I had a 15" cabinet made with 2 pull-out drawers. I plan on oils/vinegars in the bottom, spices (well, some of them) up on top. I also may get a rack to make the spices 2-tiered. It's to the left of the range.

I'm a little worried about heat, but this will be where my "working" spices are--the rest will live in the pantry. I also used to have the spices on top of the oven back, so they were pretty warm there. I don't have that option with the new range (island trim).

They had cabinets with a real pull out thing for oils, but they were only 12" wide maximum, and wouldn't have worked in our layout.

I will try to get pictures when it's all done (can't walk on the floor right now.)

We have a pullout right by the cooktop that we love - it works really well.

I have a 27" wide 2 door cabinet with deep pullout drawers (no rails) to the right of my stove. I put my Cuisinart, salad spinner, etc. nearest the stove, spices and canned goods go in the half that's farther away. EVOO goes on the countertop (small bottle), other oils and vinegars are in the pantry across the kitchen.

I have the little spice pull-out thingies on each side of the cooktop but honestly....I don't like them. You have to bend way down to reach the spices and one of the pull-outs already drags on the floor. I do keep spices I rarely use in them, but the rest are in the top cabinet that is to the right of my cooktop.

I have a 12" pullout to the right of the range. It has fixed top and bottom shelves, and an adjustable center shelf. It is accessible from both sides, and has horizontal metal rods as side rails on each self.

I keep oil & taller stuff on the bottom shelf, and spices on the two upper shelves. I do not like this set-up at all. I find it awkward to get at the jars in the center and bottom shelves. I know that many GWers love this set-up, so maybe it depends on the particular size/features of the pullout. I'd advise you to get to a big box and play with the pullouts.

I would have much preferred our original plan to have a 12" cabinet where we could store cutting boards and oil, etc., with spice jars accessible on shelves on the backsplash. DH wanted all spice jars out of sight, so I gave in (very grudgingly).

Next kitchen...

My spices & sprinkles are in 6" pullouts flanking my cooktop. The pullout on the left, in the Baking Center, contains the sprinkles. The pullout on the right, my main prep zone, contains spices, frequently used recipe cards, cornstarch, Crisco, etc.

What I don't like, though, is that the shelves in my pullouts are not adjustable...I thought they would be, but when I checked them after install I discovered they were not. So...I cannot put any oils in them b/c there isn't enough vertical room! My oils (only 2, though) are in the Pantry.

I put the items I use the most on the top shelf. But, I don't mind bending over to get the items on the bottom shelf. I really like having them close by. In my old kitchen, all my spices hung in a rack on the wall inside the Pantry...not nearly as convenient. If you have upper cabinet or even drawer space, they may work for you...

6" Pullouts flanking cooktop. Baking Center to the left of the cooktop; main Prep Zone to the right of the cooktop

Baking Sprinkles Pullout, 6" cabinet to left of cooktop in Baking Center

Spice Pullout, 6" cabinet to right of cooktop in main Prep Zone

The thread linked below may be useful....

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: How do you store a LARGE collection of spices?

That's my spice drawer in the first photo of the thread Buehl linked. I have spice rubs, extracts and other baking things (muffin cups, sprinkles, decorating tips, etc) in the cabinet above. The oils and vinegars are in the upper cabinet on the other side of the cooktop with the liquors (also used for cooking) are on the top shelf of that cabinet.

buehl, I love how you did the 6" pullouts. And i'm cracking up here at your sprinkle collection! My niece would be in heaven......she is a sprinkle fanatic! :)

Oils and Vinegars: Upper cabinet flanking the vent hood on right
Extra tall bottles of oil: in corner appliance garage to right of range
Spices: Upper drawer in peninsula cabinet nearest range (we have an insert that tilts the bottles like seen in some of the drawers in buehl's link above.)
Extra spices: in backs of narrow drawers to left of range (i.e. behind pot holders)
I'm happy with this set up.

{{!gwi}} {{!gwi}}

Most spices are in a drawer with magnetic bottoms and metal sheet in the drawer bottom. Oils and vinegar in the pantry.

