10 Corner Cabinet Lazy Susan Alternatives (For Better Storage)

Upgraded Home Team
by Upgraded Home Team
Corner cabinet lazy susans are a way to maximize space, but they aren’t ideal for every homeowner and kitchen. Alternatives such as pullout tray drawers and motorized shelves serve the same purpose as a lazy susan, but they’re less prone to jamming. Whether you substitute your corner cabinet lazy susan with a recycling center or spice rack, each alternative is unique.

Getting the most space out of your kitchen’s layout has always been a significant issue, especially if your home isn’t that big. That’s why corner cabinet lazy susans have been a mainstay in most homes. However, they aren’t perfect. Their circular builds can get jammed with stuff, and you might lose out on some storage space.

Consider alternatives to Lazy Susans like pullout tray drawers, corner drawers, swinging pullouts, and recycling centers. Also, you might decide to use a corner display or motorized shelves. Finally, you can use your lazy susan cabinet as a built-in space for your kitchen appliance to save on counter space without losing access to your appliances.

In this article, we will dive in and see why people don’t like lazy susans. We’ll also include some alternatives and explain why certain people don’t like the lazy Susans and what you can do in place of them.

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Corner Cabinet Lazy Susan Alternatives

As people started to notice other alternatives, lazy susans took a backseat in the storage world. We honestly couldn’t be happier about this.

Want to get a different take on lazy susans for your home? These corner cabinet lazy susan alternatives can help you get more bang for your proverbial buck…

1. Pullout Tray Drawers

Did you ever notice how annoying it can be to have to spin the wheel of a lazy susan just to get that one spice you need? Many corner cabinets are now getting outfitted with pullout drawers that are designed to maximize your shelving space use.

  • SLIDE OUT ORGANIZER for hard to store cutting boards, tall trays, and baking pans
  • CABINET SLIDING ORGANIZER - Roll out designed to hold pots, lids, bakeware, and cookware items.

Pullout drawers work by acting as sets of trays that are put on a wheel hinge. When you need something from a tray, you just need to pull out that tray to get it. They have a straight door opening, which helps give your kitchen a cleaner look.

2. Corner Drawers

Not to be confused with pullout drawers, which use trays and straight doors on their cabinetry to work, corner drawers are pullout drawers that are built with the corner wedge in mind.

Most corner drawers are an excellent pick for people who want to have a safe place to store pots, pans, and other major cooking utensils when they’re not in use. Why? Because these cabinets are super heavy-duty!

3. Swinging Pullouts

Want more accessibility than a typical pullout drawer, but still like the idea of being able to pull things out of your cabinet in a pinch? Swinging pullouts are an excellent alternative because they let you pull shelving out and can swing in your direction for added ease.

Swinging pullouts can be retrofitted into a cabinet that once housed a lazy susan, making them an excellent go-to for many households.

4. Recycling Centers

If you recycle (and you should, by the way), you can use your non-functional corner as a recycling center. All you need to do is add three small recycling bins into the corner area of your cabinetry and add a door (if you don’t have one already).

This is an easy and discreet way to keep your home clutter-free and make good use of those pesky corners. This concept also works well with trash bins too.

5. Corner Displays

Have some fancy glassware you want to display? Using a corner display cabinet with a glass window door is an excellent choice to consider. However, it’s worth noting that you might have limited access to your cabinetry space here.

As far as lazy susan alternatives go, this isn’t a good one for space. It’s a better choice for people who want a specific aesthetic in their kitchen and want to have items on display. Even so, it gets the job done. Kinda.

6. A Lazy Susan Spice Rack

I know this is an article about corner cabinet lazy susan alternatives, but hear me out. This isn’t a normal lazy susan, where you’re stuck with a rotating wheel that offers little to no organization. This is a special product that blends a spice rack with a pot storage area.

  • DUAL SPIN LAZY SUSAN – Built-in turntables keep all your spices at your fingertips with a simple spin. Makes everything visible and provides storage for taller items. Reclaim unused space in your cabinets and keep everything in view!
  • ☞[360° ROTATING] : Our lazy susan turntable can easily rotate 360° with stainless steel ball bearings in the bottom tray. Easy to reach the spice bottle.
  • ORGANIZE EVERY SPACE IN YOUR HOME: Organize everything-perfect for organizing your kitchen, your refrigerator, your craft or hobby room or even your bathroom cabinets.

By giving you a built-in spice rack, you get an easier time with storage and a faster way to keep all your goods organized. Considering how hard it can be to get all your spices well organized, this is a definite improvement as far as your kitchen goes. This just goes to show you that minor upgrades on classic designs are all you need sometimes.

7. Pot and Pan Organizers

So, most people who have lazy susans use them for their cookware, and rightfully so. Storing food in there is a pain. Want to make things easier, and maybe also max out your storage? Get a spinning pot and pan organizer to hang your extra goods from.

