A Guide to Corner Cabinet Storage Solutions

Corner cabinet storage solutions are one of the most common issues designers face in proper kitchen design. Most kitchen floorplans will remove around an L or U-Shaped kitchen that requires some corner cabinet solution. These layouts, consisting of two walls of cabinet’s perpendicular to each other and meeting in a corner is an excellent solution for smaller spaces and can increase efficiency and overall functional layout by eliminating those few extra steps. However, this layout always leads to the question of how to best utilize the corner cabinet storage space. The simplest solution would be adjustable shelving, but this solution creates a lot hard to reach corners inside the corner cabinet and often ends up being cluttered with all manner of seldom-used items. Luckily this problem has multiple hardware solutions available already; see below for a guide to all the top options available today.

Lazy Susans

Lazy susans consist of two kidney-shaped shelves spinning on central vertical support; lazy susans are the most common and economical of all the corner cabinet solutions. They are readily available in numerous styles, ranging from wood shelves and wire mesh shelves to polymer shelves, the most common being the polymer one.

Pros: Lazy susans are a customer favorite due to how relatively inexpensive they are and how easy they are to install and can be customized to fit various sized cabinets and applications.

Cons: While a lazy susan can efficiently solve how to utilize your corner cabinet space, they can create quite a bit of wasted space in the corners of a cabinet. Also, because items placed on a lazy susan shelf can fall off, it often creates a problem where items can fall into the corner and become hard to reach for homeowners.

Floating Susan

Floating lazy susans are identical in concept to a common lazy susan except for the fact that they do not require central support. The floating susans are fastened to the cabinet sides via an extremely sturdy metal support bar. When viewed from a standing position, these kidney-shaped shelves appear as though they are floating inside your cabinet.

Pros: Floating lazy susans offer increased storage space due to the absent vertical support post. Due to the support beam fastened to both cabinet walls, they provide a very smooth spinning motion and configured to any height and spacing of your choosing.

Cons: Since they are still a kidney-shaped shelf in a square cabinet, the floating susan still has some wasted space in the corners of the cabinet. They are also more expensive than a lazy susan and may restrict your cabinet to be of a certain size due to the side mount supports.  Overall in functionality and ease of access, the floating susan is not much of improvement over the standard lazy susan despite costing a lot more money.

Blind Corner Pullout Solutions

A blind corner pullout refers to one cabinet running all the way into the kitchen corner will the adjacent cabinet is placed right up against the face. This method provides a sleek look and is preferred in more modern and transitional styled kitchens.

Pros: Hardware for a blind corner cabinet is available in several styles and configurations. Two options of note are the Lemans Corner by Kessebohmer and the Magic Corner by Peka. They provide unique and modern styles combined with the improved accessibility of being able to pull the entire unit out of the cabinet.  Overall functionality is improved significantly however as the ability to access the items is much easier.

Cons: Blind corner hardware is more expensive than lazy susan hardware, and while providing accessibility they still result in some wasted space in the cabinet. They also require the cabinet to be of a particular size which can occasionally limit their usability depending on how your kitchen is planned.

Corner Drawers

A corner drawer system is like any other drawer box cabinet, except the front of each drawer has an inside notch or corner. It can be built in various sizes and drawer combinations.

Pros: The corner drawer solution offers optimal accessibility as the drawers bring all the items entirely out of the cabinet. This allows for quicker operation and more frequent use which leaves the impression of offering more storage space.  It is also a more efficient and functional space, especially for people who struggle with accessing tight spaces.

Cons: This option is the most expensive of all the corner cabinet solutions as it requires considerable design and engineering to customize each unit to your specifications. It also wastes quite a bit of space in the corners of each unit.

Are you still hesitant as to which solution is better for you? If so, please feel free to send us an email or to visit us at our showroom for a free consultation and quote along with a full set of plans.