Check out my kitchen trends for 2022 - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gNF9eLdl1bHdkas.html If you want a kitchen design, visit mtkd.ca

We are building a house and our kitchen is u-shaped, with a peninsula rather than an island. Lots of counter space for a 100 SF room. We put in a few cabinets that are all drawers and a few that have slide-out shelves. Another accessibility consideration is aging. To that end, we skipped upper cabinets completely. I don’t want to have to climb up to get anything. Instead, we are putting shelves all along one wall (10 feet) of the laundry room and will also have an upright freezer in there, so no worries about space for food storage. I did what you suggest - I spent a lot of time thinking about how I cook and designed it specific to my needs.

I recently had cabinets resurfaced. One ridiculously deep cabinet under the built-in oven became a drawer. The front looks as though it has two cabinet doors, but it's a drawer front. I LOVE IT! Perfect now for skillets, and now the space is so much more accessible. In my 70's, I really am done with crawling on my knees to dig into cavernous cabinets!

A designer after my own heart. You can never have too many drawers. Working on our kitchen right now. Moving kitchen into dining area & dining into kitchen. The problem is square footage.

Shallow drawers would be perfect for tea, coffee, pens, spices.... I'm in

After watching YT videos for 8 months, I plunked down the debit card on a new kitchen last week. This is our second remodel, but in our retirement home, and my hubs recently drove past our old huge house and saw a huge dumpster in the driveway-the new owner is ripping out our fabulous old kitchen that pretty much drove the price of that previous house…. You should never drive past your old house! On the day I paid for the new kitchen, I came in on a couple (older than us, ~65-70 yrs old) sitting at the designer’s desk and the wife was screaming at no one in particular, “you don’t understand what it’s like to only have one faucet!!!” Yes, the remodel divorce is a very real phenomenon. You should do a show on *that.*

I designed my kitchen with a large peninsula that is 33" high because that's a comfortable work surface for 5' me. It's my baking area, with a bank of 9 drawers (3 high, 3 across) to store flour, bowls, etc. It's about 36" deep and the other side is an overhang for bar stools that are at a comfortable height. The kitchen isn't very big, but this is provides ample space for bread baking, homework, meals, and socializing with the [short] cook. I love it!

Yes, drawers drawers drawers!!! Also, yes, I have tiny drawers and they hold very specific items like measuring cups, tea accoutrements, lids, and other little things I use regularly and want quick access to. Also, small kitchen, so it really helps. Thanks for the info! I really enjoy your videos, especially as I begin the remodel journey.

I love love love my shallow drawer for display of spices in glass. I cook wit lot of spices and all at once access with a visual treat!

Will break ground in October for our new home….love these tips I will have all drawers😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣in my kitchen….yes will have large butler pantry…oh you give me hope…thank you Mr Mark

Thinking 2022 will be the year for our kitchen reno. After 35 years my kitchen and I are tired of one another

I loved your reaction after you said "a piece of me dies inside". 😂 I'm doing drawers. I'm getting older and I'm sure my back will be thankful for it. Gone are the days of reaching to the back of a cabinet to get something.

Love that you brought up accessibility! You are the first designer I’ve heard bring this up on KZfaq. Accessibility is an area of design i am particularly interested in. There are some pretty handy solutions that can be incorporated for those who like a step up rather than customizing the height of their cabinets. In my home we usually have a step stool for my daughter but i switched it out for a folding single step. Not a great solution but better than tripping over the stationary step. I am planning a kitchen reno now and will be fitting the new kitchen with a built in pull out step stool that fit in between the base units. It’s a little thing but i think the convince and safety will be worth it. My Keeping universal design principals in mind when planning a space will always play off.

I love drawers for the kitchen. That is in my kitchen plan.

MAAAHHHHKKK, yes awesome job with this video!!! Tyvm ( sorry my Yankee accent had to come out bc I was excited)

I am from UK and trying to design my new kitchen locating it in another room.. I had decided to have as many drawers as possible as I have severe back problems and was so pleased that you recommended them, makes me feel better.

