# Cabinet Design Flaw ??? Any Solutions ???



## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

I had someone come to me with a unique cabinet design problem. The upper corner cabinets are recessed and swing open into each other making the storage space very difficult to access. My first thought would be to attach the doors together and build some sort of slide system to clear the 2.5" recess and have it hinge from there.

Any ideas and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

That's the plan, but I still need to clear the recess to be able to open the door fully.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Don't you think folding opening outward doors would be better hinged at one end and centre looks like one big folding door .Or look up kitchen manufacturers corner cupboards and see all the different types of hinges.Alistair


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

Yeah, but I still need to be able to pull the door out passed the 2.5" recess to open it fully. Otherwise it's still hard to access.


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## RONFINCH (May 24, 2010)

I think I would try a lazy susan set up, where both doors would turn into the cabinet, exposing the contents.


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

That's not a bad idea but the cabinet is more shallow that the standard 12" and there wouldn't be enough room for the doors to revolve.


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## traupmann (Oct 8, 2010)

Bi-fold with an overlay hinge should do the trick


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

This might sound stupid but I have see this done on doors a bit smaller. How about joining the 2 doors together forming a V shape door and use a piano hinge on one side so that it opens as one V shaped unit.


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

I want to be able to pull the doors out past the cabinets on either side and open with the hinge from there. Anyone know of a shallow slide system? So I'll end up mounting the door hinges to the slide system I build.


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

The doors will be joined with hinges.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

could you swap the entire hinge system with sliding hinges?










if would mean a major change to the internal of the cabinet - but in the long run, I think your client will love you for it and it'll take all the mickey mousing with the doors out of the picture (pun intended)


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

That's what I'm looking for! Thanks! Looks expensive though. Do you know where to get that and an approx. cost? Hopefully it can fit shallow cabs too.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

Reverse the doors. Hinges in the center opening door against the other.NOT IDEAL but would give them better access than they have now. Sadly only one could open at a time though. Sliding hinge are great, you will have to figure out a way to attach the shelfs .


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

And I would have to add a piece in the face frame to attach the hinges to. That's at least a cheap option. Thanks!


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## MrsN (Sep 29, 2008)

Is there a way to add a hinge to the middle of one of the doors (well maybe 3" in) so that it could fold flat against the other cabinets and allow better access to the cabinet. I am not fluent in hinges and the only ones I can think of would be very visable and not pretty, but maybe there are others.


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## Seeharlez (Mar 16, 2010)

Here is an idea that should work. Make each door 'L' shaped and move the hinge point out to the front edge of the recess. See picture for detail…


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

I'm not real fluent in hinge terminology either, but how about those entertainment center hinges where each door opens out 90 degrees, then slides into the cabinet? You'd just ("just") have to build an additional vertical side in each space to mount the shelves and create the pocket for the door.

Seeharlez' method would work, but it would require a bigger gap between the doors than shown, so they could swing without hitting the other.

Or, here's a radical idea: lose the doors altogether and just go with open shelves. You'd hardly notice the lack of doors, since the others have glass panels.


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## terrilynne (Jun 24, 2010)

I think PurpLev is on the right track. (no pun intended)


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## Seeharlez (Mar 16, 2010)

JJohnston is right, you would need a slightly larger gap but I think over that distance you might only be looking at and additional 1/8" clearance or so. Easy to figure out if you have the dimensions in front of you. It is probably the easiest solution as far as the amount of work required. The hinged/sliding retracting method suggested by Purplev would be the most elegant solution for sure.


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## brettlowing (Oct 27, 2010)

Purplev's idea for the sliding hinge system would work great if the cabinets weren't so shallow. The system is right around $100 but the smallest size is 20". I think Seeharlez post#16 has the only option that'll work for this application to keep the doors or JJohnston post#17 to get rid of the doors altogether.
Thanks for all the great info!


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## CampD (Nov 8, 2008)

Make a new 45 degree corner cabinet, much more usable space .


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

Perhaps combine Seehalez idea with a bifold Blum set-up. Have the hinge idea that Seeharlez has, but only on one side. I think this will solve the door colliding conflict and still be able to swing both doors out of the way.

Maybe e-mail Blum with your drawings and see if they have some miracle type hardware set-up. They have hundreds of different styles.


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