Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
artemis78

What should we do with this corner? Augh....

artemis78
14 years ago

So we have one corner in our layout, and it's turning into a huge frustration. I think I've seen most of the corner variations at this point, but just can't figure out what the best plan is here. A blind corner of some variety seems to works best (not really enough space on the sink side for a lazy susan or a Blum Space Corner plus an adjacent drawer bank to fill the balance of the space). I'm just having a hard time seeing how to fit the items that need to get stored there into the format of a blind corner in some way. Wondered if anyone had any creative ideas or has a corner that they're using for these kinds of items!

Here's our plan (ignore the codes, which were for a cabinetmaker):

The legs of the corner are roughly 21" on the sink side and 27" on the range side (though that can be tweaked if we move the range closer, as in this version of the plan). So we can work with blind corner solutions that use 18"-21" doors.

On the sink side, the space ideally stores: flatware, clean and dirty towels separately, and wraps/bags/etc. These seem to scream for drawers, and I'm at a loss as to how a blind corner would work for storage for any of this.

On the range side, we need to store pots, pans, lids, cooking utensils, and small appliances (blender, rice cooker, etc.) between the two cabinets. Seems like there's some potential for putting some of this into a blind corner pullout in some way, although I had really hoped to have the pots at least in deep drawers. (I don't want to make the cabinet on the right bigger than 21"---ideally it's 18"---since that corner is already pretty tight.)

And then our last option is to just make this a true blind corner and do two drawer banks. We lose some storage space, which is a concern since we don't have that much to begin with---but the storage we do have is then better suited to the things we need to store there.

Is there a good solution here? In a small kitchen, is it worth giving up storage space quantity for quality?

And finally, do any of you store your pots and pans in a blind corner pullout and think it works pretty well, or am I just going to be frustrated having daily use items there? I think I'd be fine with it for appliances if I could figure out another solution for the pots and pans, but am really worried about using that as the only storage for them.

Thanks!

Comments (6)

  • remodelfla
    14 years ago

    DId you see what Arlosmom did? Very creative. I"ve link the thread with her kitchen below on the link. Also Here's a URL with threads I found just doing a search.
    http://ths.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=blind+corner&forum=kitchbath&forum_name=Kitchens

    Here is a link that might be useful: Creative blind corner solution

  • bmorepanic
    14 years ago

    Just some technicalities for this soon to be snowy morning.

    When you have a corner like that, no matter what you put there, both sides need to have some filler space - a minimum of 1.5" per side. The filler is to allow for door swings and handles so the opposing unit don't run into each other.

    You might have already allowed for this or might not, but the 21" cabinet would become an 18" cabinet and with a 27" opening for the blind corner cabinet, it would be fine, the "filler" is usually built-in to the cabinet and adjustable. You would have a 24" opening.

    If you decide on the blind corner, consider half moon shelves all the way up for your cookware. I don't know your decorating tastes, but maybe a "shield wall" behind the door or as backsplash - some ikea gruntal rails and line up your lids behind the bar.

    If you decide to have a drawer unit instead, remember that you must still have that filler on both sides - still an 18" cabinet and a 24" drawer cabinet.

  • arlosmom
    14 years ago

    My blind corner, as it's designed, is a great solution for pretty limited applications. I only store stuff that I need infrequently on the sliders. The main cavity of the cabinet is great for tall or bulky items (like Costco's jumbo pack of toilet paper, 50 lbs. of dog food or the enormous crab pot). But I definitely don't have it configured for heavy every day use.

    If I were using my blind corner for pots and pans like remodelfla suggested, I'd make a few changes. First, I'd hinge the door on the other side so that it swung 180 degrees out of the way, and I'd install a rack for holding lids or foils and wraps or something useful (but lightweight) on the door. On the inside of the cabinet, I'd put hooks or pegboard with hooks on the side wall opposite the sliders to hang skillets or smaller pans that could remain in place when the sliders pull out. I'd probably look into a short rolling pullout mechanism to install on the floor of the main cabinet to pull out of the way for the sliders (you'd just need to make sure it pulls out far enough and that the lower slider would clear the tracks of the pullout).

    I think there are probably a lot of creative ways to improve what I have for more active storage. You'd just have to plan carefully to make sure everything you add clears each other in open and shut positions. I'm a huge fan of the Container Store and they have lots of creative options that you could combine.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • karen_belle
    14 years ago

    I've been fantasizing about something I'll call "The Batman Corner Solution." It would involve having drawers on either side of the corner. The dead space would be accessible by foot-tap and would rise up out of the base cabinets. Of course, it would do so in segments, since there's only going to be 18" of head room there. So the counterop would lift up to, say, 16", and then the first shelf would come up. You'd have to move that shelf out of the way to get to the shelf below, so perhaps that last bit of storage is only for things you'd use once a year, LOL.

    I would go ahead and market this now, but I haven't yet solved the problem of the seams you'd need in the countertop. They'd get pretty crumby, and wouldn't look very good. Darn.

  • Gena Hooper
    14 years ago

    Bmorepanic, thanks for the min. corner clearance number. I wasn't sure what was needed as we design our blind corner.

    I'm seriously thinking about using Arlosmom's solution, but before that, the leading candidate for our problem corner was the Lee Valley corner. It had some good recommendations (maybe at ikeafans? Sorry...I don't remember exactly...), and looked useful.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley corner

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks all---yep, we have filler factored in, so the door would be 18" on the sink side or 21" on the pots side. It's actually the primary reason we're looking at face frame cabinets, because we need so much filler in that corner and we also need 3" of filler to the left of the sink to center it, so it seemed wiser to just do face frame and build it all into the frames evenly.

    I love Arlosmom's solution, but had thought it probably wouldn't work super well in a corner where we would be storing a lot of heavier things that got daily use. I'll have to think through all of the modification suggestions to see if that might work---thanks!

    And karen_belle, love the Batman solution! I could totally see that working as a way to hide an appliance or something....we once looked at a house that had a classic 1960s kitchen, and if you pushed a button the toaster fell out of the wall for you to use. You could hide a microwave down there somehow with a little ingenuity! :)

Sponsored
Custom Home Works
Average rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars10 Reviews
Franklin County's Award-Winning Design, Build and Remodeling Expert