Cookie sheets, baking pans, platters, skewers, towels, cake decorating supplies, muffin tins, placemats, tablecloths, candles, napkins (cloth and paper), etc. Totally worth it in a small kitchen. Make sure you use side mounted slides instead of undermounted, to get as much depth as you can. And not just full extension, but over travel.

Our new cabinets were installed last month, and we have 3 toe kick drawers. Our KD and installer both tried to talk us out of them. But in a small kitchen like ours, definitely worth the effort and extra cost! I give a hearty second to everything that catbuilder posted above!!

Ok, I'm convinced! Thanks for pointing out the over travel.

I love mine. I store serving platters and baking pans in mine. My kiddos think they are super secret hiding places, too. First place I better check when they next lose something LOL!

Weed puller, I'd be interested in hearing how much the extra cost was. Would you mind sharing?

Do they get dusty or dust bunnies inside? Or (shiver) bugs?

Mrs Pete: My toekick drawers were priced separately on my invoice and were $185 each. My cabinets are Thomasville, and a 2 drawer, 27" wide base cabinet was $705 plus the 185 for the toekick. The installer told us there was a fee for installing the toekick drawers, but that fee was not itemized, so I don't know how much extra it was.

bpathome: The toekick drawers are enclosed, just like the rest of the cabinet. They are just recessed about 4". There was less dust from the construction/install in our toekick drawers than in the standard drawers. And I haven't noticed any dog hair in mine at all.....and the dog hair is EVERYWHERE else!

weedpuller1954: are you pleased with your thomasville cabs?

I have some questions on toe-kick drawers:

1. What type of face to people use? Slab, or a complementi to the cabinet/drawer-fronts above? (I would presume slab is the most usual.)

2. Why type of pulls do people recommend? A top pull (that would be invisible when the drawer is closed, or a pull or knob to match the cabinets/drawers above?

3. Anybody do build or install these themself? It seems pretty straightforward, especially before the cabinet itself is installed, but does anybody know of a good link with details for this (how to measure for clearances, etc.)?

Thanks,

Andy.

Also wondering about the floor scratch factor!

Hmmm . . . That price doesn't sound too bad to get another small drawer. Thanks.

ardcp: I am very happy with my Thomasville cabinets. We upgraded to all plywood, and chose a solid wood door style. The construction, finish, hardware are all just what we expected. We have had some concerns related to the installation, but that was a contractor the KD hired.

BlackChamois and sstrazisar: If the drawers/cabinets are installed properly, they will skim 1/8"+ above the floor. Keep in mind that if at some point in the future you want to install a new floor, you will need to either give up your toekick drawers, or tear out all the old flooring. Another layer of flooring will not fit under the drawer. Also, you can't open the drawers if a rug is in front of them.

Neitsdelf: The fronts of my drawers is a separate piece of the toekick molding, which was attached to the drawer front when the molding was installed. My drawers came with a standard cup style pull, but we chose to use pulls that match all the others....not that it matters, as you can't see the pulls unless the drawers are open.

We are putting two in - one will hold my collapsible step stool and a few other shallow items (serving platter, etc.) The other is going to hold instruction manuals for appliances and receipts.

Appreciate the tip about going with the over-travel glides...that makes a lot of sense and something I wouldn't have necessarily thought about until after they were in and my "full-extension" were still a few inches under the toe-kick area.

Thanks, everyone!

I like the look of taller toe kicks, where the cabinets almost seem like they are floating. Very modern! Especially with a stainless steel plinth (my kitchen is very contemporary). Since my cabinets are IKEA boxes which don't come with an integral toe kick, I'm contemplating lifting them up just a little bit, which also would lend more space for toe kick drawers. But I am concerned about height, as the countertop will be 2 1/4" (concrete) above the top of the cabinets. We are tall and I'm not concerned about resale, but still. What is too high? And has anyone here done this?

Here is a link that might be useful: http://houzz.com/photos/80230

I should add that I might use Wilsonart's brushed stainless looking laminate, not normal stainless steel, for the drawer fronts, with a discrete pull on the top of the drawer.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://samples.wilsonart.com/c-8-decorative-metals.aspx

What is the net depth of the toe kick drawer with a standard toe kick height? My cabinet maker said 1.5-2 inches. Is that going to be useful space?