Pull-out larder cabinet with lit shelves of jars and spices in a graphite kitchen

Features · Storage

Kitchen drawer organizers, larders and corner storage

A kitchen drawer organizer only works when the drawer is sized for what you own. We plan storage from the inside out — first your inventory, then the drawer that fits it, then the front — on Nolte’s system of drawer heights, interior organizers, larders and corner units. Reorganizing an existing kitchen? The sizes below make a useful checklist too.

Design your kitchen Visit the showroom

Illustrative interior

01Drawers, not doors

Why we plan drawers first

Behind a base-cabinet door, the back half of the shelf is always in the dark. Full-extension drawers bring everything forward, so we plan most base units as drawers. With Nolte’s Matrix800 carcass, drawer fronts come in 15, 20, 25 and 40 cm heights (about 6, 8, 10 and 16 in), combined in patterns such as 20/20/40 — and two flat inner drawers can sit behind a single 20 cm front for cutlery and small tools.

A kitchen drawer organizer then fixes everything in place. Nolte’s inserts include cutlery trays, spice inserts, knife blocks, foil and wrap dispensers, boxes, length and cross dividers, slot-in function bases and anti-slip mats, so a drawer stays tidy even when it opens and closes quickly.

02Organizer materials

Kitchen drawer organizer inserts in plastic or solid wood

Interior organizers come in five finishes. Wood inserts are usually chosen to match the fronts or worktop.

Quartz gray
Black
Solid beech
Solid oak
Solid black ash

Quartz gray: Basic plastic inserts; easy to wash
Black: Plastic; disappears in dark drawers
Solid beech: Light, warm wood
Solid oak: Pairs with oak fronts and worktops
Solid black ash: Dark wood with visible grain

Tall oak cabinets with illuminated glass display and rounded island — Nolte Küchen design

03Pantry

Pull-out larders and tall pantry cabinets

A pull-out larder — sometimes called an apothecary unit — slides the whole column of shelves out of the tall cabinet, and you can reach it from both sides. Where a wider pantry suits you better, Nolte offers larder units with height-adjustable baskets and carousel larder shelves. Tall units are planned at 105, 160, 200 or 215 cm (about 41, 63, 79 or 85 in), so a pantry can run to the same line as the ovens and refrigerator.

For deep base runs, extra-deep 75 cm (29.5 in) units give about 32% more storage than the 60 cm standard, and plinth drawers turn the space at floor level into storage for trays and baking sheets.

04Corners & waste

The two places most kitchens waste space

Le Mans corner unit
Shelves swing fully out of the blind corner; planned at 110, 115 or 125 cm (43–49 in) wide and available with battery LED.
Carousel corner
A corner base unit with rotating shelves where the run is too short for Le Mans.
Waste sorting
Sink base units with pull-out sorting systems at 45, 50 or 60 cm (17.7–23.6 in) wide; larger systems from 60 to 120 cm.
Bottles & drinks
Narrow units from 15 cm (5.9 in) for bottles and trays; a 40 cm drawer front can hold drinks crates.

05Planning

How we plan your storage

01
Inventory
List or photograph what you keep: pans, small appliances, pantry goods, recycling.
02
Zone it
Each item is assigned to the zone where it is used — next to the cooktop, the sink or the dishwasher.
03
Size the drawers
Front heights and interiors are chosen per zone, then the fronts are designed over them.

06Related

Storage within the whole plan

Storage depends on the layout: an L-shaped kitchen has one corner to solve, a U-shape two. Drawer runners and hinges are covered on hardware and gadgets, and lit drawers on LED lighting. Back to all kitchen features, or plan your drawers with us at a showroom consultation.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Still deciding? Call +1 (213) 776-0000 or send us your plan.

Ask a designer

What is the best organizer for a blind corner cabinet?

A swing-out unit such as Nolte’s Le Mans brings the shelves completely out of the corner, so nothing is lost at the back. In shorter runs a carousel unit is the practical alternative.

How wide should a pull-out trash cabinet be?

For a family that sorts recycling, 50–60 cm (about 20–24 in) holds two to four bins. Nolte’s sink units with waste sorting come at 45, 50 and 60 cm, with larger systems up to 120 cm.

Is a pull-out pantry better than a pantry cabinet with shelves?

A pull-out larder shows everything at once and is reachable from both sides, which suits narrow units. Wider pantries work well with adjustable baskets or interior drawers behind the doors.

Can drawer organizers be added later?

Many inserts can be added to Nolte drawers later; we confirm which are available for US orders. Planning them up front simply lets us size the drawers around what you own.