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Replacing kitchen cupboards with drawers can offer a more practical storage solution and better use of space.
The project
We have a standard project home with basic kitchen cabinetry. I've been cursing and grumbling about the lack of storage and, more importantly, the dysfunction of under-bench cupboards with their limited accessibility. So, I bit the bullet and converted a couple of cupboards to drawers.
Being non-standard sizes, I couldn't just replace them and fit the carcasses with off-the-shelf drawers, so had to build made-to-measure. I don't get good accuracy with hand tools (I prefer to do that in the yard where gaps are less important or can be hidden) but fortunately I have a table saw to help me out.
I built the drawer bodies out of white melamine chipboard and faced them with coloured melamine – my wife wasn't initially fussed on the colour but thought it fitted in well once she saw it installed. I think it matches well with the black glass double door fridge. I used heavy duty soft-close drawer slides and added some nice handles.
Updating cupboards under the bench and breakfast bar would be great but stymied by the doors under the sink and cutlery drawers, although I could reface those. Getting everything in and out is so much easier and makes better use of the available space. More importantly, these drawers are a lot more practical.
Before and after
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