On October 31, 2013, we moved into this home. Shafts of autumn sun pierced through the windows that day, illuminating the kitchen. Granite counters gleamed in the soft golden light. The kitchen was empty but full of promise. The polished rock whispered of wine glasses and fruit bowls, of orchids and hors d’oeuvres. Fast forward two years and listen. You’ll hear the granite whisper no more. Instead you’ll hear it bitch about spilled milk and dried paint and bread crumbs in the corners so old, they’ve petrified. You’ll hear it groan from the burden it bears, as appliances piled up and cluttered its mottled slab. You’ll hear the granite whine about its dull visage as it reminisces about “The Shiny Years.”
My granite may no longer be the belle of the ball, but she shouldn’t have to suffer the indignities I’ve put her through these past few years. I decided to restore her to her former glory. There was only one problem: where would I put all the appliances in order to reveal her bare and simple self? I couldn’t put them in the cabinets – they were all full of crap. Full of crap….hmmmm. I squatted down, knees popping in protest. I opened the cabinet doors and looked into their depths. My suspicions were confirmed. They were full of crap! I took a quick inventory of the biggest double cabinet and realized that I’d only been using maybe 3% of its space – just a little corner in the front where I kept my barbecue thermometer and muslin bags for straining yogurt. The rest of the space was filed with piles and piles of crap that I hadn’t touched in two years. I even found two packages of ice cream cones that I’m pretty sure I bought before we moved in. It was time for action.
There’s a meat grinder in there…and a panini maker! All the junk on the floor and in boxes used to be in that cabinet.
There’s granite under there, somewhere…
Yes that’s laundry in the background. “Before” pictures are supposed to be cluttered! Of course I would *never* have laundry lying around any other time. *cough cough*
And over by the stove…
Fresh baked bread, a blowtorch and Febreze. So what? What’s on your counter?
The problem with most lower cabinets in the kitchen is that they are just too deep, and we chefs are just too old. Stuff gets pushed to the back and forgotten, because the effort involved in excavating and mining kitchen paraphernalia from the depths of lower cabinetry far outweighs the reward. So we push, we pile, and we forget. This leads not only to wasted space but also to duplicate purchases, as we keep buying things we already have, simply because we can’t reach them, or we’ve forgotten we ever owned them in the first place.
The easiest way to reach the nether regions of a cabinet is not for you to go to the nether region, but for the nether region to come to you. Enter slide-out shelves. When I first lit upon the idea, I went online to see how much they would cost. That resulted in popped eyeballs and chest pains. Home Depot sells the following for $90:
$90. For one. I gagged and sputtered. At least it comes with a quality slide mechanism. But seriously. $90. For one. I needed eleven of them. Obviously I wouldn’t be buying them (but honestly folks, was that ever really an option?). It was time to break out my notepad and start designing.
I wanted to start with the double cabinet pictured above. I wanted two big drawers, spanning the whole space. That would require knocking out that center support column. Good, I love breaking stuff!
This left some pieces on the top and bottom that needed to be chiseled out.
I then filled the hole in the bottom with drywall filler. There was no need to be fancy, as I would be covering this part later with adhesive melamine edging.
Don’t worry! That silly support was not load-bearing. The granite is fully supported by the other three sides of the carcass, and the drawer above is supported on the sides. However, just to be safe, I reinforced the crossbar below the drawer with a piece of 3/4″ plywood (not pictured).
That shelf was not removable, at least not without destroying the sides of the cabinet. I left it in place and used it as a handy guide for placing the slides. I opted for quality ball-bearing drawer slides. They hold a hell of a lot more weight than the cheap ones with the wheels. They look better and feel better, too. For 22″ slides, they run about $16 for a pair at Home Depot. If you don’t have a Home Depot or Lowes in your area, Amazon carries them for about a dollar less than the Big Box stores (click here). Before I could install the slides, I had to install some gap-filler plywood strips on which to mount the slides. You can see that the face frame around the cabinet is not flush with the inner cabinet walls. The gap was 13/16″, so I filled it with strips of 3/4″ plywood and three washers at each of the three screws used to secure each strip. Now the mounting strips were flush with the edges of the frame. This was necessary so the slides could function unimpeded.
