I really hate roll-outs. They bang up the doors and it's an extra step.

However, that's me.
I think your last idea is probably a good one.
You could always use the other roll-out as a drawer in a closet or something.

My Mom had rollouts in a kitchen cabinet for 36 years, where she kept pots and pans. I don't think we ever opened both doors and pulled them out (except maybe to clean once in a while). We just reached in to get what we needed, and put most-used stuff in the front.

Is sounds like you would be a lot happier with shelves. It's not an "upgrade" if it is less functional for you.

I have two rollouts and I really like them. CEFreeman, what do you mean by "an extra step"? Do you mean it takes an extra movement to actually roll them out ... as in you open the door and then you roll out the shelf?" Now, I'm not one for wasting energy, but that takes all of about one second and just about zero effort! Maybe you mean something else?

That said, whether I wanted roll outs or not would depend on what I was storing there. If it were me, I might keep the rollouts and see how they worked for me, and order the shelves later if they didn't work out.

In any cabinet deeper than 12" I would want a roll out shelf, no question. It's the depth that is the killer here. You might be able to fit more things into your cabinet with a standard shelf, but you'll never be able to find what you need.

Can you adjust the roll-outs so the bottom one is a little bit off the bottom of the cabinet? Then you can put your flat things directly on the floor of the cabinet and put bulkier items on the rollouts above.

I know exactly what you mean. I just went through the same dilemma. There is definitely more room without the roll outs. Do you need the extra space? Since you are storing things that you rarely use in that cabinet, it probably wouldn't matter if they were on a rollout. However, I ended up deciding to take the rollout out from the bottom of the cabinet and leave the upper one, maybe that could work. I am relocating that rollout to my cabinet under the sink.

You should be able to adjust the height of the two rollouts and then add a shelf on top, on the bottom or in the middle. The best of both worlds.

I love my roll outs. I can't imagine going back to stationary shelves after having the luxury of roll outs, but to each his own. But it really does depend on what you are going to use the space for and the shape. Good luck!

You might be agile enough now to get down on your knees to reach to the back of the deep cabinet at floor level, but if you start to have any kind of joint issues this will become a completely non-usable cabinet for you. I have roll-outs in two cabinets at the midpoint, and really wish I had kept the roll-outs on the bottom shelf as well.

jelly_toast, with a pull-out, I have to stop, open the door, remember to open it wide enough so I don't jam the pull-out against the door. [take stuff out now] Push it back in, remember to make certain they go all the way in before I slam the door shut with my foot. I've not seem pull-outs with soft close, but I'm sure they exist.

So, at the beginning, I can't reach over with my foot, pull the drawer open, get my stuff and kick it shut again. Don't worry. I'm always barefoot so I'm not marring my drawers.

I think the compromise of raising the bottom roll-out to have a shelf for flat items is brilliant. A combination of both worlds. Too bad they just can't be drawers. Drawers are pull-outs with drawer faces on them, vs. a door over the whole thing.

I didn't do roll outs on some cabinets. The stationary shelves were fine. So wrong! Now I'm looking at Rev-A-Shelf inserts or crawling around on my knees. Never would do stationery shelves again.

I had rollouts in my last kitchen and hated them... The extra step, the space they used, and things fell off when they pulled out. I swore I'd never have them again. For this kitchen, where I didn't have drawers instead (my favorite alternative), I did adjustable, stationary shelves and don't miss the rollouts.

I had roll outs in my old kitchen but not full width of the cabinet (each side of the cabinet had a rollout
If I couldn't do drawers, I would go with pullouts. Shelves are easier to retro- fit downstream.

Drawers in everything that I could. Pullouts everywhere I couldn't (aside from uppers that were 14" deep), which was in my pantry.

Yes, a pullout is an extra step as opposed to a drawer. But, when comparing shelves vs. pullouts, pullouts are infinitely more functional to get the things in the back.

If it wouldn't have been such a budget killer, instead of my pantry being 30" wide with wide pullouts, I would have instead did pullouts that were half the width - but that would have doubled the number of glides and pullout drawers and would have been horrible for the budget.

You might lose a bit due to the pullout itself, but you "gain" back real usable space at the back portion of the rollout that would be rather unusable in a deep cabinet. I saw someone who had a 30" pantry and just had shelves in there - WAY less usable space overall than what I have.

The most pertinent advice on this whole thread, IMHO:

"It sounds like you would be a lot happier with shelves. It's not an "upgrade" if it is less functional for you."

with emphasis on 'functional for you.'

You could try the pullouts, but if you were not happy with them how much time and money will it cost you to get the cabinet you originally expected? Will the company take it back? Or are you stuck with it and have to pay for a new one?

I am so happy to have rollouts instead of shelves for deep cabinets, that I have three rollouts under each drawer. That way I don't have to stack things very high, have never had anything fall off, and it's really easy to find everything. I also have some banks of drawers in the kitchen, but sometimes a bank of 4 makes them too shallow, and a bank of 3 makes them too deep. Since the rollouts are adjustable, we've put them at different heights to accommodate our various needs.

I only have shelves in a 15" deep base cabinet where I store china, and in the 21" deep base cabinet in the master bath where I have a rollout on the bottom and a shelf half way up (no drawer) for towel and sheet storage.

Anne

I've had pullouts for almost 40 years. I never think twice about opening the doors and can't imagine having to root through all the things I store on them without the access they give me. I've never had drawers and am sure they are wonderful, but if the discussion is shelves or pullouts, well, no contest. Salad spinners, soup pots, big casseroles can sit in the back until needed--one doesn't need to pull the shelves out every time you open the cabinet if your most used items are situated on the front part of the pullout. Also, in many lower cabinets, the top shelf is recessed a bit to allow access below, limiting the storage space.

That's true, if you don't like the rollouts just don't roll them out every time. But at least you have them for getting to the back of the cabinet when called for. Thumbs up for rollouts at least from me : )))

I had roll outs added for cabs next to fridge that were so deep. I thought the units were pull-outs when ordered, so it cost money to retrofit. Keep them and use/don't use. I think you will adjust and in time, come to appreciate.

I would think if you have short arms that some of the shelves would be good for roll-outs. This has been on my mind also for my pantry closet since Shiloh charges a lot for the roll-outs and I am trying to decide if they are worth it. I store several small dog kibble in the bottom of my pantry so they are heavy and I do not mind getting on the floor to get in the back. However the two shelves above that are really a nuisance in finding what I have in the back since my current kitchen has no roll-outs.

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated. We decided to keep the roll outs after all, and in fact our cabinet maker is supplying us with one more, that will reduce the need to stack items.

If you have some long items to store - e.g. serving platters and boards that are close to the depth of the cabinet, the suggestion to adjust the roll-outs so that you use the bottom of the cabinet as a shelf and have the roll-outs above it is a good one.

We have one cabinet where we store sheet pans, cooling racks and cookie sheets on the bottom and have a roll out above that. That way we get almost a couple of inches more width and a inch more height of storage. Since the items take the full depth of the cabinet anyway, a roll out wouldn't save reaching for them.