So, my partner is vertically challenged (she’s short). She’s also on a lot of medications, using three shelves of a double-wide kitchen cabinet. I’m looking for a way to make it easy for her to reach all of her medications without resorting to the 3-step stepstool.

I came across the construction known as a “Paternoster” or “Vertical Carousel” and it totally spoke to me as a possible solution. I’m envisaging a cabinet that runs from ceiling to counter, closed above eye level (doors) but accessible in the space between countertop and typical undercabinet height. Shelves spaced widely enough for a variety of pill bottles and boxes. It would have to pass through the counter level to provide space for the lower turn-around. No deeper than an upper cabinet, thereby providing space on the counter top to remove items from the shelf and have a place to set them down.

I don’t want it to be powered, as that would require more work to install, and an unnecessary step to cycle through the shelves, when a simple reach and pull would suffice.

Has anyone here done something like this?

Opinions with regard to usability, design resources, installation concerns, or have examples? I did some brief Googling, and found nothing for the domestic market, other than pantry-sized solutions

Follow this link to see one in action: Demonstration of industrial Paternoster

theluketaylor

23 | 18 hours ago

There are pre-built mechanisms to make reaching high cabinets easier for people with accessibility needs.

Look for terms like “pull down shelving”

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/rev-a-shelf-17-lbs-capacity-pull-down-shelving-system-gray-and-chrome/1001629969

True-Marzipan2484

6 | 14 hours ago

OP out here engineering a paternoster and the answer was just a shelf on a hinge this whole time

TheRealJohnAdams

0 | 10 hours ago

Like all of your comments, this is AI slop.

ZipperJJ

11 | 18 hours ago

Pull down shelving, like the other poster mentioned, is typically what people in wheelchairs use, or people with dwarfism. You definitely should look in to that.

Another option, if you have the counter space, could be an appliance garage. This is a cabinet that fits between the counter and upper cabinets and typically has a roll-top cover with a handle - basically like a garage door. It is used to hide away countertop appliances like toasters and mixers. But there’s nothing that is stopping you from adding shelving within it for small bottles and anything she might need at counter height.

If you have an existing cabinet system like Kitchen Maid or IKEA or whatever brand you have, you might be able to get a matching appliance garage.

One other thing to consider if you’re really just trying to organize medication bottles, is a drop-down or pull out spice rack. Same idea as a pull down shelf but a lot cheaper.

u_indoorjungle_622

2 | 8 hours ago

This is probably the way. If OP goes that route, there are appliance garage kits available online with the sides already routed for the roll top track. It would be really easy to swap out their standard small size roll top for a wider version. Rolling panels are sold in various wood finishes in sheets, just like on a roll top desk, and can be cut to the desired width. Or, you could check out the design and build it yourself, but I suspect (I have an old rolltop desk that sticks) getting the clearance for the routed part to glide perfectly would probably be something best done by a seasoned woodworker and even then might need to be waxed to really glide. When I looked into this idea for my kitchen, I decided a kit would be faster/easier. Ymmv.

Mechanic84

6 | 17 hours ago

It’s probably easier and cheaper to build a carousel from ground to eye level.

The paternoster needs a functionality that allows the shelves stay in place even while other shelves are heavier while at the same time allowing for free movement when manipulated by hand.

u_indoorjungle_622

2 | 8 hours ago

I commented about building an appliance garage and then went and found it’s also at Ikea, with shelving. Maybe a search for appliance garage kits would net something that jumps out at you.

jaypizzl

1 | 8 hours ago

They had these for humans at the Czech university I studied at for a semester back in the day. You waited for a little platform to rise from the floor, hop on, make damn sure your bag wasn’t hanging too far over the edge, and rise to the next floor. Hop off quick.

Seems like a better idea for pill bottles than for people.

ResponsibleSir924

1 | 7 hours ago

The thing that would worry me most about a manual paternoster is keeping the shelves level as they go around the top and bottom turns. With pill bottles of varying weights, any tilt means things slide off, and you can’t really fix that without some kind of gearing or chain system that adds a lot of complexity. A simpler middle ground might be a vertical lazy susan style carousel that just rotates in place at counter height, or even just the pull down shelving others mentioned. If you’re dead set on the paternoster though, I’d build a small prototype first with like three shelves to see if the leveling problem is manageable before committing to a full cabinet build.

Kitchen Paternoster