After installing all of the mounting strips, I installed the slides.
I finished prepping this cabinet.
The only other cabinet that needed modification was the one under the stove. This is where I keep dog food and where I kept a few pots and pans (removed in the following picture). The plan here was to have one shelf on the right side to hold the big dog food container and two shelves on the left to hold the bread machine and some other stuff. Because of the stove’s power supply, I had to use 18″ slides on the lower left instead of the 22″ slides I used everywhere else.
That center support was a big waste of space, so I took it out and built a smaller one out of 3/4″ plywood. I secured it in place with glue and pocket screws. I needed a center support here because I would be installing an upper shelf on the left, and the slide’s support strip needed to be secured in the front and back. I’m not sure why I didn’t get a picture of that support strip, but this picture shows the bottom one.
Crawling around in these cabinets was difficult for a lumpy old turd like me.
The other three cabinets were singles, and just needed to be emptied before I installed the slides. I didn’t take pictures of the process, because it was repetitive, and images of a large middle-aged man squirming around in narrow cabinets shouting profanities might be upsetting to some. Here are the “before” shots of the remaining three cabinets.
Some of my homemade sauce, jarred back in the summer. Wait till you see where I put them! (That’s the next post in the Space Hacker series)
The toaster came with the house. Only one side works. Sadly, it didn’t make the cut. It now lives in the garage.
My baking cabinet. Also, my plastic bag storage. Yeesh.
Okay, with the slides installed, now it was time to build the shelves based on my notebook scribblings. I’ll give dimensions as they relate to the width and depth of the cabinet, in case you are interested in building a few.
Just so we’re all on the same page, width (W), is the distance across the face frame of the cabinet (NOT the distance from inner wall to inner wall). The depth is the distance from the back wall to the inner part of the face frame.
I used drawer slides that are each 1/2″ thick, so together that makes one inch. Here are my dimensions:
W-1 accounts for the width of the drawer slides
I used 1/2″ birch plywood. It is important to use high-quality plywood for a project like this. I drilled pocket holes around three sides of the base and on the short ends of the back piece using my Kreg Jig. This has been one of my most loved and used tools, and it is essential for any DiY cabinetry. Click here to find it on Amazon.
Click on ‘Page 2 of 3’ below to continue.
Oh Handan and Greg, I can hear Angels singing!! What a GORGEOUS job you did! I LOVE the sliding shelves and your details are completely phenomenal. Seriously. I imagine there are drawer slides rated for different loads. Your end result is …. goose-bumpy good! 😉
Thank you, Christina! 🙂
Pretty cool!
Thanks, Uncle Ray!
Crawling around in these cabinets was difficult for a lumpy old turd like me, lmao but so worth huh, greg and i bet handan loved it too nice nice job way above my pay grade xx
Thank you, Chris! Yes, we are all loving the liberated counter space. Though truth be told, it has gotten a bit cluttered these past few days with hydrangeas as we await the season’s last snow tonight.
i think it is so funny hometalk removed my remark about you being a he lmao xx
Oh no! I didn’t see that, lol!
Great job! Plus explaining all of your work as you progressed! You are a very talented person!! Looks fab!
Thank you, Jackie!
Oh my gosh. I so need this, hope I can talk my guy into these. Just remodeled kitchen a few years ago and I’m having these same problems. So much in cupboards and “getting ” to it. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Christine! Here’s what you do: dump all the stuff from your cupboards on the floor, and tell him that it won’t be picked up until you have some nice slide-out shelves to put it back on!
🙂
G
A chef and a wood-worker? Wow. I would love to make some sliding shelves too but I don’t have the tools or experience necessary. Nice job, though.
I didn’t see any final cost listing for materials used. How much do you think the initial double wide sliding shelf cost you to make?
