Software
Houzz Logo Print
marybeth1_gw

please give advice on upper corner cabinets

18 years ago

Hi, I have a small kitchen and am trying to use space as efficiently as possible, I have a corner to deal with. Am I better off going with a corner cabinet in my upper or doing the cabinets at a right angle and leaving one with a blind corner. I have searched other posts on this and I know people do not like corner uppers. Is that because of the look of them or the cavernous nature of them? I am doind a super susan below but do not care for the upper LS with the pole. Any comments would be great. Thanks.

Comments (22)

  • 18 years ago

    My kitchen is small too. Here's what we did to avoid having a blind corner. Everything is easily accessable.

    -Babka

    {{!gwi}}

  • 18 years ago

    babka,that looks great, does thst require a hinged door to access?

  • 18 years ago

    We did something similar, but without a hinged door. I wish I could show you a picture, because it is hard to describe, but I lost my camera and have not replaced it yet. The interior of our corner is the same, but instead of putting a hinge, we have two doors. One has a knob, and the other doesn't. We have to open the door with the knob first, and then open the other door.

    It is probably slightly less convenient than opening a hinged door, but i have never liked hinged doors. I find that they bang around on everything, and are more likely to get broken and out of line. My KD does this on all his corner uppers, unless the homeowner objects, because he finds it more durable. I definitely like it so far.

  • 18 years ago

    I was just going to ask a similar question! I have two base corners and one upper corner to deal with in my small kitchen. Both have been designed as blind corners. I think that's OK for a base as you are storing bigger things, but I'm concerned about the upper? Uppers usually have dishes and glasses that would have to be moved to access anything in the back.

    Babka's corner cabinet is great! I wonder how big the corner has to be for that. My upper corner is only 30" x 52", there'd be no room for a "real" cabinet on the short side.

    I've seen "blind corner units" discussed here - I believe these are sliding shelves, perhaps best for base cabinets? I've looked at the one in the Lee Valley catalog.

  • 18 years ago

    Here it is closed. One door is 8", the other is 11". My kitchen is small and I told the KD I wanted to use every square inch, so all the cabinets are custom sized. Once you get used to using the hinged door, it is no problem. That took a week or so for me, but I needed the easy access.

    -Babka

    {{!gwi}}

  • 18 years ago

    Jeanie, What a great idea! I was trying to avoid the hinged door for those reasons but never thought of doing it that way. Thanks!

  • 18 years ago

    I absolutely love it... looks great!

  • 18 years ago

    I love my corner upper. I put small things that are rarely used in back and my big mixing bowls in front.

  • 18 years ago

    babka... sorry to go OT, but I love the wood and color and your cabinets. Can you share some details please?

  • 18 years ago

    Remodelfla- Funny you should ask...The cabinets are alder with a dark walnut stain and glaze. They were a custom color job from the Hallmark Cabinet company in Utah, made to match other wood in the adjacent family room. We had hoped to use Cherry or Walnut, but they couldn't get it to match the more yellow color of our other stuff.

    I can't figure out why the matching was so difficult, as a year later I was able to use Wood-Kote Jel'd stain in "Walnut" on a bookcase that was made of alder and it worked just fine, colorwise.

    -Babka

  • 18 years ago

    babka- Love that approach with the corner. Can you tell me the dimensions of that cabinet? THANKS!

  • 18 years ago

    bdaykitchen-

    Dimensions are 21 x 24, 37.3 high and 12.75 deep.

    -Babka

  • 18 years ago

    Babka - I did a search hoping to see pictures of your finished kitchen, but I didn't have any luck finding any. I, too, like your cabinets; I also like your backsplash. Have you posted pictures or details of more of your kitchen else where on the forum? I'd love to see it; I bet it is all beautiful.

  • 18 years ago

    lyno-

    I did at one time have all that info in one place, but that was over 3 years ago, and long gone. I don't come to this forum as often as I did when I was looking for answers to the millions of questions I had when we remodeled our kitchen. There is a wealth of knowledge here. The backsplash is 1/2 x 3/4" mini bricks of tumbled marble. My countertops are "Mariana" soapstone.

    -Babka

  • 18 years ago

    Babka - Thank-you for the info! I wish I was 3 years past the planning stage. I'm sure this will be fun, but sort of scarey. My DH and I have one shot at this, it will be our forever house. I'm so glad I found this forum; I'm sure the great people here will help get me through this.

    Lyno

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks Babka- I'm going to send a pic to my cabinet maker!

  • 18 years ago

    Babka...how about adding your kitchen to the Finished Kitchens Blog?

    Lyno (and everyone else)...the best advice we can give you for your kitchen is to take your time in the design phase. Don't let anyone rush you (especially your KD or GC). This is where you have the greatest impact on the final product. The layout is probably the #1 item...a bad layout can sink a kitchen even if it has great cabinets, appliances, etc. A great layout can make up for less than ideal cabinets, etc.


    Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Adding Your Kitchen to the FKB

  • 18 years ago


    The cab in the corner above the TV (left side of screen), goes all the way to the back wall, past the door opening, while the door itself ends at the "shared" corner with the cab on the adjacent wall.

    Here's a pic of the cab with the door open:

  • 18 years ago

    We put in a 24" diagonal corner cabinet with lazy susan turntables that you attached to each shelf. I really like the set up. It holds a ton of stuff and it's all easy to get to with the turn tables. The turn tables don't have a center pole so they hold much more and you aren't constrained to have only smaller things huddled around it. They are flat in the front to the rest of the circle in the back can be larger. I ordered them on Ebay - [Rev-a=Shelf 4WLS201-20-BS52 swivel bearing w/stop attached to shelf]


  • 18 years ago

    bethv,thanks for the post I love that there is no pole. I have a super susan beneath that cabinet with those kind of shelves. I had inquire about them in the upper but was told that the uppers came with a pole. Are your cabinets custom? I am definitly looking into your shelvesThanks so much for the info.

  • 18 years ago

    Our upper is just a stock 24" diagonal corner cabinet with shelves. The lazy susan turntables are attached to the shelves. I ordered them separately. So it's pretty much like the super susan but with a flat front instead of a kidney shape. We have 2 super susans : ) Good luck!

  • 18 years ago

    thanks bethv, I found the turntable you have on a website. Until I saw it I did not know how I would get it in my cabinet after it was made thats why I asked if your cabinets were custom. But after seeing the picture I can see how it would work. If I order it I'm sure my GC can install it for me. Thanks again

Sponsored
Whisler Home Improvement
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Franklin County's Committed Home Improvement Professionals