I have one IKEA shallow (15” deep cabinet style) drawer in my kitchen. It was part of an IKEA hack to my standard face framed half fixed shelf base cabinet. I added the shallow drawer on top of the fixed shelf. Because this drawer is in a full depth cabinet the full extension doesn’t bring it all the way out of the cabinet box, but it does make the cabinet much more useable. I store the extra blade to my full size food processor and a mini food processor (base and top apart and side by side) in this drawer. I also added a full depth interior IKEA drawer to the bottom of the same base cabinet. My electric knife sharpener and a crockpot go in the back of the bottom drawer and fit under the shelf. The front of the drawer holds my full sized food processor and a tall Ninja blender. They fit in front of the shallow drawer.

You have no idea how much I have looked for the information you provide !!!! Bravo !!! Best information out there I have found. I have a home that was built in 1980. Kitchen is TERRIBLE. Did I say that loud enough.......TERRIBLE.....TERRIBLE. I have suffered through it for 20 years. It is time to make a change. However, I am not a designer......and I do not have a big budget...........I just know the current situation Sux. It is time for a change. It will be a DIY project and I do not really care if it is a showcase.........I want to improve functionality.........and accessibility. I COOK from scratch (most of the time). I GARDEN and have a lot of produce to process..........I CAN my produce and can up stuff like chili, stews, etc. I need FUNCTION in my life so badly I can scream. Especially canning.....takes a lot of counter space and prep space. So I am ever so grateful to find your channel and take in all this information as I attempt to plant out a full kitchen remodel. Appreciate you so much for putting all this great stuff out there and removing some of the paralyzing decision making.

I agree - DRAWERS!!!! Also, I really loved your thoughts on "average" vs "unique." Amen

So glad I ran into you! You answered a bunch of my questions! Thank you

I love your tips and everything what you are saying.

Every time I watch your videos it reminds me of home style restaurants which has unlimited side…I always want to say…keep them taters coming…..😂😂😂Mr Tobin keep them taters coming 🛠🔨🔧🤣❤️

Really great video, thanks!

ThNk you!

I would love to do my whole entire kitchen with drawers, only even one for the trashcan.

I LOVE DRAWERS, THANK YOU!!!!!!!

OMG I agree with you 100%

If I ever plan a kitchen, I will shoot for 48" of continuous space NEXT TO THE SINK AND plates in cabinets right above. Currently my prep space is across from the sink and I'm constantly washing produce and dripping it across the floor to my cutting board.

Hey Mark, when are you coming to Australia? I need you to renovate my kitchen. I’m sure you and your family could fund a holiday around our wonderful country by bringing your expertise to our shores. I will be your Perth host so just get some fans from the Eastern states and you’re set!

Love your channel! Always informative. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

THANK YOU! Thank you for affirming what I've thought all along--that DRAWERS are the most useful base cabinets (WHY should I add pullouts to all my base cabinets to make them useful, when that means I have to open BOTH doors before I pull out what are essentially drawers??) AND that my kitchen should be useful for ME in spite of what the GUIDELINES say! I had a kitchen planner at the ORANGE store tell me I couldn't put a peninsula where I wanted it, because my work triangle would be too big. I can't tell you how much I LOVED my big kitchen, and how useful it was to be able to move freely around my toddler son as he made Lego creations in the middle of the kitchen floor! Now we'll be doing it again, and I'm so excited to be able to design a kitchen that fits US!

You have awesome ideas, Mark. Keep on delivering to us.

Muchas gracias por todos los atinados consejos que nos das acerca de las cocinas, te mando un saludo desde Mexicali Baja California México.

Drawers ✅ Counter Space ✅ Storage ✅ Accessibility ✅ Good advice!

Great ideas!

love this video!!

