Kitchen: corner cabinets and storage.
Before I opine on the eternal question of the Lazy Susan:
Convenience? Or the visual presence of Satan?
First, we must address the elephant in the room:
Your lack of trust in me.
I expected some surprise over The Kingdom Mirror’s eviction… But I did not realize that some of you (apparently?) believe that I might divorce my trophy… to replace it… with something from Homegoods?
That WOULD be CONCERNING.
But that is not what is happening.
To bolster your confidence, would it help to know that coming-behemoth’s blog post includes the phrase: The Nuclear War Of Fanciness?
Also, *please note* that because I write too many words, I confuse people… I am NOT selling The Kingdom Mirror for a chandelier… the chandelier was something I mentioned at the end BECAUSE I HAVE ALL OF THE WORDS.
THE BEST WORDS.
WORDS WORDS WORDS.
words.
words.
Moving on to kitchen corner cabinets and storage.
Our choices for the door/drawer combo dictates what we have inside.
Ugly?
Or.
Ugly?
Bins of ugly.
Racks of ugly.
Ugly things that rotate.
Or Paul’s favorite: unadorned ugly.
For me, because the face of a full-door-corner-cabinet deviates from visual symmetry– by forgoing the drawer above the cupboard door… it is unacceptable.
And once something is unacceptable, it is not permitted, NO MATTER HOW SENSIBLE.
Paul’s opinion is that we should still do the lazy susan anyway… despite the PROCLAMATION AGAINST IT.
Which (obviously) is not how proclamations work.
But I am a reasonable person; so I recognize that compromise is important… so I said we could have the INSIDE of a Lazy Susan, but the FACE of a NOT Lazy Susan.
Paul’s face underwent like three expressions… before he said simply– no. that is not convenient.
So, that’s confusing– with whom has HE been living?
The other option is a blind cabinet… meaning that it extends far back into the corner, but your point of access is restricted to the cabinet door opening.
So getting IN there is not compatible with full-size humans.
Cabinet manufacturers offer pullouts and “solutions”… but we are not allowed to have them because they offend Paul’s sensibilities.
Paul’s sensibilities are MOST outraged when he perceives failure to adhere to the number one principle: economy.
Paul loves economy.
Of anything! Space! Design! Money!
He is soothed by that which is most economical.
Enraged by that which violates his principles.
OFTEN, I AM THE VIOLATION.
He thinks the pullouts take up more space than they create and they are wasteful and thus prohibited.
So obviously, also we cannot have drawers; Paul gets rigor mortis thinking about all of the wasted space.
Literally, the cabinet guy didn’t even finish the sentence and Paul had died of OBJECTION.
So we are doing a blind cabinet in the corner, with no bells or whistles.
Paul will cut out the sides where the wall cabinet meets the blind cabinet at the turn… So we can pretend that space will be accessible.
Unless you have some suggestion I’ve overlooked, I’m not going to pretend to care further about any of this.
Professionalism… it’s what I have to offer.
ps– this question: HOW are you living without a kitchen?
We’re not! But I see how it appears this way!
We have a working sink, garbage disposal, dishwasher, stove, and a place to prep food. This IS a kitchen. It’s not pretty, but it’s completely usable… I have restrained myself from telling Paul how fast I would make decisions if I were reduced to making sauerkraut in the bathtub.
pps– I finally watched “Advanced Style” which so many of you recommended… and you were SO RIGHT. I totally loved it; thank you for sharing it with me!!
ppps– it’s spring! go read some of my garden posts!
April 23, 2018 @ 11:48 am
I have two corners in my kitchen. One has a lazy Susan and one has shelves. I hate them both but we need the storage. I am constantly straightening the one with shelves because things just got thrown in there. I have relegated the lazy Susan to my husband. He cooks so that is where he keeps his pots and pans. I never go in there. Too scary.
April 23, 2018 @ 11:51 am
Paul is WRONG!
