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Kitchen cabinet doors that lift up

6 years ago

I once saw a photo of upper kitchen cabinet doors that lifted up and receded into the upper part of the cabinet. I don't know what they are called, or who manufactured them. It was different from the type of roll-up doors used lower for appliance garages. As I recall, they were wider that they were tall. If you've ever had an office in a cubicle at work, they were similar to the way those cabinets over the desk flip up. They could have had multiple sections like a regular garage door but I am not sure. As I cook, I get very tired of opening and closing upper cabinet doors as I need things from inside the cupboard. Sometimes with two cooks working it is literally a hazard if someone turns around quickly and the other person left the cupboard door open. Has anyone had real life experience with these kinds of cabinets to report on how well they work? What are they called exactly so I could do a search?

Thanks!

Featured Answer

bubblyjock

6 years ago

ikea have them as a standard option.

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Comments (7)

User
6 years ago
Lift and stay doors are one possibility. Lift pocket doors are another. Roughly double the cost of standard doors.
anitastadler thanked User
ericakn
6 years ago
We had them when we lived overseas. Worked great but it is more of a modern look in my opinion.
anitastadler thanked ericakn
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There are differences in lift up doors and flip up doors, so be sure you're being clear as to what you are asking about. I love how they look, but the primary reason I don't care for lift up doors are that they block the cabinet above when open. (And I could just reorganize my stuff better, for sure.) If you store small stuff in the lower cabinet, and lesser used (but you still need to get to it) stuff in the upper shelf of a standard cabinet, you can still get to everything when you open the door. I put my large spice containers on the top shelf, and my small ones on the lower shelves. So, I have the large thing of peppercorns and granulated garlic above. But, I use the granulated garlic enough that I don't download it into a smaller container, I use it straight from the big container. Bi-fold flip/lift up, which is more accessible Regular lift up, which blocks the cabinet above. Flip up, which will block the upper cabinet. And yes, you will never see horizontal wall cabinets like those in a traditional kitchen. And very few of them in a transitional kitchen. Stressing the horizontal plane is a hallmark of modern design. You will see a lot of single short horizontal or stacked horizontal cabinets in modern design. I do LOVE how they look in that type of kitchen, but it may require a bit of a reorganizing the contents for efficiency sale.
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anitastadler
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you. Using that term I found some youtube videos from different manufacturers of manual lift hardware, with instructions on how to adjust them. I also found automated, motorized doors, which would be the ideal solution and better for the future if reaching up is difficult or someone is short.
C Marlin
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I used them in two spec builds I did last year. The homes were contemporary, they were built by a local cabinet maker.

I decided I wouldn't want them myself, they just seemed awkward to me.
anitastadler thanked C Marlin
salex
6 years ago
It depends somewhat on the height of your openings. They will always stick out a couple of inches when they're open and retracted into the cabinet, but if the opening is much taller than a 12" deep standard upper cabinet, they will stick out even farther. This is only an issue if you might want to access the cabinets or shelves above any door that's open.
anitastadler thanked salex
anitastadler
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree that if they stick out too far they would make it difficult to reach anything above. Plus they could block light from above coming into the cabinet. Not to mention that you have to reach up high to pull them down again. The motorized version I found has multiple panels that pull up vertically behind each other (in front of a soffit I suppose) instead of folding back horizontally, so they do not stick out. That would be my preference.

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