I think you need a new KD. He doesn't like french door refrigerators, toekick drawers, and what else? HE isn't going to live in this kitchen,you are. Maybe in his kitchen he doesn't sweep or vacuum the floor but every couple of weeks, but I can't imagine s situation developing in the average kitchen like he's describing.

Here's my take on it: I have a plain old range, and it has a drawer under the oven. I store rarely-used items in that drawer, but it does have a build-up of "gunk" that my other cabinets don't have. I'm sure it's because everything-everything-everything happens at the stove,and little bitty bits just fall in. Does it bother me? No. But your housekeeping standards might be higher than mine. If you want the drawers, get them, but understand that you might have to vaccum them out twice a year, and you might have to rinse a cookie sheet before you bake.

However . . . arguing with myself now . . . my under-oven drawer is the same depth as my range. In contrast, a toe-kick drawer would be recessed behind the cabinets by several inches. So perhaps what I just said isn't applicable.

Off-topic, but I'd like to know about how much these toe-kick drawers cost. They look like a good way to utilize a small amount of extra space.

I'm starting to not like your KD too! He's just got no sense of adventure. Almost a party pooper!

I don't know how TKdrawers work so I don't know if he's right or not. I suspect if they don't drag (they don't do they?) they'll be okay.

The moment anyone says "toe-kick drawers", my ears perk up. I am very jealous. Love the idea and wish we'd incorporated in our home. The kids especially love the idea of a burglar proof hiding spot. Do please proceed!

Seriously bugs !!?? I have 2 toe kick drawers so I quickly ran to look, bug swatter in hand and vacuum close by to suck up those pesky pests. Imagine my surprise when I found......two very clean drawers with nary a crumb or insect in sight.

Your KD is clueless and I would venture boring with a cookie cutter vision of a kitchen. Ask him how many kitchens with toe kick drawes he has actually done. Thank goodness you have found GW.

Get what you want and if this guy remains a party pooper move him into the recycle bin and find another.

I bet he thinks recycle bins are trendy and not worth doing! :P

OK, I hear what you are all saying, but he's actually highly recommended, even by people on GW. He's totally into recycling, and is even going to help me put a compost pail in the counter.

I trust and love most of his ideas, which is why his thoughts about the other things surprised me a little and wanted to check back with you folks.

I also didn't get the sense that he'd "refuse" to do anything, or that I'd have to "fight" for anything. He was only offering his opinion.

I will still ask for the toekick drawers! :)

I'm with oldbat: I'd totally love to have toe kick drawers! The ones I've seen on here are fantastic.

The bug excuse seems a bit silly. I don't think you'll be storing perishable food in the toe-kick drawers; you might store canned goods and less-often used serving pieces, but probably not food that would attract bugs. And I don't see how crumbs would easily collect in there - it's not like the drawers will be hanging open ready to catch stuff falling of the counter.

I just had my kitchen installed last week and really love my toe kick drawer!! Great way to utilize dead space. My friend has had hers for over a year and loves hers too!!
I read somewhere online, can't remember were, that toe-kick drawers can also be a great space to hide valuables, especially when you go on a vacation. The low-life thieves would never think to even look fro a toe kick drawer! I say go for it if you want one. As of now, no crumbs in mine:)

We plan on having two in our kitchen. It's not as if you are storing crumb-type food in there ( or at least, I'm not) - mine are holding a folding step stool in one and instruction manuals, receipts, etc, in the other.

Because they are recessed, I don't see how they would be a magnet for crumbs. There may be a slight issue where the toekick run is divided where you may need to run a crevice tool in that area to gather crumbs that might fall to the ground. But, I really don't see it as a big issue. Certainly not a big enough issue to pass on getting them.

I've been reading this forum for a while, but just joined Garden Web this evening so I could ask a question about toekick drawers! I am planning to include some in my kitchen remodel and was wondering if anyone has pro/con comments or suggestions?? How have they worked for you? What do you store in yours?

I thought they seemed like a fantastic idea, aesthetically. That is from a no-waste standpoint.

