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Topic by MsDebbieP posted 10-28-2008 04:53 PM 5256 views 0 times favorited 11 replies Add to Favorites Watch
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MsDebbieP

628 posts in 5671 days

10-28-2008 04:53 PM

Ideas Welcome!

Being just 5’ tall most of my kitchen cupboards are not accessed easily and it’s very frustrating. And then I thought—hey, there must be some way to make them more accessible (besides surgery to stretch my legs).

I’d thought about a drop-down shelf of some sort that would bring the shelves down to me… don’t know if they exist…

The cupboards are old farmhouse cupboards and I don’t want to lose the “old feel” of them.
I also don’t want to lose the counter space that I have. (oh what a joy it would be to rip it all out and make it the appropriate height for “moi”. But alas the $$$$ says that isn’t going to happen.

Ideas??

-- ~ Debbie, Ontario Canada



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PaBull

694 posts in 5604 days

10-28-2008 04:58 PM

Debbie, I would go for the taller ones, in your case….lol. (I think iI have an old pair still in the garage…)

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MsDebbieP

628 posts in 5671 days

10-28-2008 05:04 PM

oh you are so funny hahaha.
I’ve thought of a pull-out step that’s convenient but, that’s probably not going to happen either.. and I imagine it would just get in the way.

-- ~ Debbie, Ontario Canada

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Scott Hildenbrand

33 posts in 5499 days

10-28-2008 07:03 PM

Sure they make stuff like that, Debbie.. Typically used for handicapped people to make their kitchens more accessible.

Here’s one that I’d found.. Down side is the price.. Freaking expensive, IMO.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10842&filter=pull%20shelf

Personally, my opinion would be to find someone who sells them local… Go, see, take notes, then have the hubby build you some… Basically all they are is a shelf section with arms that are tensioned by springs to allow them to easily be lowered and raised.

Here’s a good closer picture of the arm mech.. It’s REALLY simple looking. Be worth a shot to try and build one.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

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Dan Lyke

331 posts in 5657 days

10-29-2008 01:19 AM

Oooh, like that pull-down system. We’ve been wanting to work in a pull-out step stool into our cabinets, so it’s always right at hand…

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/

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MsDebbieP

628 posts in 5671 days

10-29-2008 01:49 AM

that’s what I want!! need!!!
now.. hmmmm how to make it happen.

-- ~ Debbie, Ontario Canada

View Scott Hildenbrand's profile

Scott Hildenbrand

33 posts in 5499 days

10-29-2008 02:03 AM

Debbie, thought that you’d like that..

Seems Rockler, oddly enough, has the lowest price on them.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

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·

3 posts in 5657 days

10-29-2008 02:36 AM

You beat me with that picture while I was still asleep Scott, that’s not fair. ;o)

For obvious reasons, they sell all kind of variations on the idea here in Japan, Debbie. They range from the simplest to the hydraulic ones. They’re expensive but, at the same time, easy to make for yourself. You just have to play a little with the geometry and get a good pair of springs (the two “cams” that unite both parallel arms are, in fact, springs that pull the up thing together to ease the closing action). You can either make the inner box and the arms out of wood or use metal for the arms only. I bet springs wouldn’t be hard to get online in your neck of the woods. Think also about the classic variation in which the shelves are substituted by a clothes-hanging bar. Peruse the online hardware catalogs and don’t discard the industrial ones, they’re often cheaper and the same quality or better than the residential.

Good luck.

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MsDebbieP

628 posts in 5671 days

10-29-2008 06:31 PM

thanks guys.
now to make it happen.
At least I now have a picture to show what I want!

-- ~ Debbie, Ontario Canada

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Kindlingmaker

17 posts in 5476 days

10-31-2008 05:16 PM

I am 6’3” and now I can move the cabinets to the ceiling and still use them! I love this site! Great topic MsDebbieP!

-- What do you mean I can't use a coat hanger for 12 ga wire?

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MsDebbieP

628 posts in 5671 days

10-31-2008 06:19 PM

oh sure.. rub it in!!

my top shelf is for long-term storage!

-- ~ Debbie, Ontario Canada

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Kindlingmaker

17 posts in 5476 days

10-31-2008 07:14 PM

; )

-- What do you mean I can't use a coat hanger for 12 ga wire?

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