What’s in your Drawers?

Nancy welcomed back Jan Rutgers, kitchen designer and founder of Vestabul School of Design, to chat about the ergonomic use of drawers in the kitchen which has become a very important element in kitchen design. You will find this podcast enlightening and very interesting. Find the show notes below:

Refrigeration

• The first appliance to really embrace drawers was refrigerators.

Dual Drawers

• The upper end of the appliance market took the lower freezer drawer to the next level by developing refrigerators with two freezer drawers.

Convertible Drawers – Ref/Freezer

• Another configuration to hit the market was a bottom mount refrigerator with a “convertible” drawer.
• For a functional design, refrigerators with bottom freezer drawers was a win!

Undercounter Refrigerator dDawers

• Manufacturers produced all freezer drawers, all refrigerator drawers and combination refrigerator/freezer drawers.
• This development also opened up opportunities for the Kitchen Designer to place refrigeration in multiple locations within the kitchen.
• Refrigeration could now be easily placed on an island or a peninsula.

Warming Drawers

• These appliances evolved from the lower drawer that was standard on free-standing ranges.
• Specifying one under the cooktop or near the dining table are great spots for this handy appliance.

Cup Warming Drawers

• These cup warming drawers are ideally placed under the coffee maker to keep your expresso or latte cup warm, producing a coffee house experience every time.

Dishwashers

• Dishwasher Drawers offer an ergonomic alternative to swing down doors – first introduced to the North American market by the New Zealand manufacturer Fisher & Paykel.
• A single dishwasher drawer in the beverage bar for easy glass washing is a good example.

Microwaves

• one of the best drawer appliance introductions has been the microwave drawer.
• The microwave has always been a difficult appliance to place functionally and aesthetically in the Kitchen.
• The microwave company Sharpe was the first to introduce the microwave drawer. Held a design contest showing the microwave in a drawer.

Vacuum Seal Drawers

• The newest appliance drawer introduction for the Kitchen is the Vacuum Seal Drawer..
• A vacuum seal drawer is a chamber-style drawer that can do a variety of things.
• It can be used to better preserve frozen foods, it removes air to prepare for sous vide cooking and infuses flavors into proteins, vegetables, and oils.

Appliance drawers are a trend that will continue for Kitchen Appliances. Consumers will not want to give up the convenience of sliding out a drawer to access appliances under the counter.

This podcast sponsored by Thermador Appliances & Monogram Appliances

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