Stuck Drawer

This entry is part 12 of 14 in the series Usernotes

I’m in a Tokyo hotel room, and there is a small chest of drawers. I usually open the drawer and put in my clothes if the stay will be more than one night. However, this drawer won’t budge. What’s the problem?

Open DrawerThe drawer has its handle on the top, as opposed to the bottom. This results in two face plants. The first is that we usually expect the handle (the opening affordance) to be on the bottom of the drawer. Since the groove is hidden when the drawer is closed, I did not see it until after I had tried to grip the drawer on the bottom. The second is that you need to press down in order to open the drawer. This causes it to press harder into the rails, and makes it more difficult to open.

Suggested Solutions:

Place the groove on the bottom of the drawer.

I’m not sure about this, but the drawer slider rail mechanism doesn’t seem to be very good. This may actually be damage done to it by months of being pressured.