drawers yet so they are a bit empty in these shots.) 30" wide 3-drawer stack:

Top (need DH to install my Lee Valley drawer dividers.)

I also have two deep drawers under my rangetop for storing all my pots and pans. Those drawers are 8" and 9.25 in the interior with drawer front heights of 11" and 12.75". I find these drawers invaluable for all my big and heavy cookware.

Sorry that ended up to be a dissertation on my drawers. :) Hope that answered your questions!

This post was edited by breezygirl on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 14:30