Bravo! Brava!!!! How right you are! yes kitchen counter height AVERAGE??? I am redoing kitchen right now! when I moved in to this house the counter top height was 36" height. With massive 48" long 3 section sink with narrow middle portion being for garbage disposal could not be utilize not even any draining basket. I am 5.2" have used 3" high plat foam shoes to do the cooking. Not only that i cracked 4+ times my lower rip bones by trying to reach things in the 48" bay window beyond sink. This new kitchen counter finished height will be 34" height. I will not be raising my elbow and shoulder to do the cutting and more.( bad for your shoulder) and your natural down flow of cutting force is no longer strain your shoulder. My massive butcher block is even lower 30" which my husband chopped off legs for me. Yes it is my kitchen and I want be in control of my kitchen. And my auto cringe will be gone soon when I step into new kitchen with single farmhouse sink!!!! Ha Ha Ha!!!

You were the ONLY designer (out of 4) who said, you want an island, do an island!” so I did (deleting the peninsula). I LOVE mine!! I’m SO glad I went with my gut. And yes, this is my forever home so I did what worked for me, and I’m so glad I did! Also, drawers forever. :)

Very informative....always thought I would hate drawers but you are making me rethink them thanks

YES YES YES to drawers. Deep drawers, thin drawers…..No more pulling everything out of a base cabinet just to get to the stuff in the back. Worried about the look of too many drawers then put pull out drawers behind the cabinet door. :-) Thanks Mark for your sermon on drawers. Amen!

You're good! Can't wait to re-design my kitchen (someday) with your help!

I really enjoy watching your videos! I am currently in the middle of a kitchen renovation and felt I was a little short on drawers....so I had them added into the toe kicks...for seasonal/lesser used items.

Wait what??? Best kitchen design chanel yet where have u been All my life good job keep it up. This will go viral in south Africa...

I love drawers! (Especially since my last kitchen had NO drawers.) Although the amount of counterspace you recommend as a minimum is more than double the size of my entire kitchen. But have been watch a few of your videos and even if they don't apply to my tiny kitchen I do appreciate some of you good insights. Going to go through your play list to see if you address tiny kitchens. (We'e talking 50sq ft)

Mark I love your videos and have gotten some great ideas as I will be doing a full kitchen reno over the next two years. One thing I don't see a lot of information on is upper cabinets. I am not a fan of the standard ones because I can only reach the bottom half. I know there are other options and would love to see something about them, pros and cons to the standard. Will watch this space for the video!!!!

Love it. My mom is 5’ 2” and I’ve dreamed of building her a shorter kitchen that she would enjoy using. Maybe someday.

Hi !!! Am sooo impressed by your honestly in advice.I met with designer who hardly hear their client when it's subject to customising kitchen especially when it's not standard sizes.So your opinion on customising n breaking the rules to suit one needs is Fantastic.You gave me great confidence n trust in myself.I enjoy all your videos cause you r UNIQUE OVERALL HONEST in advising people.Thank you for that. N keep up the good work.Cheers !!!

Completely agree with your client who wanted the kitchen to fit *him*, not the next owner. IMO, next owner can do whatever they want. My husband and I are tall. We will design our bathroom and kitchen for US, so WE can use it, not someone else.

This video was so helpful! My kitchen is supposed to get redone this year and the drawing they gave me seems so basic with stock cabinet type options. I am going to use this video as a guide

It's good to hear someone talking about kitchen accessibility, even if it is focused on tall vs short people. My wife is blind, and a lot of appliances are inaccessible for her. For example, many appliances have one or two buttons that sequence through various modes/settings, with a visual display of some sort indicating which mode/setting is currently active. When you get to the end of the list, it wraps around to the first mode/setting and continues the sequence. That is completely inaccessible to a blind person.

I didn’t put in a “prep-sink” in my last house, and I won’t in the one I am building now. My wife is a baker, and she wanted a very large open area. Our island looked like one of the ones you showed. Everyone thought it was to big when we were designing it, everyone that ever used it loved it. Going to do it again. Actually at this point I think this new kitchen is going to have 2 islands….chew on that for a second.

I agree. If I were to redesign my kitchen, I'd have all drawers/pull out shelves!

