Lazy Susans Multiply Your Corner Kitchen Cabinet Space

by Gabby Hyman
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Most lazy susans are flat discs with an interconnected swivel bearing. They commonly sit on your dining room table and assist your dinner party guests in helping themselves to an array of dishes. It beats the frantic, long-range grab-a-thon.

If you're doing some kitchen cabinet remodeling, you can save room and still gain easy access to stored plates, pots, and canned and dried foods with a lazy susan insert. I'm not sure where the term "lazy susan" originated, but experience proves there is nothing lazy about installing a rotating corner cabinet shelf.

Kitchen Cabinet Remodeling with an Eye Towards Convenience

Corner cabinets are convenient, and rotating shelf sets can multiply storage enormously. Most lazy susan sets include kidney shaped, pie-cut, or half-moon shaped shelves attached to center columns and set in swivel bearing bases. You just may find yourself over your heads with this one. Don't be embarrassed: check with your home improvement store staff, a cabinet maker, or kitchen remodeling pro.

There are many prefabricated, multi-shelved lazy susans, and you can also have them custom-built for your corner cabinets. Half-moon swing-out shelves often provide convenient, easy-access to storage. They pull out from the lazy susan cabinet. The 31-inch or 32-inch sets can run between $50 and $75, uninstalled. Choose from two-, three- or five-shelf models. By the way, polymer bushings and self-lubricating bearings can really increase the functional life of your corner cabinet.

If you have the confidence to do it yourself, you can also buy corner shelf cabinet hardware with a collar assembly, top and bottom pivots, upper and lower center post assemblies, shelf supports, and screws. Don't skimp on hardware if you can help it. Find a sturdy bi-fold hinge and cup combination. Hinges that swing to 60 degrees or more can make a difference.

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has written for print and online media for more than 20 years. He has created online content for eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Avaya, and Nissan UK. He has also been a web consultant to the Governor of California. As an author of fiction, journalism, and poetry, Gabby is a former English professor for the University of Illinois, University of Alaska, and Old Dominion University. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Alabama.