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Any opinions on sliding baskets for onions/potatoes

cakelady541
13 years ago

Hi there. I'm trying to figure out what i want in my island. It will be the primary prep area. Am considering those baskets that are on slides for storage of onions and potatoes. I could either have a cabinet door over those or have them open and visible. Here's the question, if they are visible will they look cute or will they look messy? If they are open i guess they will get more light than is optimal. What do you think? Any pics?

Comments (18)

  • jeri
    13 years ago

    The open basket look is a Great look and I doubt it would look messy. ItÂs not like a catchall  itÂs for produce. Even a bowl on a counter with produce looks nice IMO.

    What I donÂt get is how anyone uses that many potatoes and onions before they go bad. I can never get through a 5 lb bag of potatoes (unless it is Thanksgiving) before they go bad. Same with onions.

    But  if you do  I think it is a Fabulous look!

  • newhomeowners
    13 years ago

    I ordered the open basket cabinet but since they come in standard sizes, I ended up paying extra to fit in in my space. So, firstly make sure you check the sizes and if you have space for that cabinet on the island.
    My cabinets are not yet installed, I can update you with a pic when they get installed in a week or so if you want.

    P.S. I was gung- ho on getting them...it was one of those essential things I needed in my kitchen!

  • melinrk
    13 years ago

    I have the exact same thing as you are describing.
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

    I had my island custom made (1/3 of the price of going with my cabinet company), so I was able to choose all my stuff. We originally thought we wanted the big baskets, but realized they were enormous and went with the smaller ones. Sorry, I don't know the dimensions. They easily fit a 5 pound bad of potatoes, with room to spare. I find they keep both the potatoes and onions very fresh, so I don't really have any waste.

    We have the baskets accessable from both sides of the island. Although I never really use it from the fridge side (always from the sink side), it looks great.

    Here are some pics:


  • cotehele
    13 years ago

    Another option is open shelves with after-market baskets. It is much less expensive. When your tastes or where you prefer things stored changes, the open shelves have lots of flexibility to use the space for something else.

    This opening has three shelves. One is in use here:

    I have already changed my mind. There are two shelves for baskets: potatoes and winter squash on the bottom and onions and garlic in individual baskets on top. The third shelf is on the floor of the cabinet. waiting for me to change my mind again, lol.

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    melinrk, I like the way you set that up. I've always had both the desire for baskets and basket-fear, partly because they looked really big and partly because of being concerned for the veg.

    Like I'm not supposed to store onions and potatoes in the same container because onions off gas - but if the same cabinet contains both baskets, then what? Does weird onion miasma rise - fall - what? And that the potatoes are supposed to be kept in the dark because of the deaded green sunburn-poison thing. With the baskets together in one cabinet, SOMEBODY was going to get a tan.

    I can see it working well in your setup. Thanks!

  • ciana
    13 years ago

    LOL. Hilarious, bmorepanic.
    I plan to put after market baskets (Ikea) in a shallow cabinet in my island. Now I'm going to wonder if there's a war being waged between the garlic, onions and potatoes while the cab door is closed. :-)

  • live_wire_oak
    13 years ago

    Those baskets are a great decor idea, but they are the worst thing possible for the actual storage of onions and potatoes. Root veggies should be stored in a cool (not cold) dark place. Think your grandparents root cellar.

    Now those baskets are great for quick storage of legos and other toys, or for fruit like apples and oranges that you will go through fairly quickly, but for root veggies, even for short term storage, they're not that functional.

  • dianne47
    13 years ago

    The baskets look nice (empty) in kitchen magazine photos, but I think they would be terrible in "real life," especially for messy items like potatoes and onions. Onions tend to shed, so that would be a mess. If you don't wash the potatoes before storage you would get dirt all over. If I were you and go with the baskets, I would definitely get doors. I store such items on the floor of the pantry, the coolest place available.

