The cupboard
shaped around the plumbing.
Under the sink is the one cupboard where a square shelf is useless. The pipework is in the middle of it, which is why most people give up and stack bottles.
Why is this cupboard always wasted?
Because the trap and the waste run straight through the middle of it, and nothing rectangular fits around them. A fixed shelf has to stop short, so the space behind the pipe is unreachable and the space in front holds a row of bottles two deep. The fittings that work here are the ones designed around the obstruction rather than in spite of it.
What actually fits?
Two approaches. A U-shaped or split pull-out passes either side of the trap and brings both halves out to you. A door-mounted rack uses the inside face of the door, which is the only part of the cupboard the plumbing cannot reach. Most kitchens that solve this properly use both.
What about the bin?
This is the same cupboard in most kitchens, and the two fight. A bin under the sink is in the right place because that is where you scrape plates, but it leaves almost nothing for anything else. If the layout allows a bin drawer elsewhere in the run, the under-sink cupboard becomes genuinely useful. We will raise it at drawing stage rather than leave it for you to discover.
Does the sink type change what fits?
Yes. An undermount sink and a deep bowl take more vertical space than people expect, and a waste disposal unit takes more again. These are measured off your chosen sink before the fitting is specified, not after.
How does it arrive?
If you order delivered assembled it is fitted and adjusted before the carton is closed. Flat packed, it arrives with the cabinet it belongs to and you fit it as you build that cabinet.
Why this matters when you pick who builds it
Nothing above is exotic. It is the ordinary detail of specifying a kitchen properly, and the reason it is written down is that most quotes do not account for any of it. A cabinet maker who has not thought about the clearance on your corner, the runner rating under your pot drawer or the trap under your sink will still quote you a number — it will just be a number for a kitchen that works less well than it could have. We draw these decisions into the plan before anything is cut, on every kitchen, at every price. That is what you are actually choosing when you choose who to buy from.
- Pull-outs shaped around the trap
- Door-mounted racks for the face the plumbing cannot reach
- Measured against your chosen sink
- Bin placement raised at drawing stage
- Quoted as its own line
Also: undermount versus topmount sinks · drawer organisers · magic corners
Storage and access fittings: Pull-down wall basket · Magic corner pull-out · Tall larder pull-out · Drawer organisers · Plate and pot racks · Deep drawer fit-out · Motorised pull-down shelving.
Frequently asked
Under-sink storage — questions
If your question is not here, call the studio. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Ask us directly →Why is under-sink storage always wasted?
The trap and waste run through the middle of the cupboard, so nothing rectangular fits around them and a fixed shelf has to stop short.
What fits under a sink?
U-shaped or split pull-outs that pass either side of the trap, and door-mounted racks on the inside face of the door.
Should the bin go under the sink?
It is in the right place for scraping plates, but it uses almost the whole cupboard. If a bin drawer can go elsewhere in the run, the under-sink cupboard becomes far more useful.
Does the sink affect what will fit?
Considerably. A deep undermount bowl, and a waste disposal unit especially, take more vertical space than most people allow for.
In their words
The people who already
cook in one.
“For what we paid compared to what similar kitchens were costing elsewhere, we’re extremely happy with it.”
Rockhampton
“Could not be happier with our kitchen. The funny thing is, pretty much everyone who’s come over since we installed it has asked who did our kitchen and assumed we spent a lot more than we actually did.”
Gladstone
“Once we saw it in person, it was a pretty easy decision. It looked even better than we expected.”
Caboolture
Delivered assembled
The assembly is done
before it arrives.
Carcasses built square on a bench, Blum hardware fitted, doors hung and adjusted to even gaps. On site you are fixing finished cabinets to a wall, not building them on the floor. Our own team fits it in Central Queensland; your installer fits it anywhere else in Australia. Prefer to build it yourself? The same kitchen ships flat pack.
Long island, one delivery
Island with seating overhang
Gloss doors, adjusted to even gaps before delivery
Under-sink storage
Send us the dimensions.
We will send back a number.
A fixed, itemised quote with nothing hidden in it. If the number does not work for you, you owe us nothing and you keep the drawings.