I Found More Storage by Replacing My Double Door Base Cabinet!

David McIntosh
by David McIntosh
2 Materials
$100
4 Hours
Medium
The double door base cabinet turned into a giant mess of pots and pans and Tupperware. I need a solution to make it more useable.

This worked so well I did it in another project too.
I removed the 2x doors and the half shelf that was in the back (useless shelf). There also was a pull out box on the bottom, but you had to open both doors to pull it out and items always fell out making it a challenge to get things.
I added some side supports so I could attach the full extension slides. This is to also fill in the space on each side, and bring the wall flush with the face frame.
Here I am adding one of the 22 inch drawer slides.
I will be using drawers so I needed a cross bar. 2x pocket screws on each end hold it in place... along with a tight friction fit.
Here is the drawer box. It is a simple 1/2 inch plywood construction. Cabinet grade Blonde wood plywood.
It is just glued together held together with long staples using my air gun. To add a little strength, I put a few 1 1/4 inch screws just to help hold it together while the glue dried.


After the glue dried... I put on light oak stain/sealant to protect the inside walls and edges. For the base, I put some white contact paper on the bottom.
Here you can see the drawers installed on the glides. They are 9 inch tall drawers in a 10 1/4 inch opening.
Here you can see the fronts I added. The widest board I could buy was 11 1/4" tall, so that determined the size of the drawers and openings I built.
The bottom holds all of our pots and pans with lids. It is a big improvement over what we had before. I may add some dividers one day, but for now... we can see everything easily.
The top is for Tupperware... I wanted the lids to have their own place... so I added a simple runner on each side... allowing me to friction slide the mini shelf forward and backwards. Sliding the top lets us look underneath to get anything in the back.


We love it! Hope it inspires you.
Suggested materials:
  • 1/2inch Plywood   (Knobs)
  • Drawer fronts   (Router for edge profile of drawer fronts)
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 6 questions
  • A A on May 28, 2017

    Where did you get the drawer fronts shown at the end?


  • Nancy Wilson Nancy Wilson on May 28, 2017

    I have one of those corner cabinets that makes it difficult to use. It's an apartment so I can't put in a lazy susan cabinet. I presently store things I rarely use but it's basically empty, while the front half is full. The same thing goes for the upper cabinets in that corner. Do you have a suggestion for a fix on this cabinet problem? I love the drawer solution you've done for my only other below-counter cabinet.

  • Sandra Lauria Sandra Lauria on May 29, 2017

    Is it possible to put in the drawers but leave the outside doors as it would be very hard to replicate mine?


Comments
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5 of 75 comments
  • Liz Liz on Sep 16, 2019

    We just tore out our entire kitchen and replaced all cupboards with drawers. Only got rid of a few things and am amazed at how much more room we have. Even though all cupboards were full, we have 2 drawers that are empty. Yeah!!!! Also doing it ourselves (hubby building cabinets and drawers) we saved about $10,000.


    • Bernice H Bernice H on Sep 17, 2019

      So happy for you. Our kitchen cost almost half again as much...but drawers..big deep and wide are the way to go!

  • Kelli Cook Kelli Cook on Apr 14, 2020

    Looks great but your pots drawer needs some organising. Tupperware drawer is perfect!

    • See 1 previous
    • Smith Smith on Feb 05, 2021

      There r racks you can purchase to separate lids, other vertically or horizontally, depending which direction gives you enough room for your largest lid. Depending what fits in your drawer, you can even use 2 racks, as there were so many lids.

      Also, there r stacking pot and pan sets these days, if you’re ready for new pot and pans.

      Hope this helps.

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