I have broken most of your rules in my small L shaped kitchen. Only 3 drawers, different widths, over my cabinets by MFI. It’s fared very well over the years but when my tiny utility room was built I chose Ikea’s drawer cabinet. Yes, only one would fit but I love the space & so accessible. I was considering changing out my cabinets for drawers but again only one 600 cabinet could be changed out. On the other side the corner & cupboards had to be cut back so drawers won’t fit, I did use Effan sliding shelves & added extra shelving on the cooker side & that works. My kitchen is very hardwearing as I cook a lot from scratch. It has to house the upright larder fridge & dishwasher, all integral & I have a corner sink. I have everything to hand but had to store my larger appliances in my hall along with a larder for canned & packaged goods. Would love to know how to utilise the space better but the kitchen has inherent problems.

Thank you so much for your KZfaq. I need help.

I recently came across our channel. Love your videos and design ideas! Unfortunately not ever kitchen has ample space to create the idea work space, as suggested (standard) in this video. Please create a video dedicated to making very small kitchens with no pantry, functional with more work space and storage. Example 15x 7. Thank you

I love draws

I can't envision having too much space. But then I'd be very unhappy if I had to have less tools and treasures, have to shop more often and have less on hand. Shallow drawers have a purpose. In my current kitchen have several shallow drawers. Except for the wide one with cork liner at the prep area I have knives laid out 😁 on a magnetic bar, they are too shallow and narrow. Worst is the junk drawer. There is a trade off particularly when space is an issue. With a small kitchen any wasted space is an irritant. It would be a lot worse if less drawers or not at least some balance of deep and not too deep, 23 total. Only cabinets (w/o drawers) are under cooktop, sink and one slim with vertical dividers. In complete agreement with you about drawers. 😎😊

Thank you for another great & helpful video. I’d love to hear you share clever & practical ways to store small kitchen appliances which are used everyday (rice cooker, toaster, kettle, air fryer, etc.). We have like 7 or so small appliances, which either take all the space on countertop or have to put them away, making it so impractical since we use them on daily basis. Thanks you in advance!

Thank you for your videos! What do you think about wall-mounted faucets for the kitchen? There's not a lot out there when I'm shopping for these wall-mounted kitchen faucets.

Great video! I really like that cabinet in the first pic you put up! Man you keep delivering interesting and informative content week in and week out!!! Keep up the great work!!! I’m a happy subscriber!!!

That junk drawer is a life saver!

this guy I like this guy also just realized I have no drawers in my kitchen

Although I agree about drawer banks with most RTA or IKEA cabinets with good quality full extension glides, I have one drawer bank in my current kitchen that is practically useless. A regular cabinet with a top drawer and full adjustable shelf on bottom would have worked better. Why? This cabinet is 15” wide and has 4 drawers that are all only 5” tall (drawer box opening height) with huge amount of wasted space between drawers. The inside measurement of each drawer is only 9.5” x 17.5” x 3.5” and they don’t have full extension glides! When I do the math I only have use of 21.5% of the space the cabinet takes up, without taking into account that the back 1/4 of each drawer is barely accessible! Even a cabinet with a fixed half shelf would have been more usable with bins and a hack to make the shelf full depth even if not adjustable. I’ve seen many drawer banks from various manufacturers that are similar in the cheaper lines at big box stores. So I would say to anyone looking at drawer units to pay attention to how they are made to determine how useful they will be. Sometimes adjustable shelves and after market bins might work better if their only choice for where they are and budget is cheap ready built. My opinion completely changed with IKEA not only because of full extension glides, but because if needed you could even change the drawer configuration down the road the way their cabinets are so modular.