  • eks6426
    13 years ago

    I put mine in open weave plastic baskets (because I can wash them when produce goes bad on me). I put a plastic cabinet liner on the bottom so anything that goes bad doesn't make it to the pantry slide-outs. They are on slide-out shelves in my pantry. There is a door for the pantry so I don't see the baskets unless I am getting things from the pantry. I do have the onions & potatoes stored separately. It seems to be working so far. Much better than having a basket on the counter because I do use a decent quantity of them and don't want a large pile sitting on the counter even if it is in a pretty basket.

  • rnest44
    13 years ago

    I have one of the baskets like melinrk. It is below my microwave in the prep island and turned length wise. I had to laugh at live wire oaks description of being good for legos and other toys b/c I planned it for tupperware to store left overs or pack soup for my DH's lunch. I think of my colorful tupperware as kitchen toys!

    I love the grab and go ease of it but I am careful to keep everything below the basket line as it is highly visible. I keep my cutting board below it. It suits my needs and decor.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    I wanted to have those so badly! I think it's a nice, homey look, and not at all messy. But in the end, they just didn't fit in our kitchen. We go through 5 lbs of potatoes for a meal, LOL, so I planned mine more for keeping garlic and onions handy to the prep area. I also thought about using them for fruit and breads. (At one point I had them planned in place of a top drawer all across my baking and bfast/snack center area, and a bank of them nearer the stove.) I'm not sure my pantry is that much cooler than my kitchen, although darker...but is that much light getting into those dense baskets tucked under the counter overhang and other baskets?--Maybe if the fronts of those cabinets get direct light from a window.

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    do not store the knives anywhere NEAR those warring veggies!

  • cakelady541
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Desertsteph - naw, i'll give them each their own set of knives and they can settle things for themselves.

    Thanks for the opinions and pictures. Melinrk - your baskets look great!

    As usual their are opinions from both sides of the aisle. Hmmm, what to do.

    Rhome, where my baskets would be is on the island side closest to the two windows (the windows will be on either side of the range, opposite the island). You may recall this Rhome as you designed my kitchen....literally, i have changed next to nothing on the plan you came up with before i started building. Now the house is framed and i can see what the space is like. Very exciting to imagine myself in my new kitchen! I owe you many thanks. Anywho, the windows so close mitigate against this placement of open baskets. But the look is so darn cute, and i am a sucker for cute...

    I have to think about this a bit more.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    I knew I knew you, but had to go back to look at your plan...Yep, a direct hit with the sun on your island! You could put the baskets on the stove wall instead? You could see them better there anyway. ;-)

    Do you have subfloor yet? As soon as I did, I bought a couple of giant permanent markers, took my yardstick and tape measure and drew my whole kitchen on the floor. It was great to walk around in it and get to know the layout before things were permanent.

    Can't wait to see it!

  • villacolonica
    13 years ago

    Thanks for starting this wonderful thread, cakelady541...I'm also considering those baskets, so everyone's replies really helped!

    live_wire_oak, thank you for the reminder about root veggie storage!

    melinrk, I really appreciate the photos of your island...now I think I'm "definitely" going with those baskets!

    rhome410, you are so right about drawing the kitchen layout during construction! Our cabinet maker/designer spray painted everything in our last home and that helped us "envision" the kitchen before it became permanent.

    Anyway, the side of my island that will have the baskets is the opposite end of where the window is, so that's a plus. I'm even thinking of doing two columns of baskets on that side, since it's the short side of the island. We're going to build a Tuscan farmhouse, so I love the look of open shelves/baskets! :)

  • cakelady541
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    rhome - the builder is going to mark the subfloor in the next few days so
    I can see how everything lays out. It will be a chance to check the aisle space and finalize the island size.

    I will have to think more about the baskets. I can leave them where they are but have a cabinet front. This ruins the cuteness factor but the utility would be there. I will try some different ideas out.

    I'm glad someone else found the topic useful. That is a great thing about this site.

  • jsweenc
    13 years ago

    Late to this one, but I agree that aftermarket can be a much cheaper but just as nice solution. Our cabinet guy custom built cubbies and DH bought baskets from World Market, $14.99 each. There are other places to get nice baskets for a lot less than the ones that come from cabinet companies. Since you are undecided, I thought others might like to know.