Hi Rebecca,
I estimate the total cost for all 11 shelves to be about $300. That includes 2 sheets of plywood, 11 pairs of slides, 2 sheets of polywall and washers. I already had enough scraps of 3/4″ plywood, so I didn’t have to buy that. I also had all of the screws and glue and Danish Oil. I would estimate that it would cost about $100 just to make the two big ones, assuming you had to buy one sheet of 1/2″ plywood ($40), one sheet of Polywall ($20), 2 sets of slides ($32) and a pint of Danish Oil ($8). This doesn’t include the cost of glue and screws.
But this is the cost if you were to only make those two big slides. When factored into the larger project, the cost is much less since the leftover material would be used to make additional shelves.
G
What did you do about the space left between the doors where you took out the center support column?
I glued a strip of Polywall to the inside of the left door, so that about an inch or so was sticking out. When the doors are closed, left first, then right, the Polywall strip fills the gap. There are pictures of it above in the post.
Thanks so much for these detailed instructions. I absolutely will be making these for my pantry and base cabinets as soon as possible!
Awesome! Send us some pics of the result!
What a great idea, I am going to use it for my kitchen. What is the benefit of covering the bottom with Polywall vs. leaving it as it is?
Thanks for the tutorial!
Hi Val, the polywall just serves to protect the bottom and make it easier to slide things around without scratching wood or paint. It is especially useful in the drawer with the pots and pans, as I keep my cast iron oiled. Much easier to clean a piece of plastic than wood! I also like the contrast between the stained wood and the white polywall.
Is anyone else shocked at the lack of common sense? I’m completely devastated that some of these people are also operating power tools!!! Great job!!! I appreciate the lengths you go to build, and protect the shelves so thoughtfully….. It would’ve been great to see you come up with a more “polished” way to “camouflage” the center gap in the cupboard doors….. I await a surprise!
That turned out fantastic Greg. I am going to have to look for the “Polywall” I have never seen it here in Canada. Is it 1/4 inch melamine or something different? I used melamine paint but it took forever to dry when I redid my baking cupboard. This would have been so much quicker. Again you did an amazing job! Cheers.
I just Googled it. Wow pretty cool product. I learned something new today. Thank you!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for reading!
Greg
Thanks for posting. Great idea.
Thank you, Evi!
Stove? You mean a person could cook food on that thing? I thought it was a seed-warmer!! (LOVED your instructional)
Ouch! Guess I need to upgrade to gas! 🙂
That will happen sooner or later…
I get the hint, I get the hint! 🙂
Can’t wait to show this to my husband. we were just looking at them on line and I was complaing about the cost. Thanks
Hi Robin, it’s a bit of work, but so worth it when finished!
Greg
Nice work!
Thank you, Pam!
Beautiful job! Are you the chef as well as the handyman? I love a man who cooks! However, as my mother would have said about spaces she couldn’t reach…that’s what I had kids for! I remember standing on the counters to get things off the top shelf of cabinets (mom was 5’3″ and dad built the cabinets up to the ceiling) and crawling into the lower cabinets to retrieve what mom needed. Keep up the good work, your tutorial was fabulous!
Thank you, Lisa! I am the chef, as well 🙂
Great post – and I love the tip about the Polywall. I’ll have to look for that!
Thank you, Sara! Polywall is great stuff for cabinets, shelves and drawers!
This is a wonderful tutorial. Pinning for later.
Thank you, Debra!
I love all your photos and great tutorial on this. Our cupboards have sliders on the top shelving, but nothing on the bottom and those bottom ones are hard to reach back into. I’ve been wanting these since we moved here 3 years ago.
Thank you, Carol! They have made my life sooooo much easier!
Wow, you guys make a great team! Ironically my husband just installed premade slider shelves under two of our cabinets. One for pots and pans and one for tupperware-like stuff. Don’t they make life so much easier? Thanks for sharing at Vinatge Charm! xoKathleen
Thank you, Kathleen! Yes, I can’t imagine life without them now…such a great improvement!
I Loved your project!!You have been Pinned, Tweeted and Posted to facebook! Your amazing post will be featured this week at the Friday Favorites Link Party. The party goes LIVE on Thursdays at 7PM at mustlovehome.com I hope to see your there! Hugs – Christine at Must Love Home
Hi Christine, thank you so much for the feature!