However my KD talked me out of it by pointing out they're basically just another set of drawers and cost is calculated at least for my kitchen, by number of drawers. If I was wanting more storage I'd rather have a bigger drawer. Most if not all of my cabinet stacks already had 4 drawers in them, so that was making it five. And that fifth was really small. Plus, I made my toe kick 3.5" -- I don't wear work boots in the kitchen and I saw no reason to install inflated toekicks; 3.5" has been plenty for us.

I do love the idea of the things but I haven't missed em, especially knowing the cost. YMMV.

Niftiest use of toekicks I've seen, apart from valuables-storage (say, silver) is as a step-up for the "height-challenged". That, I thought, was really clever and could definitely justify the extra cost in select locations. Another used the narrow drawer to store a step stool. But I liked turning the whole drawer itself into an actual step (though that's less portable!)

I saw a picture of a drawer someone constructed that incorporated the too-short-drawer objection for the toe kick by making the drawer at the bottom itself have the toekick "bite" worked right into it. This looked really nifty and clever but as I thought about it, then how would you use that space at the front of the drawer? You'd get just the bottom "footprint" of the drawer's worth for storage and to use the forward bump-out you'd need some very specialized shapes.

So on reflection I decided that wasn't going to use the space well either. For me, that's how it came to pass that I compromised on the toekicks that like you, I had originally thought were the bee's knees, in favor of shortened toekicks and 4-drawer stacks.

So there's an example of a KD being negatory but maybe not utterly without cause.

Awww man, I wish I had thought of shortened height toe kicks !!!! My mfg will change height width and depth of cabinets at no extra charge in 1/16" increments. If I had shortened my toe kick, maybe the interior height of my bottom drawer would have been enough clearance to store my 12" skillet on edge instead of flat in bottom. Bummed I didn't think of this or saw someone else did it to give me the idea in time !!

I worked with a custom cabinet maker once to create an ADA accessible kitchen for a client in a wheelchair. We did the extra tall toekick needed by the chair, and then did the toekick drawers in that tall space. It actually worked out really well for storage for everyone who used the kitchen and I've often thought that it was an idea that some cabinet maker should take and run with to create their own universal access line.

I have three of them under three 36" drawer banks. Two flank my 48" range as the center of our cooking universe. The other is next to the prep area where there's always garlic and onion skin or other crumbs and peelings on the floor. NONE of them have collected dirt, dust or crumbs and NONE of them harbor insects, rodents or snakes. Ask the KD if he's ever lived with toekick drawers.

Other than the cost, there really is no "con" to toekick drawers. The fact that you are reclaiming otherwise wasted space is the only "pro" you need. Even then, cost really isn't a "con," because it's not that much. It's really more of a value proposition. How much is it worth to you?

I store all kinds of flat or low profile items. They're really handy, because instead of needing a step stool to get up above a refrigerator, for example, it's so much easier to bend down. I used to store a few things in the oven, such as broiler pans, baking sheets and griddles. Every time I needed to use the oven, I had to unload it to preheat it. Where did that stuff go? On the counter! No longer. These things go in the toekick and my oven is now at my beck and call. My countertop also stays clutter free.

Toekick Alert:

I had my kitchen made custom and our contractor matched our old toe-kick height. I consequently paid little attention to this detail.

I ordered a bathroom vanity cabinet through a company. I didn't ask about the toekick height and it arrived with a higher toekick, now the standard. Turned out that the under-sink plumbing wouldn't fit with our new toe-kick height and we had to make some changes. It was a headache. (Also, we did lose some storage space in that vanity we could have used.) So check any plumbing before ordering!

PS if you do get toekick drawers, wrapping paper and tags would be a great use of the space.

"He says all the crumbs and gunk on the floor will collect in or under Toekick drawers. Is this crazy? I said I didn't care if I had crumbs under there, but he said something about attracting bugs...."

Remove the drawers a few times a year and vacuum.

Stuff collects under refrigerators, stoves also.

Commercial kitchens are often all concrete and tile so that hot water and a hose can be used to clean them (and nothing goes tight to the floor for easy access).

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?