Cabinet Vs. Drawer: Which Is Best For Your Winnipeg Home?

Cabinets and drawers both play an important role in kitchens in Winnipeg—and in kitchens around the world. The right storage solution can make everything in your kitchen more accessible and easier to organize, all while beautifying your home.

In this article, we cover the pros and cons of cabinets and drawers, and why—in our estimation—most Winnipeg kitchens should feature both. Let’s get right into it! 

Pros And Cons Of Cabinets

Storage Capacity

Cabinets are typically larger than drawers; they also don’t require as much hardware, which helps save space. When you need a lot of storage space, cabinets are an excellent solution.

Another factor when considering storage capacity is the weight limit of cabinets vs. drawers. Cabinets are typically much better for holding heavy objects because there’s no mechanism required for pulling them out—and that means there’s no mechanism that can collapse under the weight of what you’ve put in your cabinet. Solid wood can hold a lot of weight. 

Accessibility And Organization

Accessibility and organization are a bit of a mixed bag for cabinets. On the plus side, cabinets tend to have large doors, and these doors can be very easy to open. You can use anything from large handles to push-to-open designs to open cabinet doors, which improves accessibility; cabinets can be an excellent choice for people who might be less able to slide open a drawer.

The downside is that cabinets don’t slide, and people who have a hard time opening drawers may also have a hard time moving heavy items to reach things at the back of a cabinet. Cabinets can also be a bit less simple to organize; they tend to be large boxes without very many features, so sorting items can be a bit more challenging.

Custom cabinets can help with this; they can be designed with built-in racks and other features to improve storage and organization. 

Cost And Durability

Cabinets are typically less expensive than drawers of the equivalent size, thanks to their simpler design. They also tend to be more durable than drawers for the same reason; there are fewer moving parts. 

Pros And Cons Of Drawers

Storage Versatility

Want to improve storage in your home? Drawers can be an excellent choice. There’s an incredible variety of accessories for drawers to make sorting items a breeze. Drawers can also fit into spaces where traditional cabinets cannot—toe-kick drawers and vertical drawers can all help you increase the amount of storage space available. 

Ease Of Access

Ease of access is where drawers truly shine. Like cabinets, drawers can be made to be easy to open—there are even push-to-open drawer designs. Most importantly, you can slide drawers out, allowing you to access items at the back of your drawer.

This makes drawers a tremendous choice for anyone with a large pantry, a lot of dinnerware, or a wide assortment of just about any other items you might find in a kitchen. Coupled with the storage versatility we discussed above, drawers are easy to organize—they’re the perfect choice for families looking to improve accessibility in their kitchens. 

Cost And Maintenance

Drawers typically cost more than cabinets of the same size and require a little more maintenance—you may need to repair the sliding mechanism, and cleaning out drawers is especially important to ensure that the mechanism doesn’t become clogged. 

When To Choose Cabinets Over Drawers

Cabinets are typically best when:

• You don’t need easy access to every item in the space

• You plan on storing heavy items

• You’re installing storage up high

• You’re installing storage in a corner

Corner cabinets with a Lazy Susan are typically better than corner drawers; you won’t be able to open two corner drawers simultaneously because they’d collide with each other. You’ll also want to choose cabinets when you want storage up high; if a drawer fails high up, it’s unsafe and can create catastrophic damage. That’s why you see a lot of upper cabinets and very few upper drawers.

Cabinets are great for storing dinnerware that you don’t use frequently, and heavy kitchen appliances. We recommend sorting the kitchen appliances you use the least to the back of the cabinet; you should also consider storing your heaviest objects in your base cabinets, so there’s no risk of heavy items falling on your head.  

When To Choose Drawers Over Cabinets

You should choose drawers when:

• You want to convert unused space into more storage space

• You want easy access to items

• You want to be able to organize items more effectively

Most of us already have a pretty good idea of the basics of kitchen drawers—they’re great for storing cooking utensils and other kitchen utensils, as well as small items like dish towels.

Cabinet-style drawers, also known as pull-out pantry cabinets, can also be used for storing small appliances, or even larger cookware. The size of a drawer can vary from shallow drawers to a large, drawer base cabinet—it all depends on your goals. 

The versatility of drawers makes them a great choice for awkward spaces; vertical drawers, toe-kick drawers, and other styles of drawers can help you increase storage space and make your kitchen easier to organize.

Combination Kitchens: The Best Of Both Worlds

Both drawers and cabinets play an important role in kitchen storage; why choose between the two? We recommend a combination of kitchen cabinets and kitchen drawers when you’re considering a remodel. 

Use corner cabinets and upper cabinets as kitchen cupboards, and for storing larger items. You can even place glass doors on kitchen cupboards for storing your more expensive dishware—that way, you can display them, even when they’re not in use.

Use drawers and pull-out cabinets for storing all kinds of items; spices, pantry foods, the dishware you use the most often, lighter cookware, small kitchen appliances, towels, and just about any other foods, seasonings, and accessories. 

Why Choose True Millwork For Your Kitchen Cabinets

At True Millwork, we build custom drawers and kitchen cabinets in Winnipeg—they’re designed to suit your aesthetics and your lifestyle. Not everyone needs a cabinet with a wine rack—and not everyone needs a pull-out pantry with a spice rack. Your storage solutions should match your lifestyle, and we can help.

Oh, and did we mention that all of our cabinets, pull-out cabinets, and drawers are handcrafted by our master millworkers? We can incorporate almost any material or finish you’d like, too—so whether you have a Scandinavian-style kitchen, a farmhouse kitchen, or anything in between, we can build the perfect cabinets and drawers for you.