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oldalgebra

Corner storage

oldalgebra
15 years ago

Looks like I may not be able to avoid the dreaded corner black hole.

If money were not a object, which one would you install?

This one, A.

{{!gwi}}Â Â

Or this one, B.

{{!gwi}}Â

Or this one, C.{{!gwi}}

Comments (28)

  • worldmom
    15 years ago

    If forced to choose, I would go with A or C, but definitely not B. I have B now in two corner bases, and stuff is forever getting caught in there. It's also hard to clean. In our case, we were able to eliminate corners altogether because our cabinet runs end at perpendicular walls or doorways, but in the plan we were going to use prior to deciding to move a doorway, we were going to sacrifice the base corner space and go with two regular base cabinets with dead space in the middle. We won't have tons of cabinets, but that's how much I hate those dreaded corners! ;o)

  • chicoryflower
    15 years ago

    Definitely C. I have "B" and it's awful (it's not so much the lazy susan, but the door style). With A, the stuff inside appears still difficult to get to. My next kitchen will have no corners!!!

    The kind with the doors attached to the lazy susan can be dangerous to fingers when you're in a hurry. I know it's no one of your choices, but I figured I'd mention it.

  • jayne s
    15 years ago

    Somebody here came up with another idea. Can't remember who it was.

    She had the cabinet fitted with 2 roll-out trays that mostly sit in the blind corner. The rest of the cabinet is what you see when you open the door. She stored extra supplies in the roll-outs and regular stuff in the forward part of the cabinet. The downside is that to get at the stuff in the roll-outs, the other stuff needs to be moved out of the way. I think she was storing soda and other staple items in the blind corner. The roll-outs weren't mounted on shelves but on runners so the outside section was very open.

    jayne

  • laxsupermom
    15 years ago

    How about voiding the corner so you can have a larger drawer cab next to the corner, then opening the void from the other side ala buehl's pet station?

  • cotehele
    15 years ago

    I've read here that people don't like A because access to the shelves inside the cabinet are blocked by the shelves on the door. It would work if only items rarely needed are stored in the blind section of the cabinet. C seems the best choice to me.


    Jaynesb, My corner is 33'' long, but the blind is only 12'' wide. The door is 21''. I can't find anything that fits without altering the blind corner unit. The idea of pullout shelves that pull sideways into the opening is worth working with.

  • jayne s
    15 years ago

    The person who did the roll-out trays is arlosmom. The thread is no longer displaying the pictures but I found a web album.

    I suspect that the implementation cost for something like this is probably significantly less than for one of the blind corner systems.

    I'm trying to provide the link to a web album where I can see the picture. There are a few photos labeled "blind corner" on what is currently the second page of the album.

    jayne

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

  • arlosmom
    15 years ago

    It might be my cabinet that jayne described. I call it my Costco cabinet because it stores all the bulk stuff that I only need to get to occasionally. Like jayne said, I sometimes need to take out what is in front of the sliders to be able to extend them, but that's not a big deal to me. (The cabinets hadn't been painted yet in this photo...)

    {{!gwi}}
    {{!gwi}}
    {{!gwi}}

  • cotehele
    15 years ago

    Jayne, thanks!

    Arlosmom, I was just looking at your album. Your kitchen is perfect for your house. It's beautiful! The Costco cabinet is exactly what I need. Were the sliding drawers added by CP or did you add them?

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you, everyone.
    The GC is trying like heck to get me to keep my corners. I admit, I will not have as much upper cabinet space if I have the two parallel cabinets runs go straight to the wall (and space is precious in my tiny kitchen). But I can't stand the thought of ending up with those blind corners after sinking so much money into a redo. Plus, I can make use of some room in an adjacent closet for a microwave and pantry, if I go to the wall.
    He's coming by this morning to show me why my plan won't work. My only worry is that it might LOOK funny. Is he right? I've posted this before, I know. It's just that I'm so worried I'll do the wrong thing, I can't think straight and don't want him to talk me into something I'd be sorry for later.
    {{!gwi}}

  • arlosmom
    15 years ago

    cotehele, Crownpoint installed the sliders. The cabinet is pretty handy.

    oldagebra, in the plan, is the pantry full-height? If so, I'd be afraid that it would make access to everything in the corner very awkward. Maybe if the pantry was less deep, like 12", it would be less of an obstacle to reaching the corner space.

  • jayne s
    15 years ago

    It might be hard to get things in and out of your microwave if you are standing off to the side.

    Also, for what it's worth, a 9-inch cabinet is very small. If you end up needing any kind of spacer, your resulting space will be tiny. Also, if you have a cabinet door that swings open, you'll probably want to install something to keep the door from banging into what's on the side.

    jayne

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Arlosmom,
    Here is what I imagine the end wall to look like.
    {{!gwi}}

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Actually, the pantry would be about 20 inches wide.

  • cotehele
    15 years ago

    Have you tried stretching across a 28'' counter to reach sideways into a microwave? I have long arms, and I don't think I could reach to the back to clean it (at the very least).

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Good point. I only thought about putting a dish in or pulling it out, which means I'd only have to reach the front. I never thought about cleaning the far corner.

  • terezosa / terriks
    15 years ago

    In our old house we had the dreaded lazy susan in the corner. Dreaded, because stuff would always fall off and it didn't hold that much anyway. In the new house I had them just install stationary shelves with the hinged door that give is access to the entire corner, like the door in picture B. It works well for us. I store rarely used items in the back and frequently used items in the front.

  • homepro01
    15 years ago

    I don't know where you are getting your cabinets from, but can you get this from them? Blum makes a corner sink cabinet.

    Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Blum Space corner

  • marzhere
    15 years ago

    Not one of your listed choices, but we have a corner recycling center and love it. Two bins are used for recycling and the third for trash.

    Here is a link that might be useful: KV Corner Recycling Center

  • plllog
    15 years ago

    I have three corners with the 3/4 lazy susans in the old kitchen, simliar to option B, but each sits on its own shelf so there's no center pole in the way, and whatever falls off just ends up on the shelf. And they're solid so stuff doesn't fall through. I don't really like them but they're a very efficient use of space. I use them for pantry items, as they fit better than larger things, and when you turn the susan the item comes out of the cover of the cupboard (like on a pull out shelf). Because there's no pole on mine they're no harder to clean than any fixed shelf, deep cabinet. And the susan trays themselves are easy to clean because they rotate out of the cupboards.

    I still hate them. I'm planning to get the corner drawers in Homepro's link above. They're not as space efficient, but easy to use and don't have that hinged door (which precludes hardware as well). :) But if I can't get the depths I want (still in discussions with the cabinet maker) I'll get the 3/4 susans.

    Arlosmom, love that Costco cupboard!! That looks like a great idea for my laundry room. Thanks!

  • Buehl
    15 years ago

    Of the three original choices, I would definitely pick B with a different door & shelves...I had a Lazy Susan in my old kitchen and it held an amazing amount of stuff. Nothing ever fell off b/c the wall of the cabinet followed the contours of the shelves. It wasn't a super susan, it was one w/a pole down the middle (like your picture). All my pots & pans fit in it! It was also the one cabinet that after almost 13 years was NOT falling apart!

    I had originally thought I would have one in my new kitchen and planned to use it to store all my small appliances (blender, food processor, waffle iron, etc.) But my DH wanted the Pet Center so I lost it. (I now use valuable pantry space for my small appliances, but the Pet Center made my DH happy, so it was worth it.)

    All that being said, my lazy susan had a couple of differences from your picture that I think are key....

    Door: The door of my lazy susan was attached to the shelves so it rotated inward when I opened the cabinet. The doors you show would (1) get in the way and (2) bang against adjacent cabinets.

    Shelves: My shelves were a heavy-duty plastic with a very small raised lip. They were very easy to keep clean and nothing fell through to the lower shelf or floor of the cabinet.

    I think an ideal lazy susan is a super susan (no center pole) + the door & shelves I had.

    The one linked here is very similar to what mine was:

    http://www.netshops.com/general/products.cfm?action=view&key=PME019

    And, here's a picture of my old kitchen, the LS is in the only corner!

    {{!gwi}}

    Yes, there's a gap around the doors, but remember, these were not only builder-grade cabinets, but they were also the lowest rated cabinets by Consumer Reports at the time!


    Microwave: Try mounting it at an angle so it's easier to reach...like a corner upper cabinet down to the counter.

  • pbrisjar
    15 years ago

    We have a corner cab that, eventually, will get fitted with something in-between what alrosmom has done and C. This will be more DIY work so not sure yet how it will turn out.

    A request: If anyone has C, I would LOVE to see some detailed pics of the mechanism.

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Oh, I can see that it might work better than I formally thought. Thank you so, so, so, so much. I feel better about this now.

  • Buehl
    15 years ago

    One note about the "blind corner" units...if something falls off, you will have to crawl back there to get it out. And, most likely, you will not be able to swing the shelves back in or close the door until you do so.

    When we were cabinet shopping our KD showed us one so we could see our options, but she did not recommend it for that reason. She said she had had several customers come back later and tell her they really wish they had gone w/a lazy susan instead.

  • homepro01
    15 years ago

    Oldalgebra,
    Where will the corner cabinet go? I was going to suggest some other configurations but I don't know where the corner will fit in your kitchen layout.
    Good luck!

  • oldalgebra
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    The corners are at each turn in the U-shaped layout that Buehl drew for me about a week ago. The contractors feel that the plan I showed above doesn't give me enough cabinet space and I fear they are right.
    Here is the plan.
    {{!gwi}}
    As it turns out, I will not be able to place my sink and DW as you see here. They will have to switch places (which is where they are right now). They can't be placed like that, as I'll have almost no place to stand so that I can empty the dishwasher! Oh, well!

  • laxsupermom
    15 years ago

    No offense, but you're contractors may be great at what they do, but they probably don't spend as much time in their kitchens as the folks who hang out here. The galley gives far more usable cabinet and counter space than the U particularly with the version with the recessed pantry. I like buehl's suggestion on putting an angled corner for the MW. Most of your food stores should fit in that pantry leaving the rest of your cupboards for pot/pan/dish storage. Anyone who feels that a 33" corner susan creates more usable storage than a 33" drawer base isn't thinking clearly. More space, yes;more usable space, no.

  • homepro01
    15 years ago

    I agree with Laxsupermom. The lazy susans are not functional in that layout. If this is what you want and you understand the limitations, then definitely do it. But the galley offers the most space. Can you hang wall cabinets on top of the sink cabinet as a separator to your dining room? They can be glass on both sides to create a feeling of openness.

    Good luck!

  • tbugera
    15 years ago

    I installed a void corner in the one corner i had in my kitchen. Argument, how much "useful space" do you actually gain with all the mechanical stuff taking up storage space and how more difficult is it to access your stuff. i have four two foot wide drawers on one side of the void and two 1 foot wide drawers adjacent to the four (the bottom drawer tall enough for cutting board and cookie sheets). . My builder insisted and after a bunch of research i agreed, much easier to access stuff and so much easier to use. After having used my new kitchen for 6 months I wouldn't change it.

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