We are currently redoing our kitchen and have several layout options. One that feels a little weird but has other benefits is to move the sink to the island and put the cooktop in front of the window. I’ve seen photos of some kitchens with cooktops/ranges in front of windows, but not many. We’re concerned with cleaning and the unusualness given that we plan to sell in 3-5 years. We have an option of the cooktop in the island, but are concerned with safety (with seating in the island), cleaning and don’t like a hood in the middle of the room. What are your thoughts on a cooktop in front of a widow? Thanks

Great advice!! The whole time I'm listening I distracted by the space behind you - I kept thinking is that how I should design my remodel - I wonder what the size of that kitchen is - was there a wall removed? So here I am writing a really long comment hoping you will talk back to me. tableid you open that space and add a header framed in the natural wood and do you think a dining table is necessary, could it be eliminated and replaced by an eat in island, or should some space be reserved for a table and chairs? Thanks for all your videos - education = creativity = design ideas!!

Larders? Who is the manufacturer of the one in your video ? It is truly beautiful!!

We have a small kitchen. My husband is convinced we need a bigger kitchen; he wants to knock down a wall and expand into our dining room. I, on the other hand, think we just need to rearrange things within the current footprint to create a more functional kitchen.

Who makes this fridge with the wine draw? So cool

Can you do a walk through to show how you designed a functional kitchen?

Can you create a way to easily bring down what is in upper cabinets? Clearly there is a way to bring up a mixer or something from down below.

My shallow drawers don't hold anything useful! An uninterrupted island is top of the wishlist for me. Thanks for all the tips

Curious the dimension between your island and fridge and if you think it's large enough and if your answer would change if the island extended the length of the entire fridge. Thanks!

Have you ever designed a small kitchen in that only has one window with sofits all around walls. Finding the soffits quite disturbing, hard to deal with in my kitchen redesign. If you have a video on this please share link . Thank you.

Im taking out one wall of uppers. Contractor hates it but he’s probably 6’ tall. Im tired of climbing a ladder lol

We’re building a dream home and we both wants to have our cooktop on the island but we’re not sure which range hood we should get. It’s quite scary because it’s quite unusual and we never had cooktop on the island before what’s your thoughts on this?

Draws in upper cabinets is not a good idea. That would be too many. Hahaha 😊

Ah the homeless items that find their home on the countertop! We all have these, don't we... Great video Mark 👍

What is r The is the width of your kitchen window? And what style is it?

Refresh my memory, please. What is your access to the back of the cabinet above your fridge? Pullouts?

I'm in the process of kitchen design and will have to sacrifice counter by fridge for pantry or do countertop and no pantry. It has me a little stressed out. 😂

Yes, a valuable video. You're 6' 1" ? Who knew?

I see we share the same maddness 🤣 28 drawers in my own kitchen

You had all my love until 6:55. As a designer, that little piece inside me dies - but not because of budget... Because : "standard". No, your base cabinets cannot be shorter because your dishwasher wont fit - No, your wall cabinets cannot be lowered because your Keurig and your air fryer will bake the finish off of them without the proper clearance. No Mark - and you know better! I was fine when you said for people to ask "why" - but telling them it's a "being cheap" or "too much work in my design program" reason isn't right, and it's not fair to anyone involved. We have standards for handicap accessible, and standards for every other thing that fits a kitchen and we have to always start with those. Where I can create custom options I will and I'll put the price tag next to several options so the buyer knows their investment - but to abandon good design basics for "short or tall" is a road fraught with disappointment later. Lastly, your point about selling the home in the short term is also exactly right - better stick to standard - but in these times people do not have the best handle on the real time they'll occupy that space. We all know the kitchen is the number 1 thing that makes a home sell - while it's also the number 1 thing that kills a deal, or sells for much less. You got me barking... but also sucked in- so I'll have to go watch more of your vids to see if this was just a fluke, or if you're just a rule breaker at heart! 🤣😘🤨

🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂

i have 1 drawer in my kitchen 😑

NO!!! The proper place for stuff that "accumulates" is not a kitchen island. It is a trashcan! Cabinet pantries just don't make sense. They take away countertop space for a small amount of extra storage.

Amazing videos mate. 100%. BUT FFS, please stop with the imperial measurements! The world uses METRIC! The US isn't the world!