The expensive drawer is open. The stockpot is beside it. This is an awkward moment to discover that outside drawer height and inside storage height are different measurements.
Measure the inconvenient collection
Bring the biggest pan, the mixer bowl, the tall blender jug, and the stack of everyday plates into the planning conversation. On one kitchen, the stockpot fitted our proposed drawer until the owner put its lid back on. We changed the drawer arrangement before the order went in and kept a door cupboard for the mixer. Measure the usable clear height with the drawer installed, allowing for any rail, drawer, or other obstruction above it. The front height alone will not tell you what fits.
Drawers often make daily items easier to see. Cupboards can accommodate awkward heights with fewer horizontal divisions. Neither is automatically better throughout a kitchen. The mix matters more than winning the argument for one type.
Try the open version
At a showroom, open the drawer fully and stand where the cook would stand. Imagine another person crossing behind you. Try lifting a heavy pot from the proposed height, rather than just admiring how smoothly the empty drawer moves. For a door cabinet, reach to the back with a comparable item. If you have to remove two things to retrieve the third, reserve that space for equipment you use less often.
Ask for the internal dimensions and the rated load of the exact hardware. Blum’s TANDEMBOX information describes full-extension access; that feature does not tell you whether your chosen cabinet fits your particular appliance.
Spend the clever hardware where it helps
Our preference is easy access for the things lifted every day, with a deliberately sized cupboard for the odd-shaped equipment. Add dividers after deciding what belongs there. Buying an immaculate grid of organizers first is a surprisingly efficient way to organize the wrong kitchen.