EZ Reach upper corner dilemma - What would you do?

9 years ago

I'm doing Conestoga inset cabinets and have a small issue with the upper e-z reach corner cabinet.

Standard cabinet uppers are 12 1/2" deep and since I'm doing inset, I'm increasing the depth to 13 1/2" for all uppers except can't increase the depth for that particular cabinet. They only offer it in 12 1/2" and 15 1/2" deep versions. My 1st choice is to do the 12 1/2" version and put blocking behind that cabinet to bring it out to 13 1/2". The only problem doing that is that it will extend that cabinet 1" further on each side(hope this makes sense), so I'll lose 1" on the cabinets next to it. or I can do the 15 1/2" version and the depth of this cabinet will extend 2" longer then the rest.

What would you do? or other suggestions

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Comments (5)

User
9 years ago
I'd do a blind corner instead. It works better for inset in many ways, and doesn't really lose you any space to speak of.
funkycamper
9 years ago
Or would it work to get the 15-1/2" and then cut it down?
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robotropolis- sketch out both- and do some math. It used to be we had to calculate openings and drawer width for NKBA layouts. The blind section would not count. If it were an easy reach it still didn't count but you gained the width of the corner fillers. You can see that space better but it is only slightly more useful. You can't fit a big bowl there, any smaller items will have something behind them that is inaccessible without moving what is in front. Blind walls are the same- you can't get what is back there if you don't move what is in front.(I often am planning glasses or mugs for thereso a non issue) If an easy reach, pie cut, or a diagonal wall cabinet starts to cut down the sizes of the adjacent cabinets in comparison to a blind then IMO the blind is better. Attached is a quick example,Blind gives two 30" openings ; the alternative with two 21's and the pie cut .Total openings on the blind at 60 and on the alternate at 63, after accounting for the flexibility of the greater width to me the blind wins. Added-those opening numbers are using 3"fillers in the corner. I most often use 2" on walls since all the brands I use let me do sizes or move stiles. With 2" fillers blind openings go to 62", only 1" less. If you end up with smaller still (9's or 12's) the results are worse. The blind configuration also is less expensive. Another consideration is IF you are trying to match cabinets on two sides of a window or a hood. Which corner lets you do that more effectively without sacrificing storage. (answer varies) Note some brands allow for unequal doors on two door cabinets as a solution. This post was edited by jakuvall on Tue, Jan 7, 14 at 14:06
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Buehl
9 years ago
Or what about doing all 15.5" deep upper cabinets? We have some that are 15" deep over standard depth base cabs and even though I'm fairly tall, the extra 3-inch depth isn't as intrusive as I thought it would be initially - I have no problems working in front of them. I wish we had done all our uppers at 15" deep!

If you can add 3" to the base run (either 27" deep base cabinets or base cabs pulled out 3" from the wall), then you get even more - more workspace and more storage space.

Even if you only get deeper upper cabs (std base - either standard installation or pulled out 3" from wall), you'd be surprised at how much those extra 3" add to storage - an extra row of glasses/mugs, 12" wide dinner plates will fit (they will not fit in 12.5" deep upper inset cabinets), etc.
aries61
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for all the responses. I'll answer each one.

LWO: Originally I had a wall blind corner with the original layout, then I changed from an OTR microwave to a microwave wall cabinet and wood range hood. That changed the upper cabinets. The problem is that I'm big with symmetry and didn't like the look on the sink or range wall because cabinets on either side of the window on the sink wall and cabinets on either side of the range hood weren't balanced.

Funkycamper: I don't feel comfortable with cutting down the 15 1/2" to 13 1/2" cabinet. I don't mind assembling the cabinets. Years ago I actually assembled and stained cabinets for my parent kitchen.

buehl: I did think about doing all wall cabinets at 15 1/2" deep, but thought that they would be too deep and look strange with 24" base. Can you post your 15" wall cabinets over 24" base?

Not sure about doing 27" deep cabinets or pulling them out 3". Something to think about. My concern with that is how the range would look. I'm actually doing a 26" deep sink cabinet in the current plan to add some visual interest.

I've looked at other cabinet lines that will do 13 1/2" EZ Reach corner, but they're about 50 % higher then Contestoga. The cost of the cabinets from Conestoga are about $8500 to $8900 depending on who I go with. They're is about 16 total cabinets not including 30" deep fridge end panels.

Thanks again for your comments and opinions. Please keep them coming. They're appreciated. That's what I love about GW. So many ideas that most of us don't think of.
scrappy25
9 years ago
The 15.5 inch ones will be easier to deal with the trim above it but if you have a good carpentry they can make the trim work for the 12.5 one. I deliberately changed the depth of my uppers by 1/2 inch where the height of the cabinets varied in order to accomodate the batten molding and nobody has noticed the small jog. So I think that either one will be fine depending on your size issues and dealing with the crown or batten molding.

EZ Reach upper corner dilemma - What would you do?

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funkycamper

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EZ Reach upper corner dilemma - What would you do?

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funkycamper

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aries61
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