Awesome DIY! Sliding shelves are so useful; I’d love to add some to our bathroom cabinets. Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday.
Thank you, Emily!
Wow, I need to do this asap! My tupperware cupboard drives me crazy, this would help in organization so much. I wasn’t sure how to deal with the middle bar in my cupboards, so thanks for the ideas.
Thank you, Melissa, and good luck!
Fabulous! I’ve been dreaming of these for a long time. I think it’s time to finally break down and build them! I’ve got about 350+ full canning jars that need a place to live, so I need to check out your canning post too! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Victoria! Wow, that’s a lot of jars! You’ll need a better solution than my dinky little jar caddy!
So nicely done! Thanks for sharing! Pinned 🙂
Thank you, Laurie! 🙂
wow, how wonderful to be so handy…..draws are truly the best use of space in kitchen cabinets. I did that on most of my cabinets when I designed the kitchen 10 years ago, and that one cabinet that isn’t with drawers is just a huge hole for disaster! Thanks for sharing those before photos which shows me you are busy creating not just cleaning all the time, and for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Thank you so much, Sara! These are one of the few things I’ve made where I can honestly say my life is considerably better having built them! 🙂 a good week to you!
I want these so badly! And in my pantry too. Thanks for great step by step instructions. I’d love to save this on Pinterest.
Thank you, Allie!
Hi Greg, I LOVE what you did. It’s so functional. I have the same issue. Our kitchen has the “basic builder cabinets” – which is what I call them. They are the medium oak cabinets that look like they are from the ’80s. When we moved into this home 14 years ago, we had visions of gutting the kitchen. Well, as you can guess, that never happened. Because our cabinets are low-end, they have that vertical bar in the centre, which you had, and which you eliminated. I have a question. How do I know that the bar is not load bearing? And, although you included so many helpful pics, I would have loved to have seen the doors closed after you had glued on the Polywal, to see the finished effect. I hate the middle bar in my cabinets — both upper and lower. I thought I was stuck with that awful middle bar of wood. You have supplied me with an option to get around it. Thank you!
Hi Debbie. I’m on vacation this week, but when I’m back home next week, I’ll send you a picture of the closed doors (please remind me!)
Does your cabinet have a drawer over it? If so, the center spar won’t be load-bearing, except maybe for the drawer. If the drawer has an under mount slide, then the spar might be holding the weight of the drawer. If the drawer has side mounted slides, then the cabinet frame would be supporting the drawer, and the center spar would be cosmetic.
I remembered!
The timing was perfect to find your blog on diy kitchen shelves. Just bought a home with a new kitchen but no pull out shelves. I felt my heart sink as its back breaking to get those big heavy pots out of the back of a cabinet. Thank you for the solution to make life better & less expensive.
Thank you, Jo, and good luck!
I love what you did great talent I thought I would have liked the tin tile to be more of a brownish, color to compliment the counter though.
Thank you, Dierdre. The tin came with the house. One of these days, we’ll get around to replacing it.
Your house looks like mine except I don’t have a cooperative husband!!??. He put in the sliding drawers for me several years ago but boy! did I ever have to nag to get them done. He’s not a carpenter, he was an auto body repairman ( thus the grey spot of primer on the back of my otherwise blue van). He had no imagination for what I wanted and I still have stuff on my countertop. Caaba wait to see where u put the stuff that was IN the cabonets!
Linda
Lol, thank you so much, Linda!
This is something I’ve wanted since we moved into our home 4 years ago but like you I found the commercial products far to exspensive. You have inspired me I haven’t done much wood working but we have most of the tools so with your instructions in hand I am going to give it ago. Wish me luck!
Awesome! Good luck, Julie! Send us some pics when you finish!
What a great job! Any ideas for that dead space when you have corner cabinets?