Cabinet pull out drawers are the best thing ever!!! I have 3 in my kitchen and if I could have them everywhere I would. They make all parts of the cabinet space equally accessible. When Paul is older and less bendy he will realize the error of his ways!
April 24, 2018 @ 9:47 am
Drawers are THE BOMB. Seriously. I just moved to a house with a kitchen 60% larger and it is horrible. WHY? Because straight out, they have standard drawer-over-cabinets – everywhere. My other house – we redid the kitchen with 4 banks, three banks, and then the island had double sided entry and I could put everything everywhere. Yes I had some standard cabinets, but in reality, between the island and the upper cabinets, you don’t need many. And my spice drawers – my kingdom for spice racks.
The blind corner will receive the fondue pot from your wedding and you will never use anything in it. Either the pull out drawers, or the two fold door with the spinner inside like the one with the garbage bins in your pics. It’s symmetrical for you and it has functionality.
April 23, 2018 @ 11:53 am
V! I am in complete agreement with JeanFB! Drawers and pullout shelves have also changed my kitchen life! We opted to do high quality Lazy Susan in corner (high quality a must-if they don’t spin well they drive you nuts-just like blind corners do…!), however I was very intrigued by the drawers. Have not used-but think I would love.
April 23, 2018 @ 11:53 am
I have to confess, I was disappointed about the Kingdom mirror’s passing. Upon reflection, though, I came to a realization (or perhaps a few of them). First a brief story: When I was still in high school, my brother in law (at least 15 years my elder) bought a 1976 Corvette. (It wasn’t that old, which tells you approximately how old I am, but the point is that even at just 2-3 years, old, the ’76 was considered an apex of muscle-car classicness.) He didn’t drive it around, after taking us all on a ride. He just parked it in the garage. Kept it in mint condition. AND THEN HE SOLD IT. Teenaged me did not understand this in the least. Why have a cool car–maybe THE Cool Car–and not enjoy it, and then sell it on?
Because he wanted to start a winery.
He liked the car, but he had a different priority. If he hadn’t NEEDED the car to get what he wanted, he might have kept it and driven it.
So remembering this and suddenly understanding this, I was able to reconcile your decision to sell the Giant Fanciness that we all wished we owned and had room for. Not that you want to start a winery, or that you only got the Kingdom Mirror for its investment value. But you have reasons for what you do, perfectly valid reasons, and since we have never met, I don’t really have the right to holler. So, Go, Victoria! Woo hoo!
Re: lazy Susans versus the Blind, I have had both in my current kitchen. I hate both of them for different reasons. Our remodel (sometime this year) is going to make our narrow L-shaped kitchen into what is essentially a galley kitchen, getting rid of the corner cupboards entirely.
April 23, 2018 @ 11:55 am
I love my lazy susan cabinets. My Instant Pot and crockpot and various other appliances live there. I also have pullout shelves for my pots and pans, and lots of big drawers for plastic and kitchen linens. The few standard lower cabinets I have I rarely open.
April 23, 2018 @ 3:21 pm
Ditto. My lazy susan holds all my appliances (blender, crockpot, bread machine), plus mixing bowls, tea fixings, etc. I love it.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
I agree pull outs can waste precious space. I converted antique French furniture into my kithen cabinets etc., which are shallow in depth compared to modern kitchen cabinets. However to work around that, because searching for stuff in the back of the cabinet is and will always be a pain, is to use a box or basket style pull out. What I may loose in space will be diminished (I probably will still lose some space I could’ve crammed something into) is that I can stack, pile in awkward kithcen gadgets, lids, baking goods etc. just like a deep drawer. I’m converting, not starting from scratch.
You should consider the pull out blind cabinet. My friend used one in her tiny kitchen. It is perfect for items used less often. Large stock pots, baking pans, mixer etc. It allowed her to keep an aesthetically pleasing symmetry in her kitchen, the door front kept the “drawer” feature. It was a clever and useful solution for her.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:01 pm
–For me, because the face of a full-door-corner-cabinet deviates from visual symmetry– by forgoing the drawer above the cupboard door… it is unacceptable.
