Corner cabinet solutions explained: LeMans, magic corner, carousel, blind corner
The two kinds of corner cabinet, the fittings that make their back reachable, the sizes each one needs, and the door that has to clear the next run.
Last changed October 20, 2026
Two kinds of corner
Where two runs of base cabinets meet, the space in the corner is deep and hard to reach. Kitchens solve it in one of two ways.
- A blind corner: a long cabinet runs into the corner along one wall, and the other run stands against its front. Its door is on the open part; the far end hides behind the other run.
- An L-shaped corner unit: a cabinet that turns the corner itself, usually 90 × 90 cm, opened from the angle with a bi-fold door.
The fittings, and the sizes they need
| Fitting | Goes in | Cabinet | Door |
|---|---|---|---|
| LeMans | blind corner | 90–120 wide | at least 45 |
| Magic corner | blind corner | 90 or 100 wide | at least 45 |
| Half-moon | blind corner | 90–100 wide | — |
| Full carousel | L-shaped unit | 90 × 90 | — |
| Three-quarter carousel | L-shaped unit | 80–90 each side | — |
| Corner drawers | a corner unit of their own | 90 × 90 | — |
- LeMans: two curved shelves that swing out of the cabinet, one after the other.
- Magic corner: the baskets at the front pull out, and the ones at the back slide forward into their place. It also needs at least 48.5 cm of clear depth inside.
- Half-moon: semicircular shelves that swing out on a pivot.
- Carousel: round shelves that turn on a pole, in the L-shaped unit.
- Corner drawers: drawers with a pointed front, which bring everything in the corner to you.
The door that has to clear the next run
A blind corner's door opens next to the cabinets of the other run. If the door is too close to the corner, it hits them, or can't open far enough for the fitting to come out.
With the cabinet pushed into the corner and a 56 cm deep run beside it, the door's width can be at most the cabinet's width less 62.8 cm. A 45 cm door therefore needs a 110 cm cabinet, and a 50 cm door a 120 cm one; a narrower cabinet is pulled a little out of the corner instead.
TruePlinth works this out as you design: it warns when a blind corner's door would reach behind the next run, and when two runs meet without the filler their fronts need.
The filler in the corner
Between two runs meeting in a corner, leave at least 5 cm of filler. Without it, the doors and handles of the two runs meet, and the first drawer you open stops the other.
Which to choose
- A lot of storage with one simple fitting: an L-shaped unit with a carousel.
- Easiest to reach: corner drawers, or a magic corner.
- A long run on one wall and a short return: a blind corner with a LeMans.
- Little to store in the corner: a blind corner with plain shelves and no fitting at all.
Plan it with TruePlinth
Draw your room, drag in cabinets in standard sizes, and the checks in this guide run as you design.