Kitchen cabinet replacement is one of the most common home renovation projects that adds style, design, overall value to your home. However, there are many tasks involved in this project. American homeowners have many motivations but kitchen space and kitchen size door measurements are important for budget and design reasons.
In a recent study by Statista, 29% of American homeowners surveyed said their primary motivation was simply because their existing kitchen had deteriorated. Ranking higher than this, American homeowners could not stand looking at their old kitchen (35%) and homeowners finally had the means ($$$) to do it (45%). Another Statista study shows that kitchen remodel projects are the most expensive renovation project with bathroom remodels ranking second.
You need to figure out the right design for:
- wall cabinets
- drawer fronts
- tall cabinets
- type of hinges
- glass inserts, if any, for a stylish appeal
- relocating your appliances to other locations
- adding a kitchen island with an open-concept floor plan
- installing new pantry cabinets, high cabinets, or deeper cabinets as simple steps to create enough space
But aside from these, it is also essential to know and understand the right kitchen cabinet door size to use. Learning the standard sizes of kitchen cabinet doors can make your kitchen remodeling project more accessible and more straightforward. It’s also important because we just assume a common size is all that is required for all types of kitchen cabinets.
The reality is that kitchen cabinet sizes vary as not all homes are made the same way over decades. Different styles and methods that may have made sense in the 1970s or 1990s or early part of the 21st century, don’t make sense today. For small kitchens, stock cabinets with standard dimensions may not work and thus, custom cabinetry will be required.
By the way, European style cabinets are popular for their quality and usable storage capacity and as custom cabinets considering the width of the door and width of the opening. They serve individual needs well since new cabinet doors (the hardware) get attached to the cabinet box with a frameless cabinet. The result is the bank of drawers and doors that last a very long time (like decades!) whereas, American cabinets due to the hinges and slides screwed at the edge of the door. I should point out that European cabinets are way more expensive so consider that as part of your kitchen remodel budget. American homeowners are investing in renovations at a great rate but many do not have the same easy access money like other younger millennial and Gen Z couples and families.
Before demolishing your current kitchen, you must be familiar with the different kitchen design styles and concepts or consult with a professional kitchen designer. Having sufficient knowledge about kitchen cabinet doors and their different sizes will ensure the best results for your remodeling project.
Table of Contents
- What are Standard Kitchen Cabinet Sizes for Doors
- How Do You Calculate Different Sizes of Cabinets
- Things to Consider When Measuring Cabinet Doors
- How To Measure Kitchen Cabinet Doors
- Tips to Choose the Right Cabinets for Your Kitchen
- Frequently Asked Questions
What are Standard Kitchen Cabinet Sizes for Doors
U-shaped, L-shaped, galley, and a one-wall kitchen are the four most common and popular kitchen layouts today. Different types of kitchen designs also have other requirements when it comes to cabinet door sizes. Below are some width x height tape measure examples. The width of kitchen cabinets comes in 3-inch increments ranging from nine to forty-eight inches.
A Galley or One-Wall Kitchen Type
For galley or one-wall kitchen layouts, the door width (upper cabinet) is about thirty-six inches, while their length should be fifteen inches. Meanwhile, the recommended length of lower cabinet doors must be thirty-six inches with a width between eighteen and twenty-one inches.
L-Shaped Kitchen Type
The doors of upper cabinets in L-shaped kitchens should be approximately thirty or thirty-three inches, and the length must be eighteen inches. The width and length of lower cabinets in these kitchens must be twenty-four inches and thirty-six and forty-two inches, respectively.
U-Shaped Kitchen Type
If you have a U-shaped kitchen layout, the lower doors of cabinets must be thirty or thirty-three inches in width and thirty-six inches long. On the other hand, the width of the upper cabinet doors must be thirty-six inches, and the length must be around fifteen inches.
How Do You Calculate Different Sizes of Cabinets
There are different formulas used to calculate the sizes of other cabinets, such as Lazy Susan cabinets. It is essential to measure the total length of the independent cabinets. If you have an all-in-one kitchen cabinet, the first thing you need to do is mark the middle of the standard cabinet board. You then need to measure the distance from the center to the outer edge of the right and left boards.
For single door cabinets (full height base cabinet), the door’s height is 0.078 inches less than the height of the cabinet.
The formula for this is as follows:
Door Height = Cabinet Height – 0.078 inches
For cabinets with double cabinet doors, you need to refer to this formula:
Door Height = (Cabinet Height/2) – 0.078 inches
Common kitchen builds have double doors under the sink, and in new kitchen remodels, the bottom of the cabinet, also provides room for a toe kick, allowing homeowners to get closer to the sink and kitchen countertop without banging their toe on the base kitchen cabinets!
It is important to remember that to ensure proper cabinet opening, the size of the door must be the regular size less 0.12 inches. In general, the width of cabinet box doors is fifteen inches to twenty-one inches.
To prevent an unwanted collision (door overlaps) between your countertop and the cabinet door, you should subtract the height of the countertop, cabinet legs, and distance between the door and the countertop from the total height.
Things to Consider When Measuring Cabinet Doors
There are a few considerations you need to remember before you can start measuring cabinet doors.
Start by preparing the necessary tools for the task, including a measuring tape, pencil, scale, and others. Make sure that you repeat the measurement of all cabinet sides from right to left, left to right, bottom to the top of the cabinet, and top to bottom. These second measurements are essential to avoid errors and verify data. Also, don’t forget to mark the data results properly to save yourself from the extra burden of data checking.
Check the walls and floor tiling. You have to make sure that everything is flat and even first before measuring to ensure accurate measurements.
Gas pipes, hood exhausts, water pipes, and other equipment get assembled after cabinet installation. You have to measure the corresponding distance and heights ahead of time to allocate a specific space.