I utterly refuse to even consider the notion that the endlessly-talented Paul couldn’t take the unacceptable full-door and remake it into one that APPEARS to be a lovely drawer/door combo. (Plus, you get years of fun watching folks try to open one or both of them. 😀 )
As to what’s behind it – I vote for plain shelves to maximize useable storage. You’re both lithe and bendy people, who will have no problems reaching into the furthest back bottom corner for that unwieldy unitasker you only keep for the essential function it provides once per lustrum.
I’m with Paul on the economy front, but can’t understand how a practically inaccessible blind cabinet ranks as less outrageously offensive than a pullout system (no matter how inefficient). If forced to go that route, I’d *at least* have to put a baseplate on rails in the blind corner, so I could slide it (with contents) over to the door opening.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:15 pm
LOL! I accidentally just re-invented the Blind Corner Cabinet Solution ShelfGenie™.
(Should have read the previous comments first.)
April 23, 2018 @ 12:09 pm
OK VEB…I have a similar dilemma. And I know each idea brings new problems. But I say NO to corners! Consider the induction in the piano (sorry Paul, may need to alter those drawers). Run cabinets across to window and do not turn that corner! Place tall GFT between the two windows or create something with matching cabinets…this may need to reach the ceiling to save some counter space or add back some cabinet storage. Mark my words…blind storage and little pads of counter space will not bring you happiness!
April 23, 2018 @ 12:16 pm
I’ve had blind cabinets in my two most recent kitchens – they came with the houses – and I hate them! Can’t remember what’s in there and even if I did, I don’t want to get on my knees to pull something out. They are truly wasted space.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:26 pm
Le Man’s pull-out, behind a door-fused-to-drawer-face with carpenter’s biscuits. Boom, both economy and visual consistency SOLVED!
Also, if Paul thinks cabinets are a more efficient use of space he needs to check out my 90cm wide, full-depth, soft-close drawer stacks. They hold baking supplies, Corningware, all our dishes… Everything. The only cabinets I have are a narrow pantry *full of pull-out baskets which are basically drawers* and the LeMan’s that was the only reasonable solution for the corner under the pass-through and beside the stove. It holds all our pots and pans, and baking pans.
Or, go check out Addicted to Decorating’s very lengthy, picture-and-comment heavy posts on this issue vis her pantry.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:29 pm
I have a blind corner. The top has one drawer full of crap, and one blind drawer front which is where the sink is. The vast underneath I get to my having to large plastic Ikea trays. I pull the tray which is easy to get to right out the way and then slide the other tray in to it’s place. I keep overflow china, mugs and plastic boxes in the dark corner. The light and easy tray has the toaster on it and vacuum flasks etc on the shelf above it. Underneath all my kitchen units I have a useful space for storing baking trays, coke, tins of beer, emergency end of the world tins of beans and sweet corn. On Ikea trays and easy to yank out when needed. The fronts are wood drawer fronts fixed in place with magnets. We got the drawer fronts on clearance for the price of a tin of coke each, I think you can buy ready made units on rails nowadays. I think everyone has xmas crap or giant mixing bowls that could go in a blind corner and if you waste a few minutes twice a year digging them out & in, at least you get twice as much in the space. xx
April 23, 2018 @ 12:29 pm
You will want to set that blind cabinet on fire the first time you try to get to something way in the back! When you get older and have arthritis like me, it is virtually impossible to access. There is one in my kitchen, and I cannot tell you how awful it is! Last year, the 10th year of our living in this house, I was on my annual major reorganization of the cabinets, cleaning and putting some fresh paper down. I started feeling around, and found a rolled up leather pouch down in that 3 – 4″ space between the two cabinet floors. Intrigued, I unrolled it, wondering if I was about to unveil the Holy Grail. Sadly there was nothing in it except dust. I think it may have been a storage pouch for a set of chef’s knives. It was obviously crammed down in that spot to keep other things from falling down under, never to be seen again. I donated it to the Salvation Army. I think I have some Christmas platters and bowls back there, but I am really not sure anymore… I only know that I HATE IT.
