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m_n_a

smart corner cabinet door design!

M_N_A
10 years ago

you may already know but I was looking for a better corner door design and finally found this.

I think it's much better than the typical 2 door hinged in the center corner cabinet door as it always seems awkward to me.

hopefully it's not too difficult to modify to have this work

Comments (22)

  • Fori
    10 years ago

    There must be something wrong with it or everyone would do it!

    It looks good! I'm suspicious!! :P

  • granada222
    10 years ago

    Where did these pix come from, a certain line of cabinets? Or are they retrofitted? I'm intrigued.

  • smiling
    10 years ago

    It appears to come from Greenheart Online, a British cabinet company. Here's a link to their site:

    Here is a link that might be useful: UK cabinet company that makes this

  • rantontoo
    10 years ago

    This looks much better than other options I hav seen; I suspect the drawback is that the door with the right-corner piece cannot be opened unless the other door is already open; closing would also require the right-angled door to be closed first to avoid damaging the other door. I am not sure about my assumption so I would love to know about opening/closing issue from a person who has this type of upper cabinet design. I really like the fact that knobs can be used on both doors instead of one. What would this corner cabinet door design look like with non- inset cabinets?

  • rantontoo
    10 years ago

    This looks much better than other options I hav seen; I suspect the drawback is that the door with the right-corner piece cannot be opened unless the other door is already open; closing would also require the right-angled door to be closed first to avoid damaging the other door. I am not sure about my assumption so I would love to know about opening/closing issue from a person who has this type of upper cabinet design. I really like the fact that knobs can be used on both doors instead of one. What would this corner cabinet door design look like with non- inset cabinets?

  • athomeinvagw
    10 years ago

    My upper corner cabinet is similar to this except mine is just two regular doors with one handle on the door that opens first. The additional piece that makes the left door an L may make the added knob or handle hard to grip and it may look odd when the doors are closed and two knobs are so close to each other in a corner.
    I do like the set up but it is a two step opening process to access the entire cabinet. I keep the most used items on the side that opens first so that I only have to open the one door most of the time.

  • GreenDesigns
    10 years ago

    The actual opening is smaller than with a single door because the thickness of the second door impacts the clear space for the opening. (That's the biggest functional drawback, IMHO.) It's more awkward to use because of the two doors rather than the single. You always have to open two doors to access everything, and you MUST close one door before the other. Don't ask me, but some people will absolutely hate that bit. They're the same people who hate french door fridges. Nothing beats a good quality super susan with the single door for ability to have access to the most corner space with the least amount of effort.

  • laughablemoments
    10 years ago

    I had something similar in a lower corner cabinet, except we had a sliding curtain on it. It required me to sit on the floor to get the items in the far reaches of the cabinet. I would still prefer a lazy susan or Korner King that would move the back items up to the front where I could reach them easily.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Korner King

  • M_N_A
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't mind the 2 step opening process. I will trade that for a jerky folding door any day:)

    @athomeinva can you please share some photo of the cabinet? is there any overlap required so that the doors would have full coverage and would not hit each other

  • firstmmo
    10 years ago

    I really like this for the corner and especially because I have inset cabs, this should be easy to implement! I am forwarding this to my cabinet maker!

  • thepeppermintleaf
    10 years ago

    We were discussing the corner in our kitchen today- and I am very excited by what we've decided to do. It is going to be a combination of the korner king idea and corner drawers - when the drawers are in the entire thing will spin to access the side shelves (but there will be no doors to open). Of course we will probably have to make it ourselves, but it will be so worth it!!

    I like the picture you posted though, it looks very nice!! Reaching everything in the back of the corner might be difficult though...

  • herbflavor
    10 years ago

    altho it looks nice, the reality of use would be far less than ideal, leaving yourself a less optimal space and long term not a really helpful option. I would probably have one door on one side or the other and leave the other door off completely and reconfigure some shelves on the open side to be really useable handy shelves...the thrust of the cabinet maker's effort would be to get the shelves proper so it is a useable space if you don't want a susan. What you are doing is spending time figuring out"special" doors to a space which ends up a less desirable storage area. Two negatives.

