It seems no matter where I live I have a cabinet which creates an awkward space. It’s usually a corner cabinet where you can’t reach anything you need.
Unfortunately, it also ends up being a cabinet with a great deal of space. Therefore, I store a lot of my kitchen gadgets in it.
Well, since we’ve moved to our new home, I’ve found this cabinet in my new kitchen. To say it’s annoying is the understatement of the year.
However, I came up with a quick and easy solution that can be tweaked to fit many different kitchens. Curious as to how I quickly and inexpensively fixed my awkward corner cabinet?
Here’s how I did it, and you can too:
You’ll Need:
- Sawzall
- Impact driver
- Shelf bracket (optional)
- Cabinet storage solutions
The Corner Cabinet Problem
Before you can understand my solution, we first need to take a look at the problem. I had this awkward corner cabinet.
When the previous owner built the house, he put two regular cabinets together to form a corner cabinet. He DIYed many things around the house (which I respect), but unfortunately, some things created more issues. This cabinet is one of them.
In this case, there’s wooden support in the middle of the cabinet entry making it difficult to get anything out of the cabinet.
Also, my kitchen is tiny. Therefore, I can’t even open one of the cabinet doors fully without it dinging my new stove. Needless to say, this doesn’t make me happy.
Plus, I can’t utilize the cabinet effectively because I can’t get into it to put anything away properly, or to pull anything out of it.
Obviously, it’s an awkward cabinet which hinders my kitchen from functioning the way it should. Below are the steps on how I went about fixing the awkwardness in my kitchen:
1. Remove Doors
The doors were a huge hindrance to being able to access anything in the cabinet because they couldn’t be opened all the way without dinging my stove.
Also, you must open one cabinet door before you can open the other because they rub against one another.
The first step to fixing the awkward cabinet was to remove the doors. I love open cabinetry as it is. Therefore, I figured, what the heck!
I pulled out my trusty impact driver, attached it to the hinges, and began to gently back the screws out of the hinges, holding the doors in place.
Once the screws are removed from the hinges, detach the hinges from the cabinet, and remove the doors.
Save the doors because (if it’ll work in your kitchen) I have an idea as to how they can be reused if you don’t care for open cabinets.
2. Cut Through the Post
The next issue I faced with my awkward corner cabinet was the post dividing the two cabinets. It simply hindered my movement and access to the cabinet no matter how I attempted to fold myself up to fit between the doors to look in the cabinet.
Trust me; I’ve spent more hours on my kitchen floor folded up like a pretzel trying to get into this cabinet than I care to admit.
I decided the post needed to go. Again, I pulled out my trusty tools and went to work. This time I used my Sawzall.
If you’ve ever seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes and the scene with Kathy Bates where she takes out all her rage in the grocery store parking lot, I looked similar while taking out this post.
I held the Sawzall firmly with both hands. I began cutting the post at the top until it was loose from the top part of the cabinet.
Once the top was loose, I repeated the same process by cutting the post loose at the bottom of the cabinet.
When the center post had been removed, the cabinet instantly felt better.
3. Add Support
The only danger with removing the center post of the two cabinets was lack of support. I was afraid my countertops would collapse if I set too much weight on them.
Since I’m an avid canner, there was a real risk with this happening.
Therefore, I decided to use a shelving bracket to brace the back corner of my cabinet. This would offer extra support to help hold the countertops in place.
If your cabinet isn’t a corner cabinet, you may not need to do this step. It fully depends on your kitchen’s situation.
4. Clean Out the Bottom
Once the doors were removed, and the post had been given the boot it was time to begin cleaning out the bottom of my cabinet.
Needless to say, it had been neglected because of how difficult it was to get into the tight space. When cleaning the cabinet, I removed all the pots and pans I stored in it.
I also used my vacuum cleaner to suck up any remaining dirt. This was the perfect time to wipe the cabinet down with a moist cloth.
If you have the time or desire, you can also put shelf lining or contact paper. It would add an interesting look. It could be important to you if you decide to leave your cabinet open.
Once your cabinet is thoroughly clean, you’re ready to wrap this project up.
5. Add Further Organization
The last step of making your awkward corner cabinet a usable cabinet is by organizing it. In my case, the shelving I had was fine. I only needed an easier way to access it.
However, there are many different ways to organize your cabinet to make it more functional. The first option is to add pull out shelves. This way you won’t have to hunt for anything in the cabinet ever again.
Instead, you pull out the shelf, and everything comes to you. These can be an investment, but would undoubtedly make life easier too.
The second option is to put shelving in the cabinet at an angle. This allows the shelving to be closer to the front but still runs the length of the cabinet.
Finally, consider adding hooks to the top of the cabinet. If any of your cookware has holes in the handles meant for hanging, this cabinet could be where you easily store it.
However, what if you aren’t into open shelving? Remember how I told you to save those doors? Well, you can reuse them differently.
Instead of the doors opening outward, you put them on door slides. Meaning, the door looks like a normal door.
However, when you pull the knob, the door will slide out towards you on a slide, and you can push the door back in when done.
This goes well if you use shelf organizers, and even a lazy susan can make an awkward corner space fully useful. Again, this requires a small investment but would make your kitchen function better in the long run in some cases.
For me, my kitchen was too small to have pull-out cabinet doors, and I’m a sucker for open shelving and cabinetry.
Well, this is how I turned my corner cabinet nightmare into a functioning cabinet. It has helped make storage easier in a small kitchen, and it makes cooking much easier as well (since I can access my pans easier.)
Everyone has a tough corner cabinet in their kitchen. Even if this idea doesn’t work exactly for your situation, maybe it’ll inspire you to figure out a way to make the cabinet function better.
