Wasted kitchen space - how to recover it?

I'm having new countertops installed and once the old ones were removed I see a good deal of wasted space. The tops (granite) are already templated and cut and ready to install tomorrow so it's too late to reconfigure from the top, so it would have to be from the sides. How would you tackle cutting through the sides of either of the next door neighbor cabinets and make use of this space?
Pic:
http://i48.tinypic.com/v8d6vt.jpg
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On 5/31/2012 9:24 PM, Cheryl wrote:

I didn't want to post this one because the floor looks gross but hell, it's been hidden. The only thing in there is where the waste water goes south.
http://i48.tinypic.com/10x4p6g.jpg
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wrote:

I wouldn't do it. You'd have to be a contortionist to make use of it. The time is past. Just cuss out whoever didn't think of using a corner cabinet, forgive, accept, and forget.
--
Vic

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If you want some almost dead storage, you could use a drill to make a pilot hole in the sidewall or either cabinet, and then use a sabre saw to cut the opening. BUT, if you think you might want a shelf in that space, build the shelf and do your cutting before they come to install tromorrow. Mayvbe you could ask them to delay a day or two while you cut the opening and build the shelf.
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On 5/31/2012 10:14 PM, hr(bob) snipped-for-privacy@att.net wrote:

I'm starting to agree with Vic about the difficulty using that space. But looking at the pic again it might be a good time to move the water line to my ice maker-filtered water in the fridge before they put in the countertops. That should be a 15 min job since the line has plenty of slack.
Thanks for the honest answers.
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-- X-No-Archive: Yes On 5/31/2012 9:47 PM, Cheryl wrote:

We have a space like that and we use it for items we don't use often. Good place for party supplies, glassware, china, kitchen equipment, etc, but since it wasn't planned I'd probably just forget now. You'd be making a impromptu shelf in cabinets that are already installed. I'd want it to be part of the existing cabinet work.
Looks to me like someone rushed into it without considering all the options.
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On 6/1/2012 8:24 PM, gonjah wrote: ...

How?
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On 6/1/2012 9:40 PM, dpb wrote:

Heh. The cabinet extends. Guess I didn't make that clear
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On 6/1/2012 9:55 PM, gonjah wrote:

...
? In what fashion?
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-- X-No-Archive: Yes On 6/1/2012 10:52 PM, dpb wrote:

If you look at her 1st picture, the cabinet on the right would extend to the wall on the left. The opening on the right services the space under the counter top. You have to reach in to use the space and there is always something that has to be moved to access the space. That's why there are odds and ends in there. It's a good place to put things and basically forget you even have them. So in that sense, it might not really be all that great to have. I have two cabinets like that. The other one is at eye level so it makes more sense.
I donno. The space is there, why not use it?
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Have them cut a "trap" door on the counter top. Each time you need to get in that area, open the little door and lasso with a rope what you need. LOL
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It is possible to cut the cabinet side open using either a circular saw or jig saw. Putting in a shelf is more difficult given the short time.
Really a shame that the original designer was such a hack. There are cabinets made just for the purpose of using that space. You can get corner cabinets with a lazy susan, you can get end cabinets that extend into the dead space.
If you do open the space, it is OK for large items like little used pans that can be slid into place.
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On 6/1/2012 10:06 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Hi Ed. Thanks, and thanks everyone for the ideas. It was fun to read and get ideas for later, but this space is gone forever. There just wasn't enough time before the counter top install to do anything with it. Shame. In a small kitchen you need all the space you can get.
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Cheryl wrote:

Forget about it. Even if the cabinets had been constructed to access the corner space via a lazy susan it would be a PITA, Best thing is to avoid butting cabinets at corners.
If you just gotta use it, make it into a hidey-hole for your valuables; cut hole in side at bottom, remove bottom drawer when you want to access the new space.
--

dadiOH
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wrote:

If they are both outside walls, then just add some insulation to them & put a time capsule in there.
If one is an inside wall, then look into that room for a cupboard/drawer storage space.
Sometimes you just lose space. I had a lazy susan corner in my kitchen for 10 years. Last remodel [10-15 yrs ago] I took it out to make room for a dishwasher. I don't miss the lazy susan. I hated looking at that wasted space-- but I don't stay up nights [very often] anymore worrying about it.<g>
I even considered a corner garage on an elevator that would go down into that space to give me more counter space.
Jim
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Hey, that would be a nice room for grandma!
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On 5/31/2012 8:24 PM, Cheryl wrote:

Just saw this thread--
Must agree w/ the others that to do anything useful would require redoing the cabinets on both sides as well and there's not enough shown in the picture to know if that is feasible.
This old farmhouse has quite small kitchen area also around a corner as yours. I built cabinets for the folks when they redid the house and we did fit one 30" cabinet on the side of the range and another on the side of the sink on the other wall. That left an 8" opening on each side in the corner and we then built a custom lazy susan to fit the hole. In order to make it useful we maximized the diameter but cut a square corner out of the shelves so the doors to it could fit in the same line as the cabinet faces (overlay doors, face-frame cabinets).
We were unable to find a pre-fab unit that either a) would fit the space as well w/o a 45 degree angle face or b) wasn't so flimsy in construction as to likely fail in a few years.
This one uses a 1-1/2" black iron pipe as the center rail and Krause one-way plow thrust bearings as the shelf supports. Each shelf will easily support 200 lb so it can be loaded heavily. In this kitchen, doing w/o that storage would be a major drawback...
I don't have any pictures at hand, but if the project isn't already complete and want a layout, post back and I'll see what I can do.
The counter top you have would still work w/ this layout but you would have to significantly alter the cabinets either side so you would have to hold up in having the permanent installation of the counter while you got the other pieces/parts ordered/built and fitted...that may or may not be feasible to your project schedule/budget, no way to judge.
------------------------ | | / \| | | | susan | | | \__table /| ---------------| \___/ | --- |-------| susan || | Cabinets doors | | | | |-------| | | | |
Terribly crude and you'll have to have a fixed-width font to make any sense at all of it.
Note the two doors are separate and the right hand one (vertical in drawing) overlaps the other, they're not hinged in the middle nor are they a 90-deg single door.
--
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On 6/1/2012 2:01 PM, dpb wrote: ...

...
OK, following up from the link of the other poster...
Idea is this although built much more stoutly and includes a "can" surrounding the outside to keep stuff from falling behind into the void...
<http://www.magiccorners.com/pie-shaped.php
You have to make room for the front w/ this; the other sacrifices the one cabinet you already have which overall may not be a win given the limitations on the shelf size of the half-moon to make the bend.
IOW, you can't get something for nothing... :)
--
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On 6/1/2012 1:30 PM, dpb wrote:

here's another one
>http://www.shelvesthatslide.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=STS&Screen=PROD&Category_Code ¼&Product_Code=RV5PSP15>
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On 6/1/2012 3:35 PM, chaniarts wrote: ...

That I hadn't seen before...wonder how well it will last; how awkward it really is to push if heavily loaded. Not inexpensive but looks at least reasonably well-built.
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