Kitchen counters at room corners

[Stephen Tashiro]

Are there layouts for kitchen counters that make effective use of the space at the corner's of rooms?

The space under kitchen counters at the corners of a room is typically awkward to use. Things put there are often forgotten about for decades.

Other than the traditional layout of counters, the following plans come to mind:

1. Oddly shaped drawers that go diagonally into the corners.
I 've never seen this layout first hand. It might be effective, but I don' t know if the space to either side of the drawers is convenient to reach.

2.Put sinks at the corner of the room.
This has the advantage of putting the nasty, mostly wasted space under a sink where the mostly wasted space at the corner of the room usually sits. So you get only one mostly wasted area instead of two.

3.Lazy susan under the counter at the corner of the room.
I've never seen this layout first hand. If something fell off the lazy susan, I wonder if it would be lost for years.

[John Lanciani]

I've had one of these for years; https://www.wwhardware.com/kv-rotating-white-recycling-center-ferrc

[Lee Schierer]

We saw a variety of corner cabinets when we remodeled our kitchen. The one we decided on has a pull out double self that swings out of the way once it is pulled all the way out. Then there are two trays on slides that pull into the space previously occupied by by the double shelf. It works fairly well. There are lots of options, so keep looking around. Our cabinets are by Kraftmaid (http://www.kraftmaid.com/kitchen-innovations/?search_query=&page=1&limit=20&sort=featured&Type=Corner%20Solutions&category=7015&is_category_page=1). The designer we had worked at Lowes and he spent a lot of time with us optimizing the cabinets for our kitchen. Visit several cabinet shops to see what options they can show you.

[Steve Schlumpf]

We have one of those lazy susan corner cabinets and have never had a problem with something falling off and not being able to retrieve it. There is a substantial lip on each of the two shelves and while things may shift position if you close it too quickly, things stay on the shelf. We use it all the time and can't imagine a better way to utilize the corner space.

[Robert Engel]

I think the lazy susan is the most efficient way to go. I usually just buy the hardware kit but you can build them yourself. I've never had a problem other than some stacked stuff like lids can fly off if spun too fast.

There are also square sliding/rotating shelves.

For me, the biggest issue is the bifold door hinges. Even with the best hinges the ones I've done tend to be a bit fiddly to align and some have gotten loose because either the screws get loose or the actual hinge mechanism gets sloppy. I think this is probably exacerbated by a person is leaning on the door while its open perusing the lazy susan (how do I know that? ;-)

[George Bokros]

We have the lazy susan and have never had a problem with stuff falling off. The only thing we do not like is the door that can on the cabinets the builder installed. It is one of those corner doors that has a hinging thing between the panels that go around the corner. Our new kitchen will have a front on a 45* angle so access is easier.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Had the lazy susan corner. Considered it a waste of space. Right now we have a large open corner cabinet with folding doors that hinge to match the corner. It has one partial shelf along one wall. It is used for those things that come out once a year. Christmas plates, Turkey roaster, large cookie sheets, jelly making supplies, etc. Kids are gone most of the time, and it works for us. We had a large surplus of kitchen gadgets and stuff at the old house. After the old house burned down, Mrs. put her foot down and we replaced the kitchen stuff with only quality items. We had an entire closet of salad spinners, crepe maker, cake pop machine, and other stuff we never ever even opened. No more. The seasonal kitchen stuff is all down under the corner. We also got some stainless steel racks for inside the lower cabinets to store pots and pans and lids, etc. Some folks would use it like a pantry for canned goods. We already have one in another cabinet that has better shelves.

[Yonak Hawkins]

My solution for the two such cabinets in our kitchen was to fashion access from adjacent rooms. One is a pull-out caddy for shoe storage in the back of my wife's closet (not yet completed) and the other, media storage drawers in the living room.

[David Bassett]

Nancy Hiller posted about this subject on the Popular Woodworking Editors Blog (https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/editors-blog/quit-worshiping-at-the-church-of-inside-corners) earlier this week. She discusses (some of) the alternatives and argues we should consider quality of storage, instead of quantity, more than we do.

[Jim Tobias]

This is what we put in a year or so ago when we remodeled our kitchen. Before we had a lazy susan but bending down seems to get more difficult as the years pass..:)

https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/rev-a-shelf-blind-corner-unit-pull-out-32-1-4.html
It brings everything out to you , instead of standing on your head to get to the back.
It does take up one cabinet door space. We have all of our pots and pans on it.......which opens up a lot of other cabinet space.

Jim

382001

[Stephen Tashiro]

This is what we put in a year or so ago when we remodeled our kitchen. Before we had a lazy susan but bending down seems to get more difficult as the years pass..:)

https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/rev-a-shelf-blind-corner-unit-pull-out-32-1-4.html



That's an interesting piece of equipment. If something fell off of it, can it be swung out of the way so you can reach back into the cabinet to retrieve the misplaced item?

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I like that particular accommodation for corner storage like that as I've never been a fan of the "lazy Susan" type arrangement for some reason. It seems practical and as you note, brings things to where they are easily accessible. I prefer mostly drawers on base cabinets for exactly the same reason.

