Kitchen Drawer Organizer - Adding a Double Drawer to Existing Cabinet

We've been working hard on a tiny house for a client the past few weeks.  This week's video shares a few of the projects we've been working on inside the tiny house -

How about that amazing new Kreg Jig?  

Kitchen Drawer Organizer

I'm so glad we tackled the kitchen drawer organizer hack.  It works really well, and doubled the storage space options in the one drawer.  Just in case any of you want to take this kitchen drawer organizer hack on in your own home, I thought I'd share a photo tutorial with more specifics as well.

You will need a drawer that is at least 5-1/2" deep.  This drawer we made with 1x6s.  

Determine Smaller Drawer Width - Measure the inside width of the drawer.  You will need to make your smaller drawer 1" less in width than this measurement.  I made my smaller drawer overall width of 13".

Determine Length of Smaller Drawer - Measure the length of the inside of your existing drawer.  Drawer slides come in specific sizes, I recommend making the smaller drawer to the largest size possible for drawer slides.  I used 20" Full Extension Drawer Slides by Liberty.  The ful extension part is important so the smaller drawer can be pushed completely free of the larger drawer.  So I made my smaller drawer overall length of 20".

Building the Smaller Drawer - Once you know your outside dimensions, use 1x3s to build it.  Cut the sides to the length of the drawer (20" on my drawer).  Then cut the width pieces 1-1/2" smaller than your desired width (my cuts were 11-1/2").  You can cut additional divider pieces too.  I used a combination of Kreg Pocket Holes and nails to assemble.

Cutting Back out of Bigger Drawer - You'll need to cut the back out of your bigger drawer to allow the smaller drawer to pass through.  I juse used a jigsaw and cut it out.  Make sure you cut big enough to allow the drawer to pass, but not too big that your drawer no longer has strength.

Install the Drawer Slides - Install the drawer slides per instructions.  Make sure they are very square, if the drawer doesn't slide smoothly, the drawer slides may be off just a tiny bit.  TIP: I cut a block to fit under the cabinet member when installing to hold the drawer slide in place while I attached it.  

Insert Smaller Drawer Into Larger Drawer - Now it's time to see if the kitchen utensil drawer is going to actually work!  If the drawer doesn't slide very smoothly, adjust the drawer slides until you are happy.

Fastest Most Durable Way to Protect the Wood

For a durable and quick clear top coat, I always turn to Varathane Triple Thick -

It's one coat instead of many, that dries fast and is very easy to apply.  It is very durable, we put this stuff on tabletop and you can scrub and scrub and scrub and it just keeps on protecting.

If you build, do share, we'd love to see how your project turns out too!

Have a great one!

Ana