How to design a lazy susan pantry cabinet.

by: BruceContryman
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Our pantry cabinet design begun when my wife and I ultimately got sick and tired with the problem of reaching to find items in the back of our kitchen pantry storage unit.

It had 5 shelves from floor to ceiling that were so deep you could store a lot of stuff, but couldn't find any thing with out emptying half of the shelf.

I researched the available solutions at the local hardware stores and was appalled at the wasted spaces they left in the pantry. So I made a pantry design for a 6 shelf Lazy Susan with corresponding back shelves that utilized all the space and wasted very little. This is a great kitchen do it yourself project.

Our pantry is a trapezoid shape that is 23" deep, 27" wide at the back and 41" wide at the front and 76 inches high. It is quite large and can hold a lot of dry good items.

I decided to make the lazy susan as a one half semi circle shelf with the pivot post at the front of the closet door. I wanted to make the Lazy Susan shelves as large as possible so that we all could reach into the back of the pantry easily.

The trick was to find the center of pantry entrance and still clear the pantry door as the Lazy Susan swung around. Once I found this point I mounted a 5/8 inch pillow block bearing to the top inside of the pantry door to make all other measurements. I hung a plum bob from the pillow block bearing to the point I marked on the floor as the center of the pantry door.

You should make a template out of poster board of the pantry cabinet floor to make your measurements and drawings. Each shelf may have an unequal dimension as the walls are not square, so determine the largest and smallest size. You need one set of dimensions that will work for all shelves. The shelves can then be cut to the smallest size and they should fit in any place.

My wife, my sons and I decided to paint the inside of the pantry a white color so that it would be bright and easy to find items on the back shelves and the lazy susan shelves. We wanted to used all oak plywood panels and stain them a natural oak color.

About the Author

Do you have a big kitchen pantry cabinet that you store dry goods in but can never find what you want? Then see our pantry cabinet., or our lazy susan pantry, on how to design your own pantry.  

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