April 23, 2018 @ 12:50 pm
Paul wants, basically, the corner area accessible from the nearest door on either side? I had that in the original uppers of my kitchen, and dubbed it The Place For Lost Tupperware… having the face frame in the middle makes it very difficult to get into the back (which is inevitably where The Thing You Want has ended up). The first pic with the faux frame attached to one of the doors would help, but…
I believe you have overlooked diagonal cabinets 😉
Corner sink cabinets exist… just don’t put a sink in it – https://bit.ly/2qVecO7
Or, put the stove there, and turn your stove’s current spot into more storage – https://bit.ly/2HnXxdk
Place a square cabinet on a diagonal – https://bit.ly/2Hmv4Zs
Or, make it a full height pantry – https://bit.ly/2vFobgb
April 23, 2018 @ 1:03 pm
This is a really good battle for you to not fight. You have all the fun of feeling smug about your gracious compromising, and then you use the impossible-to-access space for Christmas decorations, which he gets to retrieve every year, so he can feel righteous about utilizing the space. You will get immense satisfaction every year as you watch him deal with the aggravation of actually accessing this space he was so determined to save.
I call that a Win-Win situation.
April 23, 2018 @ 1:11 pm
Old kitchen I have. Dead corner space (DCS) = perfect storage for paper towel rolls. PLUS accessing creates mini workouts – first to replace supply and then to get a roll because hands and knees position is required along with stretching to the back of cupboard -especially as supply runs out.
DISCLAIMER: AVOID use of paper towels as they are bad for the environment.
April 23, 2018 @ 1:12 pm
Ok. First I adore your blog. Second – I too have a Paul – pretty sure they were separated at birth. Finally – have just (2 years ago) finished my kitchen renovation (read new period perfect) of our 1902 colonial revival – I feel compelled to weigh in…. fight for the drawers. What you loose is space is a micro fragment of what you make up for in utility/ happiness. My two cents… ❤️
April 23, 2018 @ 1:14 pm
NO!!! No blind corner cabinet without an insert! Here’s the solution which will give you the symmetry you want…but it’s counter intuitive!!! Ready? Skip the blind part of the blind cabinet. Instead, do two larger…and more useful…symmetrical cabinets on either side of the corner. And, I love the open shelves idea. It has VEB written all over it!
April 23, 2018 @ 1:15 pm
My corner cabinet has a drawer at the top then a series pf pull outs that offer me MORE space than a lazy susan. One two shelf pull out slides out then has hinges to turn out of the way. Then there is a second pull out that reaches all the way back to the recesses of the corner and slides forward into the space the first hinged shelf unit sits when all is in it’s place. This is difficult to explain but the cabinet is an Omega brand so perhaps they have some
Information on it.
April 23, 2018 @ 1:55 pm
Incorporate “pop up” counter storage?
https://www.diynetwork.com/videos/pop-up-counter-storage-0170189
(Love your “words” !)
April 23, 2018 @ 10:02 pm
This is amazing!
April 24, 2018 @ 10:01 am
Great – now I want pop up counters.
April 24, 2018 @ 4:55 pm
Well, this is a game-changer. I want magic pop-up storage for all my appliances now!
April 23, 2018 @ 1:58 pm
I don’t work for Hafele, but check out their Lemans blind corner- it’s wonderful and smooth and great use of storage space-
April 27, 2018 @ 3:00 am
Second this. I have these pullouts and they are amazing! They store so much and getting things out (even heavy appliances like my food processor) is so easy! And adding my vote to the drawers. Never going back to regular cabinets.