Linda, I’m so sorry for this incredibly late reply. Somehow a bunch of comments on this post slipped by without my notice. My favorite solution for corner cabinets is the one my sister uses at her house: http://amzn.to/2mCyXun
Another interesting solution that I think might even be better is this one, though I’ve never seen it in person: http://amzn.to/2lg7Ow9
I need you in my kitchen
Okay, I’m only a half a year late with this reply, so….do you still need me? I’m free in a couple of months, I think! 😀
Hey Steve, First I would like to say that your cabinet redo is right up my alley. My kitchen cabinet space is very small. The one issue I have is my upper corner cabinet. There is so much wasted space. I have haunted several sights for ideas that I can make to use this cabinets space better. Have not found anything useful. Have any thoughts or ideas??
Kathy, I’m so sorry for this (half a year) late reply! Yes, I do have two recommendations for corner space. The first I’ve seen and used at my sister’s house, and I really like it: http://amzn.to/2l3F3HP
The second one I haven’t seen in person, but it looks like it might even be better than the first: http://amzn.to/2lg7Ow9
Good luck!
Definitely love your trays! I so need them! Years back I found 2 wire rack trays, 10″W. with runners on the “bottom” at the thrift store. Perfect, as my cupboards are built “around” this large unmovable shelf. Also, that side of the cupboard is at a right angle to the rest & goes way back into a dark abyss. (Never knew what was back there.) So I can relate to crawling in, except I needed a flashlight & a map! Later I found huge older Rubbermaid turntables made for corners & put them next to those wire racks. I’ll bet it’s possible to create custom turntables too. Anyways, you’ve awoken my creativity and since I never did the rest of the cupboards, I was thinking maybe I can adapt your idea to using “bottom” runners. Though needing some type of reinforcement underneath, I think it would work. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Forgot to mention that those were no dinky turntables like for condiments. These are 20″ or so across, with a smaller flat edge (12″ -!4″) on one side. I keep mixing bowls and lots of other stuff on them.
I’ve been wanting these for awhile now. Thanks for all the info. Also, if you are a chef, why do you store your pots and pans under the sink and not under the stove?
Good question! I have no idea why. Can I still be a chef, or does that get me demoted to line cook? 😀
I had pull out drawers put under my cabinets (hubby is an electrician, not finish carpenter). Had the cabinet guy cut the middle piece even with the top and bottom then screw it onto one of the doors. Looks fine!
Great writeup on your process. I am just getting ready to do the same thing for my cabinets. You are right, the cost of the pre-made ones is crazy and I have about 14 to do. I love the suggestion on using the polywall and will do that in my project. After I finish my current project of dressing up some old metal file cabinets. And to all you ladies out there waiting for your hubby to do this, don’t. You are perfectly able to do this too 🙂 When you get the plywood, have the store cut it to size for you.
I ran into this while looking for something else to do in the kitchen and you inspired me to get with it and do something with that wasted space that is causing me problems. Your step by step descriptions really help! I’m almost done with my bedroom project and this just lit a fire under me to wrap it up! Thanks! Cant wait to get started.
Hi Mary, I’m so glad my post helped to inspire you! Send us a photo of the finished project!
Wow…will definitely put these plans to use in our kitchen. We have a very small kitchen and ideas such as yours are a must, thank you so much for sharing your ideas and plans.
Thank you, and good luck!
Hi–This is a great tutorial! The finished drawers look much better than what can be bought. I’m curious about the use of pocket screws…is is stronger to use them instead of just putting a screw along the outside edge? Or did you use the pocket screw because it looks better? Do you think glue and 16 ga nail gun would be sufficient? I’m just thinking it would take longer to do pocket screws, and I have a 10 minke list of projects.
This is the first time I’ve seen your blog, by the way. Looks great!
Thanks!
Cathy
Hi Cathy, pocket screws would be stronger than screwing into the edge of a piece. Any time you screw into the end grain (or laminate edge), you’re losing strength, compared to screwing across the grain (or through the laminate plane). Furthermore, in this case, the pocket screws are hidden, so the piece looks more professional. While edge screws and nails would probably be sufficient (as long as you are also using wood glue), my preference would be for pocket screws (again, in addition to wood glue) for the added strength and clean look. Thank you so much for writing, and I’m glad you found us!