  • √[ Adjustable Tiers ]: This pan rack organizer comes with 8 adjustable tiers, you can install the pan organizer according to the size of your pots and pans. No matter how big your pot is, it can still fit into your pot organizer. Help you more convenient to organize kitchen storage.
  • 💝[Durable Anti-rust Material]-Our pot rack organizer is made of high quality heavy iron with rubber coating. It not only provides stable support for heavy pots without deformation, but also prevents rusting. At the same time, it can protect the kitchen items and tabletops from scratches, making it safer to use and more convenient for daily cleaning. ROOHUA pot and pan organizer is the best choice for storage of cookware in your kitchen cabinet.
  • 【Updated Design for More Stablity】This adjustable pot and pan organizer for the cabinet can keep outstanding balance during use; the extended U-turn part provides a better footing for smaller kitchen tools so that you'll have no worries about them sliding off; each divider is fitted with a rubber covering to help hold pans/pots in place and protect them from getting scratched or falling off

These organizers can hook into your lazy susan, making them a better option for people who want to keep their utensils neat and tidy. If you have been struggling with sorting through your cookware, this is your best bet.

8. A Super Susan

Lazy Susan’s biggest issue is that you have to spin BOTH drawers at the same time to get to anything that’s being stored on one shelf or another. A super Susan gets rid of that annoyance by making both shelves in a typical lazy susan run independently of one another.

  • 6" OA height with 5-1/2" interior height
  • One 31" pre-measured Mesh Super Susan Shelf Liner for corner cabinet
  • These Susan Bates Silvalume crochet hooks are aluminum with a slick, baked-on Silcom coating

Super Susans are a great alternative to a lazy susan, and also are relatively cost-effective. If the “multispin” issue were a thorn in your side, you would be thrilled about this alternative.

9. Motorized Shelves

If you are willing to splurge, then you might want to get a motorized shelf. These shelves open up from the top of your cabinet and display everything inside the shelf beautifully. They can be used with hanging shelf accessories, a super Susan, as well as other storage options.

  • Electric Height Adjustable: The desk has 3 preset buttons to customize your desired heights from 32.48 inch to51.38 inch

This option is admittedly pricey, but it’s a wonderful want to turn your corner cabinets into a serious storage statement that will wow guests and make your life easier. I mean, think about it. Isn’t it the most James Bond-style kitchen concept you’ve ever heard about?

10. Built-In Appliances

Sometimes, the easiest way to switch things up with a corner cabinet is to use your corner cabinet area as a new space for an appliance. If you’ve been looking to redo your kitchen, designing your corner cabinet area as your new oven location or as a wine freezer location makes more sense.

Granted, this means that you may have to take out other portions of your cabinetry to make this happen. Even so, you can usually move things around to make it work. That said, it’s not a solution for every kitchen, especially if your kitchen is low on space.

Best Blind Corner Cabinet Ideas

Why Do People Hate Lazy Susans?

Lazy susans used to be the gold standard as far as corner cabinet storage goes, but the truth is, they are a rather unwieldy invention.

They often limit the amount of storage space you can use, are hard to organize, and can also be challenging to maneuver. Worse, they also gained a reputation for being a haven for vermin.

Are Lazy Susans Still Popular?

If you’re looking at lazy susan alternatives, you might be one of the many people under the impression that they’re going out of style. Heck, even going online, you might see people saying they want to get rid of their lazy susan.

Despite this cabinet invention being from the 18th century, lazy susans remain popular as ever among homeowners who want to maximize space.

The truth is that many homes can improve their kitchen’s functionality through their use. Fun fact—the lazy susan was invented by United States president Thomas Jefferson. So, this is one home feature that’s as American as apple pie.

Are Lazy Susan Alternatives Better Than Regular Lazy Susans?

It depends on who you ask, as well as the kitchen that you’re designing. There will be points where installing the classic thing won’t make sense. For example, if you have a slight gap in your cabinetry, you’ll want to get pull-out shelves instead.

With that said, everyone has their interests when it comes to a kitchen. Some people find lazy susans to be a must-have and are crazy about them. Others find it to be a somewhat annoying tool. It’s essential to go with your gut here.

Do Lazy Susans Add Value To Your Home?

A home’s price can easily be impacted by how accessible and useful your kitchen cabinet space is. This means that a lazy susan (or a more modern alternative) can easily add a nominal amount of value to your house.

How much value it adds can vary, but it’s not usually that much. Still, if you are looking to increase the overall value of your home and add a brand new level of efficiency to your kitchen, it’s a great pick.

Do Lazy Susans Add Space?

They don’t add space, per se. However, the reason why they are so popular is that they make the space that’s already there more accessible. If you’ve ever had to reach into the back of a cabinet to grab that one spice you need for a recipe, you’ll understand the value of a lazy susan.

When we selected our lazy susan alternatives, we did so with the same concept in mind. We’re looking to make sure that your cabinetry and kitchen have as much accessible space as possible.

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Our Final Take

If you want to keep your lazy susan, that’s fine. For some people, this is a storage option that works—and that’s okay if it’s your thing. However, many people find them to be an annoying way to store items, and that’s where the cabinetry industry has a lot of work to do.

There are tons of different ways you can jazz up a lazy susan or replace it altogether. Whether it’s a corner drawer, a pullout tray drawer, or just an updated version of the old school classic doesn’t matter. What matters is that you can find better storage solutions for smaller kitchens and make the most of your buck.

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Upgraded Home Team
Upgraded Home Team

We are a team of passionate homeowners, home improvement pros, and DIY enthusiasts who enjoy sharing home improvement, housekeeping, decorating, and more with other homeowners! Whether you're looking for a step-by-step guide on fixing an appliance or the cost of installing a fence, we've here to help.

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