Lazy Susans For Upper Cabinets
15 April 2008“Close But No Cigar (Two of Four)”
This is an example of a cabinetmaker who was too anxious for the bid to give good advice about the project itself. As we can see, he has addressed the problem of the blind corner in this kitchen. Unfortunately, he has not made good use of his client’s money for either the upper or lower cabinets, both of which contain Lazy Susans.
In our previous series we explained why Lazy Susans are not a particularly good solution for blind corners in base cabinets, and this photo allows me to expand on that just a bit. If you look carefully at this photo, you can see that the cabinets on either side of the Lazy Susan are narrower than the other cabinets in this kitchen. It is because that space was needed to accommodate the Lazy Susan. So all that has happened here is that what would have been two regular-sized cabinets have each been cut in half to accommodate a device that will provide only slightly more storage space than simply boarding up the blind corner. And what’s left in those truncated cabinets is not going to store much more than a spoon collection.
Unfortunately, this particular cabinetmaker installed Lazy Susans in the upper cabinets as well, and now the effect has been to simply waste space and leave the homeowner wide open to the “oops, it fell off in the back” syndrome. The better solution would have been to angle across that corner, as he did, but then install standard shelves inside the cabinet. All of that space is easily reached into, and all of it is available to those who are wise enough not to fall for the Lazy Susan “solution.”
But even if we used standard shelves, there is still some space that could be put to use, thereby getting the most out of the available resources. There are a number of ideas floating about the Internet, but we shall examine only two.
Since neither of them involves a Lazy Susan, they’re bound to be an improvement. Sometimes the better part of “wow” is not the gadget you bought, but the one you passed up.
Joseph
Joe’s Response
First off let me say that I’m not a big fan of the lazy Susans either. What Joseph didn’t mention is that cabinet makers just have to give the client what they want. If they want lazy Susans they get them. Period.
Corner Cabinets with Shelves?
I disagree about putting in a corner cabinet with shelves. This is not an easy-reach situation. Even if you are reaching to the corner at countertop level it’s about 36″. Reaching the back of higher shelves would require a ladder for many of us, and then we would have to move lots of stuff out of the way to get to things hidden in the back corners of these cabinets. I think that if a client insists on corner cabinets I would suggest the lazy Susans. This at least gives you much easier access to all of the contents on a shelf.
What would I recommend?
I’m a big proponent of using quality hardware for kitchens and baths, so I would recommend using something like the chrome Rev-A-Shelf unit pictured here. These will set you back something like $300-$400. Plastic units will probably work fine, but they will always look cheesy.
Joe
NEXT: “Under the Boardwalk”
PREVIOUS: Upper Blind Corner Cabinets
No comments yet