I like my spices and oils at eye level and within quick and easy reach, so the spices are in the uppers immediately flanking my hood (with the lift up doors), and the oils and vinegars are in the large cabinet to the right.

November & Buehl: Whose pullouts are those?

Rhome410: Those are lift up doors? I thought those were pullouts or drawers. Do you have a pic w/ them open? Trying to visualize.

mine are kept to the right of my range. perfect for the way I like to work.

My pullouts came from Omega...but Rev-A-Shelf has better ones, IMHO. The Rev-A-Shelf pullouts have adjustable shelves and are filler pullouts.

My pullouts are 6" cabinets, not 6" filler pullouts. I think you would get more space w/a filler pullout than w/a cabinet b/c you don't have to accommodate the walls of a cabinet (in my case...1/2" each...so I lost approx 1" to the cabinet walls!) At least the cabinets for our pullouts are frameless so we didn't lose space to face frames.

For those unfamiliar w/filler pullouts, they use the walls of the cabinets on either side of the space to attach hardware. They're a great idea if you are forced to have 3", 6", or 9" filler...use pullouts in their place and gain storage space. [Note, however, that filler pullouts usually must be installed at cabinet installation time, they cannot be installed after the fact.]

I have noticed that I don't have nearly as many spices as some of you! But I bet I have most of you beat when it comes to sprinkles! LOL! :-D

Mamabirrd...Thanks! My DD also loves them! She had a great time decorating Christmas Cookies this year...I think she had almost all of them out at one time or another! In the past they were either scattered all over or were thrown into a box...neither of which made it easy to find "just the right sprinkle"! We do have some duplicates...especially red & green sugars & the multi-color sprinkles 'cause I buy them on sale at Christmas time since we use a lot of those year round.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-A-Shelf Base Filler Pullouts

I will be glad to take photos for you. My dd took off with the camera, so it'll be tonight or tomorrow before I can.

I was warned against the spice pullout but I love it. Here is the side view:

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And the top view:

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The spices slid around alot at first until I added the dividers.

Anita

nomorebluekitchen or jayjay_teacher: Do you know whose brand of pullout that is? This one is different from other I have seen, since the top is exposed and open so you can access this first shelf from the top. Also, are these shelves adjustable?

I love Shelly K's spice storage drawer. My DH and I are redoing our kitchen and we already have some of those magnetic spice containers. As for oils I always refrigerate them because like any fat they will eventually go rancid.

I wasn't around very long before I realized I just had to have my spices like Lascatx. I have a lot of spices, ie 3 different kinds of cardamom. They are in an 18 inch wide drawer to the left of the range. Then I utilize an upper, all 3 shelves, for vinegar, oil, salt (must have 4 different kinds of salt), bulk pepper corns, corn starch, baking powder and my "commercial" spices, like Grillmates, bullion cubes etc. Amy

For those of you using the upper cabinet for oils, vinegars, salt, etc, how do you avoid then digging through layers of bottles & stuff to find what you want? a 12" deep shelf holds alot of stuff.

Todds,
I do not know the brand of my spice pullouts, but I think they are Rev-a-Shelf. The pullouts on each side of the stove do have adjustable shelves. In fact, I took out one shelf to allow room for tall bottles.

My upper cabinets are 13" deep and I put a turntable in mine. I have a couple of bottles to either side that are easy to get to, and everything else goes on the turntable. Everything is easy to reach. The liquor above has the most used items in front and requires a little more effort for the others, but anything not in front isn't needed very often.

Oh, I discovered that leaving my undercounter lights on could warm up the bottom of the cabinet interior, so I set shelves down low to slide in a couple of serving plates and trays on one and serving bowls on the other -- right next to the cooktop where I need them and they provide a buffer to protect the oils from heat.

I love having a kitchen where everything is where you need it. That's really the key -- where you need it to be when you want to use it.

I also have my spices on a turntable/lazy susan. Still working on getting you those photos...

I use the upper cabinet to the left of my stove for spices. I keep my oil and vinegars in a lower cabinet under the counter where I usually make my salads....not at all by the range. The oil and vinegar are right out front in that cab, since I use them so often.

