Blind Corner Shelf

Kitchen Cabinet Blind Corner Shelf– A Simple & Economical Solution



Blind corners are mostly used to store items that are not frequently needed such as Christmas dishes. The “A” drawers are located in the normal position and the “B” drawers are located in the blind corner of this cabinet. The cabinet positions is also known as the Blind position.(see images above).

Learn how to measure your cabinet in the blind corner

The cabinet in the picture came equipped with fixed (unmoveable) shelves as shown. and was fitted with 17″ x 21 5/8″ x 3″ drawers.

Imagine the floor space of the cabinet as 2 rectangles. The A rectangle…the one looking straight into the cabinet…will be the width of your opening A…the length will be the depth of the cabinet. The B rectangle, which can be on either side of A, is the depth of the cabinet mulitipied by the depth of the cabinet. As standard kitchen cabinets are 24″, A” will be A x 24″ and B will be 24″ x 24″.

The width at A is critical.  It usually determines the largest size drawer you can fit in the hole. In this case, A =17″, and with a fixed middle shelf in place, you cannot get a wider drawer in position B. If there was no middle shelf in the cabinet above, it would have been possible to put a 20″ drawer in position B, but then you only have 2 drawers on the bottom shelf.

Now imagine placing our largest and smallest drawer in position B… implying A =20″ and 11″.  A 20″ drawer will take up almost all of the 24″ x 24″ blind space, and when you roll out the drawer, you can roll it out completely as A= 20. To remove the 20″ B drawer, all you have to do is lift up at the front… separate the drawer from the base… turn the drawer towards you… and extract it from the cabinet.

For an 11″ drawer in the B position, you have utilized less than half of the B space available. You can only roll the drawer out 11″ so to completely fill the drawer, you would have to push some of the items towards the back of the drawer, which in turn implies when you want to access those items, you would have to remove the items you can see in the front 11″ of the drawer and then reach around the corner to access the items in the back of the drawer because you cannot fully extend the drawer.  This means you cannot remove the drawer from the base while in the cabinet and means the installation of the small drawer is much more difficult.


If you choose to choice one of these sizes, use shorter screws for the front base member ( only long enough to screw into the 2″x 2″, not through to the shelf) and you will have to insert the drawer onto the base before placing the entire unit into the cabinet… and then reach over the open drawer to screw down the back screws, an almost impossible installation.

To select the size required, measure the opening at A and subtract 3/4″. Select the size that is equal to or less than the result. Usually you will buy all drawers required at this size.

Learn how to install a blind corner shelf

A right angle power screw driver with a magnetized bit is highly recommended. With fixed cabinet shelves, this is a difficult installation, it is dark and cramped, but it can be done.

To Install:

  • Go to the hardware store and buy a length or two of 2″ x 2″… and #7- 2 1/2″ screws. You need 4 screws per drawer. One 8″ length of 2″ x 2″ will suffice.
  • Cut 2″ x 2″ into lengths 3/4″ longer than your drawer width…2 per drawer in position B.
  • Place a base on top of the 2″ x 2″, and mark the drill hole locations.
  • Drill the marked locations with a drill bit slightly bigger than the screw.
  • Attach each base to a 2″ x 2″ by setting the screws partially.
  • Place the B bases first. Set the front screws, and then the back screws. When you have a middle shelf as shown in our picture, and angle drill is almost mandatory to set the back screws. It’s tight and dark back there.
  • Place the B drawers in their bases.
  • Place the A drawer bases directly on the shelf.
  • Place the A drawers in their bases.

To access drawer…B, simply roll out and remove drawer A. This allows access to drawer B.

Learn about full size kitchen cabinet pull out drawers, half shelves for smaller cupboards, sliding shelves to organize your kitchen easier, and pull out kitchen drawers that can be used in your pantry or storage cupboards.