How to store dishes in a base cabinet with drawers
May 2026In this article:
How to store dishes the ergonomic way
The ideal placement for dish storage
The Blum cabinet solution for dishes, cutlery and more
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Items such as plates, platters and bowls are often stored in wall cabinets, although their quantity, size and weight mean that a base cabinet is much more suitable.
Kitchen observations by Blum's research team have shown that many kitchen cabinets are often only equipped with one drawer for cutlery while the rest of the cabinets are simply shelves hidden behind doors. Unfortunately, this presents a number of disadvantages:
It's almost impossible to reach the stored items without bending down, rummaging around, stretching and straining.
Things stored at the back of the cabinet frequently get forgotten.
Cabinet contents are often disorganized due to the lack of organization systems.
Planning for pros
How to store dishes the ergonomic way
To make work in the kitchen even more efficient, a better cabinet concept is essential. Here are two points to keep in mind when planning for ergonomic access and clearly organized storage:
If you plan to store plates, bowls and other dishes in the kitchen, you should opt for a base cabinet with drawers – this combines the advantages of ergonomic access with a clear view of the drawer's contents.
Shallow drawers at the top of the cabinet are ideal for cutlery and the odds and ends found in most kitchens.
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Accessing dishes and cutlery
If processes in the kitchen are considered, it makes sense to store cutlery and plates in the same cupboard: this means everything is quickly to hand when setting the table or preparing to serve food. It's also ideal to combine this cabinet with the wall cabinet for cups and glasses. If these are positioned in the immediate vicinity of the dishwasher, putting the dishes away is a breeze. This not only saves effort in the kitchen, but time too.
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Speaking of wall cabinets, read this:
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Example of a base kitchen cabinet for dishes and cutlery
Blum's solution for a base kitchen cabinet maximizes storage space and ensures ergonomic access to dishes and servingware. Alongside plates, serving platters and cutlery, there's plenty of space in the drawers for storage containers to pack up leftover food at the end of the meal.
What's more, drawers equipped with an organization system guarantee a clear view of items for quick retrieval and prevents items from shifting around as the drawer opens and closes.
Scroll through the images below to see how Blum recommends planning each drawer in the base cabinet.
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Cutlery, chopsticks, serving spoons and even placemats are stored in the top drawer. We recommend using an organization system to keep similar items grouped together and to prevent items from shifting around in the drawer. Blum AMBIA-LINE and ORGA-LINE drawer organizers can be customized to fit the drawer width.
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Plates can be stacked and stored so that they are easily accessible in the spacious drawer. The Blum plate holder is recommended here. With an adjustable width and capacity to hold up to 12 plates per holder, this handy organizer fits plates of any size, keeps stacked plates from falling over and can be easily removed from the drawer when it's time to set the table.
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Storage containers and their lids can be stored in the bottom drawer of the base cabinet. After a meal, everything needed to put leftovers in the refrigerator is easily within reach. A customizable organization system that neatly and clearly separates containers and lids keeps the drawer uncluttered.
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At a glance: dish cabinet with drawers
Instead of a base cabinet with doors, we recommend planning a base cabinet with drawers to store dishes, cutlery and storage containers.
This is also the ideal place to store small items in an organized way.
Ideally, this base cabinet should be located close to the dishwasher to reduce back and forth trips while unloading clean dishes.
Customizable organization systems keep cutlery and storage containers well organized and easily accessible.
There's space for up to 12 plates in Blum's adjustable plate holder.
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