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A corner cupboard exists to use the least useful part of a room. Every rectangular room has four corners, and in most houses at least one is doing nothing. A corner cupboard turns that dead triangle into a piece of furniture without narrowing the room or interrupting a wall.
It is also the piece that most often has to be made rather than bought, because old corners are not ninety degrees. We measure the actual angle and build to it.
The forms we make
Glazed double corner cabinet. Two glazed doors above, panelled cupboard below, cornice on top. The full-height display piece, and the most-specified corner cabinet we make. Glazing bars are cut to the pattern of the range.
Glazed single corner cupboard. One glazed door, in the same construction, for a smaller room or a shallower corner. Made full height, or shorter on a plinth.
Hanging corner cupboard. The top half alone, fixed to the wall with nothing beneath it. The answer where floor space is spoken for, or where a radiator or a door swing occupies the bottom of the corner. Made glazed or panelled, and hung on a substantial batten — tell us the wall construction and we will specify the fixings.
Panelled corner cabinet. Solid doors rather than glass, with raised and fielded panels — the panel standing proud in the middle and chamfered away at the edges. The version for storage rather than display.
Open shelved corner cupboard. No doors at the top at all: shaped open shelves above a cupboard base. Lighter in the corner than a glazed piece, and right where the contents change often enough that a door is a nuisance.
Base-only corner cabinet. The lower half on its own, at worktop or side table height. Used as a corner server, a drinks surface, or the base of a piece you may complete later.
Corner bookcase with drawers. The bookcase treatment of the same idea: open shelving to the corner over a drawer run. See also bookcases.
How a corner cupboard is built
The carcase is triangular in plan with the front cut off, so the door face sits square to the room. The back edges are scribed to the walls rather than cut straight, because plaster over old brick is never flat.
Shelves are shaped rather than rectangular, and usually run with a plate groove near the back so china stands on its edge. The cornice returns to both walls, and the plinth is cut out where it has to ride over an uneven floor.
Timbers
Oak, cherry, mahogany and walnut are the standard four, and every corner cupboard is made in all of them. Oak is the usual choice, mahogany suits the formal glazed patterns, and cherry darkens over the first few years into a deep red-brown.
Specials, on application: character oak; pippy oak in light, medium and heavy grades; oak selected for medullary ray, the silver-grey figure across quarter-sawn oak; and clean timber with no knots at all.
Finishes: polished, painted, limed, sand-blasted, rub-through paint, natural, or colour matched to a sample. A painted cupboard with a polished interior is a common specification, because the inside then reads as a lit box. We can match furniture that is 100 years old to new reproduction purchases made the year before.
Order free timber and finish samples. A corner piece is seen against two walls at once, so it has to work with both.
Made to your size
Every corner cupboard is made to a measured corner. Beyond that, the usual changes are: height reduced to clear a beam or a sloping ceiling; depth into the corner increased or reduced; a hanging cupboard made to clear a radiator; shelf spacing set around particular china; glazed doors substituted for panelled; interior lighting designed in; the plinth scribed to a stone floor.
Send us the corner angle if you can measure it, the two wall lengths, the ceiling height and a photograph. See bespoke and commissioning, or fitted furniture where the piece is to be built in.
Prices
Quoted individually, because no two corners are the same. Tell us the form, the height, the wall lengths, the timber and the finish and we will give you a guide price. Special timbers and finishes are on application. Lead time is typically ten to twelve weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Will a corner cupboard fit if my corner is not square?
Yes. Very few old corners are. We build to the angle you actually have and scribe the back edges to the walls, so the piece sits tight on both sides rather than standing off one.
Can I have a corner cupboard that hangs on the wall?
Yes. A hanging corner cupboard is the upper stage alone, glazed or panelled, fixed to a substantial batten. Tell us whether the wall is masonry, stud or lath and plaster and we will specify the fixings.
Glazed or panelled?
Glazed if the contents are worth looking at and the room needs lightening. Panelled if you want storage, or if the room already has a lot of glass. Both go on the same carcase, so a matching pair is straightforward.
Can you make a corner cupboard to match an existing piece?
Usually. Send photographs, dimensions and a sample of the finish. See matching antique furniture.
