I just had my kitchen renovated and am using drawers for everyday dishes now. I love it. It is easier for me actually.
I like it a lot and don't notice anything about bending over to get them in or out. My drawers are more convenient to the dishwasher and it works out good.

I'd love to put mine in drawers, I hate reaching up with a stack of heavy plates. I'm too impatient to stack them one at a time. Maggie, does your drawer have those peg-things that hold the dishes in place? I'm wondering if I can retro-fit them into mine.

Thanks for the comments. Does anyone have any pics of dishes in drawers? What are those peg-things? Do you stack bowls in them?

Here's a link to some pics. The pegs keep the plates from sliding around.
http://www.kitchensource.com/drawer-organizer/rv-4dps-2421.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Drawer pegs

Thanks, rookie, what a great product!

Well, that depends on how the dishes are arranged. Our must used dishes are in the top drawer. The less frequently used, the farther down the drawer stack. Unloading the DW requires some bending. Just pivot and put the dishes in the drawers.

Not many people use pegs. Dishes tend to stay put with a bit of friction on the bottom of the drawer. Cushy Cupboards is one option. Some of my drawer are just lined with a towel.

There have been many pictures of such arrangements. Try searching Google: ''ths dishes in drawers''

Objects you use go in the higher drawers of the base cabinet (at "thigh" height).
Things you hardly ever use go in the lower drawers (at shin height).

Above knee height is ergonomically easy. This is for drawers.
Doors that swing out require bending over to reach inside the space.

love it - also easier for small kids to unload dw - I start them at 7 or 8

We have our dishes in a drawer now too and it works just great (all plates and bowls, in the middle drawer, so the top is about mid-thigh high). I'd never heard of the pegs until our kitchen was done and the drawers were loaded...but I don't see why we'd need pegs. Everything stays in place just fine, and we have flexibility to organize things however we want to.

I love the dish drawer. It is just to the right of the dishwaher, and the silverware is above it. We also have our glasses in a drawer. We took out all the upper cabinets in the renovation, save for the over-fridge cabinet. Even the spices are in a drawer and it works great.

We don't use pegs for the dishes. Just a grippy liner and they stay put. I don't have a photo of the drawer, but below is an article that ran in the local paper and they got a photo of the dish drawer(sorry so tiny).

My kitchen isn't finished or else I'd post pics but I decided in the design process to store my plates in drawers and I can't wait! My dishwasher is base cabinet level (I've seen some raise the d/w to make it easier on their backs) so I'm leaning over anyway to get the plates out of the d/w so I think it'll be more efficient. Plus my drawer cabinet is just to the left of my d/w.

Also I found these great plate holders at Ikea that allow you to stack your plates and then easily grab them out to take them to the dining table!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea plate holder

here's a few from this kitchen forum. the first one is plllog's. many here use drawers for their dishes.

{{!gwi}}

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Makes for easier cleanup after an earthquake.

I intend to put my dishes in drawers as soon as I get some sort of control over my 2 year old.

Here's another vote for dishes in drawers. I don't have pegs or anything, but they stay where they belong. My kids can help empty the dishwasher and set the table very easily :)

Here's another vote for dishes in drawers. I don't have pegs or anything, but they stay where they belong. My kids can help empty the dishwasher and set the table very easily :)

New convert to dishes in drawer here. Much prefer it to lifting them in and out of uppers. We also use the Ikea plate holders 'transitional' mentioned, but it probably isn't necessary to hold them in place.

drawers are delightful. have some thin rubber liner ( from the $ store) but have seen in other places, that keeps them from sliding around.
I like the idea of the ikea holders though in that you pick them all up as one, also means you stack them on the counter and then bend once only

Another vote for dishes in drawers (we in fact have no uppers at all). We don't use pegs or even liners - everything sits tight.

Eliz

I soo look forward to dishes in drawers. My kids set the table but cant reach the cabinets. so i always have to pull things down for them. Now I can sit and read these board while they do it all themselves!

I *really* like this idea and IÂm going to try to make it happen in my remodel. But I do have a question for all of youÂ

How many drawers do you have? IÂm having a hard time understanding how this will work with all the other things I need to store in drawers (pots, pans, casseroles, silverware, storage containers, cooking utensils, measuring cups, place mats, oven mitts, etc. etc. etc.)

