Maximize Kitchen Space By Constructing A Corner Cabinet For Extra Storage

To maximize your kitchen's available storage, you'll need to make your corner cabinets as accessible and space-efficient as possible. However, this particular area in your kitchen's layout often presents a number of unique challenges, especially if you're planning to build your cabinets from scratch. If you only install standard cabinet boxes here, you'll end up with what's known as a blind kitchen cabinet. While this arrangement sometimes leaves a ton of room for pantry goods and cookware, it's so named because you can't see what's inside and will need to reach in blindly to grab any stored items. In some cases, your cabinets might also cut off access to this corner space entirely. To avoid these pitfalls, you'll want a custom-cut cabinet box and face frame that angles inwards at 90 degrees.

The ideal corner kitchen cabinet ensures that your stored items are both visible and easy to reach. It should also allow for the installation of a lazy Susan or rotating shelf so you won't have to reach too far in to get what you need. If you're interested in building this kind of cabinet yourself, then Shara Woodshop Diaries on YouTube has the perfect project tutorial for you. In their video, Shara shows us exactly how they constructed a corner cabinet using birch plywood and pocket screws. With a few starter woodworking tools, you can assemble a similar piece for your own home.

You'll have to make a number of design decisions before you start building a corner cabinet for your kitchen. In the video above, Shara of Shara Woodshop Diaries uses overlay cabinet doors with concealed hinges. If you already have inset cabinets in your space, however, this bi-fold setup won't match your existing arrangements. Attaching your new cabinet doors directly to a lazy Susan rather than to the face frame could be a good solution if your home has inset cabinets. Next, make sure to carefully measure the height and depth of any existing toe-kicks so that the panels below the bottom shelf of the new cabinet line up with your current fixtures. When you're taking these measurements, don't forget that the face frame and toe-kick panel will add depth.

Before you begin, you'll also need to decide what kind of wood you're going to use. If you're putting your new corner cabinet next to your existing cabinets, you'll want to build with the same material your kitchen already has so that the new piece fits seamlessly into your existing design. MDF wood is a budget-friendly alternative to other common cabinetry woods and is particularly easy to paint. Finally, consider your new door's clearance in relation to the corner-adjacent cabinets. While a full, seamless overlay design might seem neat, it's best to leave at least a ½-inch gap between all your doors to avoid binds.

As you can see in Shara Woodshop Diaries' video, assembling cabinets yourself can be a learning process. Before you begin, don't forget to remove any baseboards from the installation area so that the cabinet sits flush with the walls. You can make most of the cuts for the side, back, and bottom panels using a circular saw and a table saw, but a bandsaw can be particularly helpful for managing the toe-kick cuts. To ensure your shelves won't wobble, use a Kreg shelf pin drilling jig (or a similar product) to add perfectly aligned holes on your box's side pieces. To make installing the top supports and face frame easier, you might also want to pick up a set of Sebupar cabinet clamps. These are particularly handy for when you're adding your pocket screws.

Once you've assembled the cabinet box's main frame, it's time to decide what kind of shelf you want. Shara uses a kidney-shaped lazy Susan that sits on top of a static shelf. However, you can also install a lazy Susan that spins around a pole at the center of the cabinet. In either case, this fixture is fantastic for adding storage to your kitchen while keeping all your essentials within reach. This space-saving solution can also help you start decluttering your kitchen.