  • Elraes Miller
    10 years ago

    I have never been a fan of lazy susan cabinets. Must be a clutz, pinching fingers are a norm closing them. The odd slide outs interest me, but tough call to retrofit. Giving up on lazy susans for anything but large kitchen items so those little things don't fall into never land. And I don't really see a full use of the area regardless of how one is designed.

    I do like the shelf idea shown. More due to a cleaner look and easier to get to things. Large items would work too if the unit is deep enough and shelves at right levels. The door issue will always be there for corners.

  • athomeinvagw
    10 years ago

    Again, mine is an upper but the idea is the same. The cabinet maker did make one door long enough to close over the inset space that is perpendicular to it.
    My corner is asymmetrical, the left side is shorter than the right so that I could have more symmetrical surrounding cabinets. My only mistake was that the longer side is the one that must be opened second but the side that opens first is still very useful when opened alone. I keep small items like coffee supplies and measuring cups there and can easily get them out with only the one door open. The bottom should work much the same way and had I needed an L there I would have done this but in my configuration I wanted a blind base and am very happy with it (it has large double doors so everything is easy enough to get to and it can accommodate very long items).
    Take note that the image that MNA posted appears to have a half shelf for the upper shelf. As long as the opening is not too small this would make it pretty easy to see and reach the items in the farthest part of the lower corner.




  • _sophiewheeler
    10 years ago

    The hinged double door works MUCH better for access the space. A super susan, while not perfect, is the best way to most fully access the depth of a corner cabinet without crawling into it. Second best is just the hinged door with the L shaped cabinet, and someone skinny or a small child who can get way back in there for the bulk paper towel storage or sodas. I think we can all agree that a blind corner without any organizers is the WORST!

  • annkh_nd
    10 years ago

    technicolor, only the susans with the door attached (so the door rotates into the cabinet to expose the turntables) are a pinch hazard. A LS or SS with a door is no more of a pinch hazard than any other cabinet door. I had 2 rotating door lazy susans in my old kitchen, and raised two kids there, and no one ever pinched a finger.

    My super susan is in a diagonal cabinet, so I have a full circle. I can also reach the corners, for storing small items I use infrequently (like pumpkin carving tools). The diagonal allowed me to put a drawer above, which I really like.

    The other corner in my new kitchen is closed off completely, with drawers on both sides. The kitchen is fairly small, but it was much better use of space to put in larger drawers that I use every day, instead of try to find a way to get to a difficult space.

    There is no perfect solution of every corner - it all depends on what you want to put in the corner, and how the rest of the kitchen works.

  • athomeinvagw
    10 years ago

    I know! Crazy to admit that I purposefully chose and like my blind base here on GW. I have many unpopular (for here) choices that I am quite happy with, even after 4+ years of use.

    To be clear- I was NOT encouraging others to use a blind base. Just saying that we all like different stuff, including cabinet configurations.

  • robo (z6a)
    10 years ago

    Looks fabulous! I wonder if there would be a way to have the doors open independently (not have to open one before the other). I am really bad at spatial things, would it be that different to open than a regular double upper?

    This would be a perfect looking solution for an easy-reach upper. I much prefer the look of a blind corner upper to easy reach or susan. This would be a super way to achieve the look with almost the entire functionality of an easy reach (minus that extra half inch of clearance due to the extra door).

    As for a lower, I personally don't mind a lower corner with a stepback shelf. I use them for tall/large/bulky items that might not fit that great in a drawer. Of course I live in Nova Scotia, land of the lobster pot!

  • AdminG1
    10 years ago

    Here's my corner cabinet. I love it! My kitchen is extremely small and I almost lost this space which would have meant even less cabinet space for me. Yes I still have to get on my knees for the bottom shelf but I just make sure I put items that I don't use on the bottom.

  • AdminG1
    10 years ago

    Here it is open.

  • eric smith
    4 years ago

    Ancient thread, so posting in case anyone ever visits, or Admin G1 comes back. The pics above show a cabinet maker who didn't think things through properly, and that cabinet is hinged on the wrong side (though perhaps not for aesthetics, as the knob probably looks better there). From a practical point of view, however, the stove limits the door opening to not much more than 90 degrees. If it were hinged on the other side, that two door combination could have a 155 degree hinge on it, and would fold almost entirely out of the way, maximizing the access space to the cabinet.