How many drawers do you have?

I second jeri's question. Our cabinets are just about half in, and I have no idea where I'm going to put things. I found GW after the (design/demo/purchase)fact, and while I am very happy with how everything is going to turn out, I sometimes get a little panicked about whether or not I'll have enough room for everything. And there are SO MANY cool ideas here that I wish I'd known about earlier. But-that said, I probably have too much "stuff" anyway, and I feel very lucky to be able to do this at all.

But seriously- how many drawers DO you guys have?

Does drawer storage of dishware work best when you have only a few types of dishes/bowls that are uniform?

Our everyday dishes and bowls are all different, thanks to potter SWMBO's experimentation. I wonder if that will make drawer storage a pain in the rear.

The old thread linked below might be useful to you - this came up at about the same time that I was finalising my cab design and it was really helpful.

Will do a fuller reply later with drawer #s and what I have in them...

Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: List of things in the kitchen

Eliz-thanks, that thread is very helpful.

Lee

I also plan on putting my dishes in a drawer. Most of my old upper cabinets were free-hanging, and I've eliminated them. We have an open floor plan, and very little wall space for upper cabinets. So dishes will go in island drawers. I think this will work great for setting table, and unloading dishwasher.

Major question: What size are your dish drawers? I was planning on 2 deep drawers, about 24 x 24. But now we are considering reducing the size of the island by a few inches to improve passage. Would 22 x 22 be okay?
This is for the dishes only, I have other areas for tupperware, etc.

We have a surplus of drawers, so don't judge by us. But we are set up as follows:

30" left of range:
top - cooking utensils
middle - pots/pans/lids
bottom - baking

30" right of range:
top - spices, measuring cups/spoons, potholders
middle - glasses
bottom - pyrex, corning, etc.

36" right of DW:
top left - flatware
top right - nothing(!)
middle - 8-piece place setting (dinner, salad, bowls) plus assorted ramekins and small serving dishes.
bottom: larger frying pans and mostly empty.

36" across from fridge:
top left - recipes, bag closing thingies.
top right - bags, wraps
middle - tupperware
bottom - crock pot, toaster, paper plates and bowls.

Our mixing bowls and small appliances (tiny crock pot, Foreman grill) are above the fridge. Our cookie sheets are in the pantry. Our stemware is across the room in the wet bar area.

I wish I could have all my drawers wide like yours, but simply don't have the room. I will have 36" drawers under the cooktop, one shallow for utensils, and 2 deep for pots and pans. I'll also have a bank of 22" wide drawers next to the sink. These will hold my knives, a dedicated bread drawer, and dish towels. I still have cabinets for my small appliances and tupperware. But all flatware and dishes will all be in my island. I can do 2 banks of 22" wide, or one bank of 30" wide, plus a cabinet of 15". I'd really like some feedback on the utility of these sizes.

I know someone who has their plates in a drawer and I really don't like it. That is a lot of weight on a drawer sliding in and out multiple times a day. It just seems very odd to me.

Depends on he drawer, no? Mine is rated 60kg (132lbs), so I’m not concerned. I find it gentler on the dishes because my kids aren’t dragging stacks of plates on each other when they unload the dishwasher. But you’ve gotta find what works for you. :)

I set up my drawer with my dishes. The weight limits should have been okay. However, there was a "drag" when opening the drawer and it would not self close all the way. Sadly, I moved my dinner plates to an upper cabinet. Now the drawer seems fine. I only have 4 sets of dishes. I wish all of my dishes could be together like I see in these photos but I would rather not break a new cabinet drawer so the plates are separate.

I think it depends on the layout of the kitchen. In our case, the everyday dishes are in the cabinets above the dishwashers, which makes unloading very easy and convenient.

Folks - I am getting some new drawers built for my kitchen. The vendor said the bottom will be 1/4" thick. We have at least two deep drawers that we were planning to put some plates. Can 1/4" thick bottom hold up some plates? What is the thickness of your bottom of your drawers?

@njamil can't the vendor provide you a max weight compacity for drawers? The thickness of the drawer floor is just one aspect on how sturdy the drawer is built.