As for the spices....I try to have them kind of organized. Sweeters like cinnamon and nutmeg on one side, hotters like cumin and chili powder on the other. Spices I use all the time like onion powder, garlic powder, basil, oregeno, salt and pepper....I keep those right in front. And, yes, sometimes I have to hunt for stuff....doesn't matter to me, since that rarely happens. I'm a pretty simple cook without 700 types of spices.

I have pull outs next to the cook top like everyone else for the oils, etc. But I put in 6" deep cabinets on each side of my island. One side is for cooking herbs and spices (which is right across from the cook top) and the other for my baking spices.

mamadadapaige- do you have more pics of your hood- i love how your spices and oils are right there!

November- how wide is your pull out ? Looks like you can store Oils and spices - great!

"For those of you using the upper cabinet for oils, vinegars, salt, etc, how do you avoid then digging through layers of bottles & stuff to find what you want? a 12" deep shelf holds alot of stuff."

Maybe my cabs are not very deep, as it has not been a problem. I do group like things together, and I just tend to remember where they are. And the seldom used things go against the cab walls, with more frequent things in the center, shortest in front. I also keep the tallest stuff on my top shelf as it is tallest, but even those I group somewhat, mostly by height. So my talls are on the top shelf, with the shortest talls in the front, then I can see the necks of the talls, if that makes any sense. Also, the shelves are not packed full, so there's room to scooch things as necessary. Amy

I needed all mine at eye level too - hated the idea of having to crouch down to grab what I need. I use turntables in the cabinets. There are a total of 5:
1. herbs
2. spices
3. soy sauces/sesame oil/chilli sauce etc
4. more bottles - the less frequently used ones, like rice vinegar

The fifth is on the counter, next to the cooktop. We decided it was still the best way for us to cook. On that one are two bottles of olive oil, one of canola, salt & pepper mills, balsamic vinegar - all the critical things for an Italian kitchen!

seedsilly & sara_the_brit_z6_ct got some pics ;).

For now mine are in a wall cabinet to the right of the stove. To address the question of how I avoid digging through everything in a 12" deep space, I bought this great tiered spice shelf for maybe around $5-$10. It's 12" deep and has three "steps" or tiers so the spices in the back sit up higher than the rest. It's great for right now, but in my new kitchen they'll be moving to a drawer where they'll sit at an angle, like a previous poster described.

I like Mamadadapaige's setup for upper storage--not many layers to sort through.

I chose to put mine right above where I will be cooking. So far so good.
vic

I included an appliance garage in the design, complete with outlets inside. But slowly, insidiously, the oils and vinegars have taken it over during the last few weeks, and I've decided to give in to the inexorable result.
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It does work exceedingly well,and I love being able to pull the tambour door down on the whole thing

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-- and I don't have to worry about dropping the bottles or spills on the soapstone. In fact, if I had it to do over I'd plan for this again -- but I just might leave out the outlets. I do have the coffee (now spice) grinder plugged in there, as well as the can opener.

We are putting in a 6 inch pull-out next to the stove (like Buehl's) but cab company does not do adjustable shelves - darn! I hope we can put some bottles in there. We are also borrowing the idea from Mommadadapaige to put the spices on the back of the upper cab - loved that idea! And we may end up putting the oils and vinegars inside the cab - we have to wait and see how the pullout turns out. Like Sara-the-Brit, we currently have some of these items on a turntable on the counter next to the stove and may continue to do this - very convenient! Also, if you store your oils in opaque bottles the light won't interfere with it and turn it cloudy, etc. Great thread!

Well, it's not much too look at, but maybe it will help with your decision. Please excuse the construction evidence. Amy

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In my efforts to try to get the second photo right side up, I accidentally posted the first pic twice. And I still can't get this one right side up! It's right on photobucket, not sure what I'm missing! Anyway, here's a sideways close up!

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Man, this is a great thread! I currently have spices in three places: the pantry for the least used ones, a small drawer for the smaller ones in the little bottles, the large Costco plastic tumblers and salt, etc. above the microwave. Yikes, not very efficient at all. I love shelly_k's picture. I also love the spice pull-outs, but, alas I don't think I have room for them in my layout.

And, oh, I moved my pantry into the utility room, so it is kind of far walk to get the spices I need...