4 Simple Steps for Measuring Kitchen Cabinets
If you're renovating your kitchen or just replacing your joinery, this guide will help you get your measurements just right
Sam Ferris
1 June 2016
Houzz Contributor. I have more than seven years of experience in the design industry, including residential renovation, cabinet, and flooring design. I currently work for RVK Architecture, a professional design firm that delivers successful architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture solutions to public and private clients.
Houzz Contributor. I have more than seven years of experience in the design industry,... More
Whether you’re designing your own kitchen cabinets or counting on a professional to get the job done, it’s beneficial to take your own measurements. Having them on hand when you enter the cabinet shop lets you or your designer start crunching numbers quickly. But measuring for cabinets isn’t necessarily an intuitive venture. You have to know centre points of major appliances, dimensions of windows and the height of your ceiling. After you grab your tape measure and a notebook, follow these four steps to make sure the numbers add up.
Step 1: Sketch it out
It doesn’t have to be pretty. In fact, it probably won’t be unless you’re an artist of sorts. But your numbers won’t mean anything unless you know what areas of your kitchen they’re referring to. Before you start anything, draw a rough blueprint of your kitchen and label all appliances, windows and doorways accordingly. When you’re measuring, write down the corresponding numbers in a clear and concise manner so that you understand them when you look back at your measurements later.
It doesn’t have to be pretty. In fact, it probably won’t be unless you’re an artist of sorts. But your numbers won’t mean anything unless you know what areas of your kitchen they’re referring to. Before you start anything, draw a rough blueprint of your kitchen and label all appliances, windows and doorways accordingly. When you’re measuring, write down the corresponding numbers in a clear and concise manner so that you understand them when you look back at your measurements later.
Step 2: Measure the length of your walls
This is an intuitive step, no doubt. You must know the space you’re working with. You can start with any wall in your kitchen. Always measure the length of your island. Round to the nearest millimetre.
Things to remember when planning your kitchen
This is an intuitive step, no doubt. You must know the space you’re working with. You can start with any wall in your kitchen. Always measure the length of your island. Round to the nearest millimetre.
Things to remember when planning your kitchen
Whether you measure the entire length of your walls or just the span of your cabinets will depend on what you’re planning to change. If you’re simply replacing your cabinets, you don’t need to measure the length of entire walls. Simply jot down your current cabinet measurements.
However, if you’re adding cabinet space or reconfiguring your layout, you need to know the length of every wall in your kitchen. Otherwise, you won’t know how to reposition your appliances or whether you can expand your cabinetry.
However, if you’re adding cabinet space or reconfiguring your layout, you need to know the length of every wall in your kitchen. Otherwise, you won’t know how to reposition your appliances or whether you can expand your cabinetry.
Step 3: Find the centre point of your sink, stove and windows
Unless you’re planning to shake up your kitchen’s layout, your sink, stove and windows are staying put. As a result, you have to build your design around these items. Knowing the centre point of your sink, stove and any windows allows you to correctly position the cabinets that surround them.
Unless you’re planning to shake up your kitchen’s layout, your sink, stove and windows are staying put. As a result, you have to build your design around these items. Knowing the centre point of your sink, stove and any windows allows you to correctly position the cabinets that surround them.
Begin with your sink. To find the centre point, start at the end of the nearest wall and measure toward your sink. Stop once you reach the middle part of the basin, appliance or window. Round to the nearest millimetre.
The next stop is your stove. It can be costly to relocate an electrical or gas cooking line, so knowing where your stovetop will be and planning accordingly is paramount. Repeat the previous step.
If your sink or stove is located on an island, you don’t have to begin measuring at the end of the nearest wall. Skip the extra work and start at the end of the island. Just make sure you or your contractor knows where your island is going when it’s time to install your cabinets.
Designing the perfect kitchen island
Designing the perfect kitchen island
Finally, don’t forget to record the centre point of your windows. Measure the width and height too. This ensures correct placement of any cabinets that are above or adjacent to your windows. It’s also important to include trims. This prevents major headaches down the road when you can’t fit an upper cabinet because it hits the trim of your window.
Step 4: Measure the height of your ceiling
The height of your ceiling will clue you in to the ideal height for your upper cabinets. Here’s why:
It’s ultimately up to you to figure out which height works best. You don’t have to take your cabinetry all the way up to your ceiling; it’s perfectly acceptable to leave empty space at the top. Some homeowners don’t like taller upper cabinets because they’re harder to access.
Of course, there are exceptions to these standards. Take note of any possible exceptions in your own kitchen and factor them into your measurements.
The height of your ceiling will clue you in to the ideal height for your upper cabinets. Here’s why:
- The standard height of lower cabinets is 720 millimetres.
- The standard thickness of benchtops is generally 20 millimetres.
- The minimum splashback height is 450 millimetres, or 600 millimetres if it’s behind the sink.
It’s ultimately up to you to figure out which height works best. You don’t have to take your cabinetry all the way up to your ceiling; it’s perfectly acceptable to leave empty space at the top. Some homeowners don’t like taller upper cabinets because they’re harder to access.
Of course, there are exceptions to these standards. Take note of any possible exceptions in your own kitchen and factor them into your measurements.
If your kitchen ceiling is taller than 2.7 metres, you may consider double-stacking your upper cabinets. Buy two sizes that fit within the allotted space between the top of your splashback and your ceiling.
Bonus tip
Be precise. Every fraction matters. This is true whether you’re an expert or an amateur, but it matters even more when you’re new to the kitchen cabinet process. An incorrect measurement can throw off the entire design and cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to correct the mistake. Avoid rounding to the nearest centimetre, or even half-centimetre. Take exact measurements to prevent problems during installation.
TELL US
Do you have any tips on what to look out for when measuring your kitchen for renovations? Share your expertise in the Comments below.
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Be precise. Every fraction matters. This is true whether you’re an expert or an amateur, but it matters even more when you’re new to the kitchen cabinet process. An incorrect measurement can throw off the entire design and cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to correct the mistake. Avoid rounding to the nearest centimetre, or even half-centimetre. Take exact measurements to prevent problems during installation.
TELL US
Do you have any tips on what to look out for when measuring your kitchen for renovations? Share your expertise in the Comments below.
MORE
Browse more kitchen cabinets
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Great information! Thank you for this!
As a cabinet designer it is always helpful for our customers to know the measurements when we are discussing the design.
Walker Woodworking - Shelby, NC
Without
question, the most important component, in the process of designing a
kitchen, bathroom, or other room, for which you will need to purchase
cabinets, is an accurate set of measurements for the space to be built,
installed, or remodeled.
Although
it is not, by any means, a difficult process it is critical that this
step is executed properly, if not perfectly. The consequences of
inaccuracy can be very costly in both money and time.
Bad
measurements can result in the ordering of cabinets that fit the
design, but will not fit the ACTUAL space they were intended to fill.
In the case of RTA cabinets, you can return cabinets that are
unopened and undamaged but will incur not only restocking fees but also
the full cost of shipping the unwanted cabinets back to their warehouse
of origin. You cannot, however, return fillers or trim pieces.
You
will then need to purchase additional cabinets to correct, in the
actual space, errors that were made, in the virtual space. These errors
can be easily avoided by measuring and sketching accurately.
The following guidelines may be helpful.
www.cabinetsatwholesale.com/blog/post/how-to-measure-for-cabinets/