I'm doing it in two areas of my kitchen. If you have enough counter space, it makes a lot of sense.

I like it! Wouldn't work in my kitchen style (i think it looks great in traditional, not transitional or modern), but i think those little drawers too would be really useful for flatware or wine openers..:)

I think it is a great idea, aesthetically, functionally, and ergonomically. I'd love to install one just like the one in your first photo, directly to the right of the dishwasher. Seems like a good one-stop way to unload all the everyday dishes without moving from the dishwasher. In my case, I consider solid rather than glass doors.

I had a glass cabinet like this that sat on my counter. We had drawers on the bottom. I loved it and used it for sotage for all my dinnerware and glasses. I think it looks great too.

I'm doing it on one end of my kitchen so I can store my heavy mixer. However, remember that the countertop will be installed under the cabinet. This might make it difficult in the future to change out your counters. I have a similar custom made cabinet in my den with a corian countertop put in over 15 years ago. I wanted to replace the countertop but have been told that the top cabinets will need to be taken down first. This is a bigger and more expensive job than I expected, and with my new kitchen eating up all my spare funds,I am just sticking with my ugly green counters for now.

I love the look and used it in my dining room. I had a 13' wall of cabinets and it was a nice way to break things up a bit.

{{gwi:1509804}}

I love this look and was planning on it for my kitchen up until a few weeks ago. Once we started really walking through what we would put where and where we would run electrical I realized it wasn't possible - we have multiple counter-height windows and between those, the appliances, sink, etc. so we needed the wall space under the upper cabinets for outlets... Just something to think about! I'm hoping to incorporate the look in a hutch though...

I have a cabinet very similar to your third photo. It sits directly above my DW and I love it. The drawers are perfect for flatware and it makes unloading the DW a breeze.

I did have an issue finding a silverware container that was narrow enough for the drawer (mine are the same width as the uppers) FYI - Bed Bath and Beyond has great plastic tub thingys (Yep, that is the technical name ;) that link together and form perfect narrow silverware containers.

Thanks for the real life experience. Everyone who has responded likes this arrangement.

I'm pretty sure this is the way I'll go.

My cabinets came from an out of business kitchen shop. Brikmanhouse who did IKEA cabinets said it's like Legos. I can totally agree, except that I got the Lego kit, but am not making the picture on the box.

I'm trying to be creative with the cabinets and as practical as possible to maximize storage. I want every inch to be useful if I can.

I'm leaning toward an arrangment similar to the last one with the yellow cabinet. Glass cab, plate rack, glass cab. This will be located above the dishwasher with the breakfast nook just beyond that. Like many of you said, this proximity should make it easier to unload the dishwasher and hopefully set the table too.

I can't wait. My last kitchen was a nightmare in layout. The dish storage had to go on the opposite wall from the dishwasher because that was the only place the builder put the usuable cabinets. Unloading the diswasher was a pain. Also this area of storage was between the cooktop and the fridge, so you couldn't have 2 people doing tasks at the same time. The silverware drawer couldn't be opened if someone else was cooking.

Here's what it looked like before:

Here's other side. You can see where the dishwasher is compared to that storage.

Here's the "Lego" kit kitchen I bought.

I'm not too worried about the changing out the countertop. It's granite (baltic brown) that came with the kitchen. Not my favorite, but definitely the best one I've ever owned and I'm not too likely to be able to afford a replacement in the foreseeable future. Just an FYI, if the cabinets are modular (most are), basically a box, they're not hard to remove.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Kathe

I too love the cabinets sitting on a counter. But I do want to put out there that I hardly ever design that beause so many of the kitchens I work with are extremely small and simply don't have enough counter space already.

I often see photos where there is a sink or a stove with only 18" to the side of it before a cabinet that's been placed on the counter and I always think it's a poor trade. I hope you an find just the right place to put one!

I knew early on this feature was something I wanted in my remodel and it's definitely one of my favorites. I wanted a countertop cabinet to hold my mixer and other small appliances. I did make one mistake in planning though, I forgot to order the cabinet without a bottom panel; now instead of just sliding the mixer out I have to lift it over the bottom trim piece. No biggie though, still love it!

Here's the picture that started it all; funny, I only just realized after digging up this pic how much more than just the cabinet this kitchen inspired me.

We were able to include such a cabinet. I was concerned at first with loosing the space to the right of my sink, however, I do have 26", so it's worked out fine and I just love the look.

aokat15 indicated that she did not do this because of needed electrical outlets. We too had to deal with this. Our electrician was able to place a shallow box on the side of the cabinet so it doesn't affect the drawers.

I had an outlet put inside my cabinet along the back wall for convenience so I don't have to drag the mixer too far or have the cord snaking along the counter to the next outlet. But obviously that wouldn't work if that would be your only outlet along the wall, and probably wouldn't meet code (?) anyway.

Also, buehl makes a good point about usable counter space; the counter my cabinet is on is deeper than usual at 30". Had I only been able to fit a standard depth counter there I probably would have scrapped the idea, just wouldn't have been practical for how I wanted to use it. Some of your inspiration pics show similarly deeper than average counters; even if your cabinet will house glasses and dishes, having that space there would be very useful as a landing zone while you're working and would definitely contribute to the hutch look you want. Win-win : )