When planning a kitchen project, although aesthetics is important, it’s actually its functionality that will make a huge difference in day-to-day use. To design practical yet elegant kitchens, one of the key aspects of Santos furniture is the amount of storage space it has. The pull-out drawer and module systems are the cornerstone of organisation as they enable easy access to the contents inside.
Plenty of storage space
For base units, Santos recommends using drawers and double drawers, which are substantially more practical than units with doors.
In recent years, the surface area of homes has shrunk while appliances have grown in size. In order to adapt to these new circumstances, Santos has created several kitchen storage systems that provide the greatest capacity possible in a small amount of space.
Instead of standard 50 cm deep drawers, Santos has drawers that come in five different depths (from 30 to 65 cm) and 11 widths (from 30 to 120 cm). These make it easy to adapt to any kind of space, making it the widest range on the market.
Furthermore, to make the most of all the available space, the kitchen manufacturer has developed a plinth drawer system, which – as its name suggests – replaces the standard plinth to add an additional storage space.
In addition, aesthetics remains at the forefront, as the interior and exterior finishes are fully customisable to maintain the consistency of the kitchen. There are two versions for top drawers: standard, with an Earth Walnut finish in melamine, and HGA in natural veneered wood in Olive Ash or American Walnut. As for the double drawers, they’re available in a Pearl White finish (only for the HGA variant) or a Graphene finish.
The thickness of the components of these systems has also been optimised to further increase their storage capacity. This way, the units are slimmer while maintaining their resistance. To guarantee their strength and useful life, all drawers are subjected to rigorous quality controls to ensure they can withstand at least 200,000 opening and closing cycles.
Tiers of storage designed for every use
In order to adapt to the specific needs of each project, Santos offers up to four tiers of storage per unit.
The first tier is designed to store the most commonly used items (cutlery, spices, etc.). This drawer type has a modular base, which can be personalised with mobile and interchangeable accessories such as knife racks, spice racks, bread boards, cutlery trays, etc.
Santos recommends using the second tier to store crockery and food. To safely store crockery, the kitchen manufacturer proposes a system that consists of a moisture-resistant plywood board with wooden pegs that can be adjusted to the size of each plate. Likewise, there are other accessories to divide the inside of drawers and organise their contents such as, for example, wooden boxes, pull-out wooden containers, a bread box, bottle rack or board rack.
The third tier of drawers is intended for the storage of kitchen utensils: pots, pans and other large items. You can go for the divider accessory so you can easily organise the contents according to size. It’s also advisable to add the non-slip liner mat to keep items inside from sliding around whenever the drawer is opened or closed.
As mentioned previously, Santos proposes a fourth tier of storage – the plinth drawer unit – which is suitable for both small spaces and kitchens where it’s necessary to increase the amount of useful space. This way, the capacity of the unit expands all the way down to the floor, making the most of its full height. It’s extremely versatile, as it can hold both utensils or food. Likewise, it has a mechanical push-to-open system that makes it easy to open. Its fronts tilt inwards to prevent tripping when working near the worktop.
Smart opening systems
Santos offers two push-to-close systems, developed to make it easy to open drawers and double drawers regardless of their size and load.
One of them is the electric assisted-opening system (SAA), which consists of a vertical profile with ejectors attached to the back of the unit. It’s activated by gently pressing on the drawer front.
The other one is the mechanical assisted-opening system (SAA-MC) which makes it possible to do away with handles. It comes with a mechanical ejector, which automatically opens the drawer once the front is pressed. It’s a great alternative to SAA as it doesn’t require a power supply.