If the cabinet door has a casing, you have to measure first the thickness of the door casing. You must maintain a 0.39 inches to 0.79 inches gap for wall cabinets and standard base cabinets with sliding doors. To measure the crown molding or ceiling’s height, you must check the different directions and confirm if the buckle is below the seam. It would help if you also considered the window’s height to determine the appropriate final length of your deep cabinet door.
Perforation of plywood walls is not allowed during the installation of hanging cabinets. You also need to know and check the material of the wall first.
How To Measure Kitchen Cabinet Doors
There are several steps involved when measuring kitchen cabinet doors. Whether you want panel doors or another door style for your corner cabinets, or you want to ensure the best standard overlay or full overlay for your frameless cabinets, these steps are necessary to achieve the best results.
Planning
Come up with a rough plan or sketch of your kitchen that shows all the drawer fronts and doors in the room.
Make sure you count the total number of drawer fronts and doors to confirm that you have accounted for all the drawer fronts and inset cabinet doors.
Ensure there are no significant gaps around the existing drawer fronts and doors. The gap between the drawer fronts and the adjoining doors is often 0.16 inches.
You should only measure the doors and not the cabinets themselves.
Measuring
You should measure the back part of the doors instead of the front of the cabinet because the back of the cabinet doors is often the squarest portion.
Measure the Width and Height of All Cabinet Doors
You should start measuring the door’s height first before calculating the width in inches. Take note of the measurements and write these down on the plan. Measuring inches is better than measuring in feet to get a more exact measurement.
Measure the individual doors one by one since there are doors that might look like their sizes are the same but are a bit different.
After measuring and confirming the correct number of drawer fronts and doors, I recommend you double-check your initial measurements and tick off each one to ensure measurements for each drawer front and you did the door correctly.
Are Your Cabinet Doors Right Hand or Left Hand?
Ever wonder what type of cabinet door you bought or will buy? A right-hand cabinet door will open to the right, while a left-hand cabinet door will open towards the left. It’s as simple as that, with the door handle on the opposite end. For example, the right hinge side appears opposite or as a left door handle and indicates which side the door will open.
For aesthetic reasons, some homeowners spend time thinking about the appropriate overlay hinges. Many prefer a concealed hinge for a cleaner, more refined look when they consider replacement cabinet doors.
Tips to Choose the Right Cabinets for Your Kitchen
There are several essential tips to remember before filling out the order form to choose the most suitable cabinets for your kitchen.
Avoid a Lot of Cabinets
Your selection of kitchen cabinets must be practical and reasonable. Some people prefer cabinets with several cabinet bodies since they prefer more storage space. Keep in mind, having too many cupboards in your kitchen will not just take up a lot of space in your kitchen’s activity area.
An excessive number of cabinets can also make your kitchen dull, depressing. and overwhelming or crowded. Minimalism and clean design is the best way to keep things in control.
Focus on the Brands of Hardware Accessories
The specific quality of your chosen hardware accessories also directly impacts and determines your kitchen cabinets’ service life and overall quality. I recommend buying only the most cost-effective accessories and knowing the different types of hinges and slides.
The products from trusted leading brands are known to be more durable and have better quality. It is also crucial that you pay extra attention to the specific cabinet hardware and cabinet lighting brands.
Determine the Density of Cabinet Boards
During the selection process of blind corner cabinets, framed cabinets, face frame cabinets, upper cabinets, and lower cabinets, some people focus on the performance and appearance of the surface, only to ignore the overall quality of the board.
To prevent any issues down the road, make sure you request the salesperson take out the board model and check if the cross-section’s particles are tight.
Buy the Cabinets First Before Renovating Your Kitchen
Unlike cabinets for living rooms and other parts of the house, kitchen renovations and the installation of kitchen cabinets require simultaneous steps. Therefore, you must complete your renovation project before buying the cabinets with new doors.
Instead, it is vital to ask the cabinet makers to measure your entire kitchen, decide on the cabinet style model you want, and allocate the pipe interface with its corresponding space. Once your kitchen remodeling project has ended, you can ask the cabinet makers to install your cabinets.
Designate a Reasonable Height of the Kitchen Hood
Some people believe that the range hood is more effective if closer to the stove. Most of the time, the effective distance of kitchen hoods is often thirty-one and a half inches. You need to make sure that you set the height of your kitchen hood within this range to achieve maximum effects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the standard kitchen cabinet dimensions for upper kitchen cabinets?
Average upper or wall kitchen cabinets have a standard height of thirty inches to forty-two inches, a standard depth of twelve inches to twenty-four inches, and standard width of nine inches to thirty-six inches.
How do you measure your kitchen?
To get the correct measurements for your kitchen cabinets, the first thing you have to do is measure your kitchen space. It is essential if you want custom-made cabinetry for your kitchen. When this is the case, the cabinet depth, the cabinet frame, and the cabinet height might not be of standard sizes.
What sink size will fit in a kitchen cabinet measuring 30 inches?
It varies, depending on the specific type of sink you use. If you prefer an under-mount sink, you can choose an undermount sink measuring twenty-six inches to twenty-eight inches under a thirty-inch cabinet. You can use a sink measuring thirty inches if you have a drop-in sink.
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John Thompson, Writer and Commentator, EvolutDesign.com
Soldier, writer, researcher, consultant, and bon vivant, John Thompson is the author of numerous columns, op-eds, reports, briefs, short stories and books as the “Felicity Files” and “Spirit Over Steel: A Chronology of the Second World War” (version III). Often found hunched over his computer, or in his garden, and now often found doing both. His diverse talent has led him to work in industries and projects such as energy, security and home construction and renovation.