[Lee Schierer]

Jim, that is a really neat shelf system. I had to look at the instructions to see just how it works.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My wife with assistance from the cabinetmaker designed the cabinets in our kitchen when we remodeled it 3 years ago. In the lower cabinets she elected to put in plain adjustable shelves. She stores little used pans, etc. in that space. As big as I am, I can get in there to move the pins for her when she wants the shelves adjusted. When she is gone, and she does travel a bit, I am able to get things out of there. On the upper cabinet, she and the cabinetmaker designed the cabinets to be 45º angle across the corner and she placed a large lazy susan in each corner. They work well for us and as stated, the lip on the rotating shelves minimizes any fall off.

[Jim Tobias]

Stephen,
You can get to the back area, but would need to lift off 2 of the shelves. The shelves are easily moved and changed to different heights. Having said that, We've never had anything fall off. I imagine if you put a lot of small items that could slide through the openings of the shelf wall, then it could happen. The metal shelves have walls as shown that are 3" or so high.

Jim,
I'm with you on drawers and pullouts. When we remodeled the kitchen a little over a year ago, we put pullouts on all of our lower cabinets and the pantry cabinet. Now , the space is actually accessible and also used constantly.

2nd picture is sideways....I rotated it before loading but it still shows sideways.

Jim382113382115

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

We plan to remodel our kitchen hopefully this summer and get rid of all the hard-to-clean white tile counters and cheap white cabinets the builder installed. He installed a lazy susan in two corners. The corner that holds the heavy items never has an issue with tipped items. The corner that holds the light items, including some tall narrow plastic storage containers, regularly tip over when we spin it. It's all about the weight of the item. Empty plastic containers of any size will eventually fall off. We have been looking at going the same route as Jim T has done with his kitchen.

[George Bokros]

These guys have some innovative solutions.

http://www.kornerking.com/Default.asp

[Bill McNiel]

Jim T,
Thank you for your post. As an Architect, I have designed somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 kitchens over the years. I hate inside corners on base cabinets and avoid them whenever possible. The solution you posted is the most efficient and creative I have seen. I immediately forwarded the link to a current client who now erroneously believes that I am a brilliant problem solver. Yet another reason for supporting SMC, as in being a Contributor.
Again- Mahalo sir.

[Michael Weber]

I purchased what Jim has a couple of years ago when I redid the kitchen. Pull the first rack out, if you need what's on the second rack slide the first to the right which exposes the second rack. Pull out the second rack.

[Matt Meiser]

My mom put her sink in the corner on a diagonal cabinet with windows on each wall right at the corner. 2 options building that cabinet, you can clip the back corner and leave a potentially huge deadspace or make it an L and make a huge cabinet, but potentially not be able to get it through a doorway. Her counter fabricator suggested a shelf raise about 4" behind the sink and it looks great. She has a plant and some other junk back there. The corner sink is very functional since the counter on both sides is closer than they would be on a straight run, except that the dishwasher door ends up behind you so you have to learn about the trip hazard. You do need to put a narrow cabinet between the sink and dishwasher. Fast forward a couple years we bought a house with the same basic design and I'm pretty happy with it.

[Matt Day]

If there is access to the other side of the corner cabinet, just put a door on it to access it from the other room. I first saw this in an old 70’s style kitchen and thought it was such a simple solution.

But Jim’s method is the way to go if you don’t have access to the backside. I suggested that fixture for my SIL’s kitchen but it was out of the budget and I don’t think she had the required clear opening innth cabinet due to stove layout. Remember to review the installation requirements carefully before designing the kitchen if you go that way.

[Andrew DiLorenzo]

I put our sink in the corner with a small 45 degree angle in front. It works for this kitchen.

Just be aware, the dishwasher may have to be a little further from the sink to allow room at the sink to stand while loading the dishwasher.

[Myk Rian]

We have one of those lazy susan corner cabinets and have never had a problem with something falling off and not being able to retrieve it. There is a substantial lip on each of the two shelves and while things may shift position if you close it too quickly, things stay on the shelf. We use it all the time and can't imagine a better way to utilize the corner space.

Same here. It holds a lot of stuff.

[Myk Rian]

If there is access to the other side of the corner cabinet, just put a door on it to access it from the other room. I first saw this in an old 70’s style kitchen and thought it was such a simple solution.
That's how this house was built in '72. It had a counter with upper/lower cabinets between kitchen and DR. It was a pain to keep bending over to talk to someone in the other room. We tore all that out, and put in a good sized island. Now it's all open space. The dishwasher is in the island.

[Lee DeRaud]

My solution for the two such cabinets in our kitchen was to fashion access from adjacent rooms. One is a pull-out caddy for shoe storage in the back of my wife's closet (not yet completed) and the other, media storage drawers in the living room.Yup. The blind corner on mine was on the wall that backed up on the garage: I just put a hatch out there, leaving me access to 12 cubic feet of "cave" for storage of once-a-year stuff like holiday decorations. The door to the side yard swings in front of that chunk of wall in the garage, so I'm not losing any useful space out there either.

None of the traditional solutions appealed to me because I wanted drawers-only below counter height, no doors. FYI, the corresponding upper cabinet is a glass-front diagonal.