I want to create a floating shelf for my kitchen but not sure if this is actually do-able
so, I want to create a sliding shelf system
ideally, in its stationary state (ie when its near the roof and not taking up any walking around space), its only 27 inches tall so that its not low enough to get in the way of me
and when I need it, I can I pull it down to access stuff on it. the lowest I can pull it without it getting in the way of anything is 63 inches from the roof. but I doubt I would ever need to pull it that low, just wanted to make it clear the range I have the potential for.
it can be a max of 20 inches wide without getting in the way of either cabinet door on either side.
the kitchen is too small for me to allow it to rest on the ground and since I live in a rental, I don't want to drill into the wall and am instead looking to anchor it to piece of wood that would be resting on top of the cabinets on either side.
the piece of wood (or multiple pieces of wood, I don't know what is best) can be 4 inches wide by 11 inches high and the space above the cabinets can provide for 10 inches of depth for the wood to rest on.
is what I am envisioning possible?
I assume I have to custom make this myself and cant order something like this from a store?
This would be very tricky for a few reasons. If you want to be able to retract it with things on it, it needs some amount of assisted lift to be able to lift all those things, either from counterweighting or springs of some sort, and either one will take some serious engineering and will add weight to the device. Additionally, since you're supporting all the weight of this contraption on the cabinets on either side rather than the floor, you had better be 100% confident they're rated to support the extra weight or you'll rip the cabinets off the wall. I won't say it's impossible, but I will say that this is the sort of project where a structural engineer would come in handy if you had one in your back pocket. It's not a trivial project.
What do I duck to look into that?
If needing to research those terms is indicative of your current level of expertise I can say that this project is not a good place to learn how to incorporate them into a project. As you've described it, this is going to be large, heavy, and suspended above your head. I tried to provide a overall skeptical outlook, but let me be clear: The project you propose is not for amateurs.
Practically, both of us skipped the first step here. You haven't said what need you're fulfilling with your proposed solution. Do you need more work space? More ingredient storage? A place for small appliances? There may be other, easier, cheaper options that don't involve suspending a large device from your cabinets.
God I was hoping this wasn't going to be your answer but I am not surprised it is :disappointed:
anywho. to answer your question. I moved into my apartment like a year ago and the kitchen is what I call a "take-out kitchen". its really only good for heating up [take-out] food. very little storage. and veeery little counter space, especially since the what little cabinets I have are already filled so everything else is on the counter so I have very little room for food prep.
I was trying to think of a way to create more storage space.
If things are absolutely full there's little that can be done, but there's some options. (Note that while I'm linking to Amazon, it's just for example purposes, and I strongly recommend purchasing from a local store if possible.)
There are under-shelf expansions if there's more headroom under shelves than you need. Or turntables that let you make better use of the deeper part of your cabinets or countertop without needing to get past the things in front. Or even just a rolling cabinet that you can move out of the way or keep in a nearby room in the worst case.
Also, while it can be a pain, a lot of the food prep that one would often do in a kitchen can be done on any flat surface that's strong, stable, and easy to clean. With a cutting board and some bowls to do your ingredient prep you can do all of that in another room at a table with more workspace and bring it into the kitchen for the actual cooking. If the room designated as the kitchen doesn't serve you, use other spaces that will work better.
Apologies for butting into the middle of your conversation, but may I ask if a fold-out, rolling table or something similar would work for you? Like one of either of these (one, two) from IKEA, albeit, with casters. It adds a little more storage space, and a bunch of extra horizontal surface area. Could also go with a cheap folding plastic table, too, if budget/space does not permit for the wooden options.
Just throwing out ideas here, this is a kind of problem I enjoy thinking about.
Maybe you can draw inspiration from the boat, tiny house or camper van communities to create flexible space for storage but also for working areas (retractable, foldable, etc countertops, cutting boards, ???).
Also: maybe reconsider what you keep in your cabinets? Both if you need them at all or if things can be in other rooms? (I'm thinking that you could keep plates, glasses, etc in another room as you might not need them for cooking, just for eating)
Maybe you can ask your landlord if you may put in a drying rack as the bottom of the cabinet above the sink?
Not doable without drilling into the structural elements of the space + very advanced engineering for the mechanism, unfortunately. MimicSquid did a good job explaining why.
Would you be willing to post photos of the space (the more different angles the better and if you have a floor plan, even better)? It would make it easier to suggest solutions.
Here's a shot of what I did to get more space:
https://ibb.co/x8dhr8p6
These are the panels. They come in a variety of colors, which is nice to spruce the place up. They have two different tracks systems, so you can mix and match brackets, small shelves, etc. Being able to move the brackets around based on our need / changing equipment has been very useful.
Based on your picture and description, I think you could mount one panel for sure and maybe two side by side. They should not stick out as far as shelves, so you should still be able to open the doors. This would give you some versatile storage that frees up drawers/cabinets to hold other things.
An important detail is that you cannot turn the panels sideways, they need to go to and down for the vertical track system to work.
Then just get a step stool (we have this one) to reach the higher things. Because the stuff is on hooks, you shouldn't need as high of a stool to access them as if they were on shelves.
As for mounting them, it depends a little what the wall is made of, and where the studs are, and how much weight you are putting on them.
My recommendation would be to find the studs in the wall and solidly anchor a 32x32" piece of 3/8" plywood to the studs in at least four places, then mount these to the plywood. You would still need to repair the screw holes, but you'd have fewer holes, less damage, and a more secure mounting then if you use drywall anchors.
However, if you are dead set on not screwing into the wall, I recognize that sometimes we have to compromise on the "best" way and settle for the "good enough" way. With the caveat that this is probably a bad idea, and you should do it at your own risk, and you should only put smaller, lighter items on it, you could:
The idea is that the top board transfers most of the weight to the cabinets and the command strips are just there to keep it stuck to the wall.
Picture here: https://ibb.co/XxZkd3n4
The blue dots are the approximate locations of the screws that hold the panels to the boards.
Good luck!