Guide to Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinet Door Size

It would help if you got the right kitchen cabinet door size to maintain the space and maneuverability around your kitchen. However, there are times when it is more desirable to replace your kitchen cabinet doors by yourself. It may be due to the high cost of labor or just a desire to see how well you can get things done. Whatever the reason, it is easy to screw things up from the beginning by getting your measurements wrong.

Your kitchen cabinet door size, like your kitchen cabinet, should be big enough to hold your kitchen wares and other things that need to be stored in the kitchen and small enough to leave adequate space in the kitchen to make it easy to move around. Usually, people are advised to follow a kitchen cabinet door size chart when they order replacement kitchen cabinet doors, but that’s unnecessary, even if it is one way.

This piece will consider the types of Kitchen cabinets, kitchen cabinet doors, and how to choose the right kitchen cabinet door size, especially when you’re looking to replace the old ones.

Types of Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchen cabinets are the furniture that serves as storage for many items used in the kitchen. They are usually made of wood and have some styles etched on them. In addition, some kitchen cabinets have solid platforms on them, doubling as countertops in the kitchen.

There are different types of kitchen cabinets, and their types depend on where they are placed in the kitchen. This also, sometimes, influences their size. The types of kitchen cabinets are:

Base Kitchen Cabinet

Base kitchen cabinets, as the name implies, are the foundation of most kitchen appliances. They usually rest on the floor and bear the weight of kitchen appliances such as dishwashers, sinks, and ranges and surfaces such as countertops.

Base kitchen cabinets are usually made to be solid and not easily affected by water. Structurally, they may have one drawer, and some shelves or drawers stacked one above the other. Depending on the structure, they may use minimal cabinet doors and more drawers. Also, it is the most space-consuming type of kitchen cabinet.

This kitchen cabinet is essential in every kitchen as it holds up many other surfaces and appliances. Therefore, utmost attention must be given to its door size during replacement.

Wall Kitchen Cabinet

Wall kitchen cabinets are kitchen storage for food items and kitchen supplies. They are usually installed about 18 inches above the countertops of the base kitchen cabinet, enough space to save its base from backsplash.

These cabinets are usually flexible in sizing and mostly respect your preference and the height of your kitchen. Its size does not readily affect your activities in the kitchen unless it is installed wrongly. Their heights vary and usually have cabinet doors instead of drawers.

Tall Kitchen Cabinet

Tall kitchen cabinets are usually free-standing kitchen cabinets used to hold food items and other kitchen supplies. It is uncommon to have all three types of cabinets in one kitchen, except in really large kitchens, but when they are present, their height usually respects the height of the kitchen.

Tall kitchen cabinets usually have double doors and can sometimes have drawers.

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Kitchen Cabinet Dimensions and Sizes

Kitchen cabinet sizes vary among the different types that exist, mainly because they are placed in different places in the kitchen. Therefore, your kitchen cabinet dimension and size determine the kitchen cabinet door size. You will have to order a replacement for your old doors.

Base kitchen cabinets usually have a standard height of 34.5 to 36 inches, a width of 36 inches (although it can range between 9 and 42 inches), and a depth of 24 inches. However, you should note that the standard base kitchen cabinet door size is 24 inches. In addition, a base cabinet with three layers of drawers has the top drawer at the height of 6 inches; the same applies to a base cabinet with a combination of drawers and doors. Also, there is a toe kick of 4.5 inches.

Wall kitchen cabinets have the same depth as base cabinets, that is, 24 inches, in most cases. However, they can range from 12 to 24 inches. The standard height of wall kitchen cabinets depends on the height of the ceiling. However, it ranges from 30 to 42 inches. The width varies in multiples of three, but the standard range is between 12 and 36 inches.

The tall kitchen cabinet, also called the pantry, has a dimension of 84 to 96 inches in height – depending on how high the ceiling is and how much room you want between the ceiling and cabinet – 18 to 24 inches in width, and 12 to 24 inches in depth.

Types of Kitchen Cabinet Doors

While there are different types of kitchen cabinets, there are also different types of kitchen cabinet doors. The difference in these doors can be seen in how they close over the cabinet opening. They include:

Inset Cabinet Doors

Inset cabinet doors are made to sit perfectly into the cabinet opening. They may be single or double doors. They usually have their hinges screwed to the cabinet openings’ left and right stiles and the cabinet door’s left stile.

They have been in use for a long time but seem to be rapidly going out of fashion. However, they are easy to measure and replace.

Overlay Cabinet Doors

These cabinet doors are usually covering the opening of the cabinet instead of sitting perfectly in the opening. Instead, they rest on the overlay surrounding the cabinet opening and ensure complete protection of whatever is stored in a kitchen cabinet.

Overlay cabinet doors, also called fluted cabinet doors, are the new cabinet doors, and they mostly employ European hinges as they are more suitable for European-style cabinets.

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Single Cabinet Doors

Single cabinet doors can either be inlay cabinet doors or overlay cabinet doors. They comprise a single sheet of material, usually wood, hinges – whichever type agrees with the cabinet door style – and handles. They can be used for base cabinets, wall cabinets, and pantry cabinets. Single cabinet doors completely cover a compartment of the cabinet with that single wood material.

Double Cabinet Doors

Double cabinet doors protect the stored kitchen items in the cabinet by using two separate doors. The doors are usually alternate, and they close so that the handles are side by side.

Drawer Fronts

Although some may argue that it is not a door, it performs the same function as the regular cabinet doors. Drawer fronts are the visible parts of a drawer when they have been closed. They protect the drawer’s content as part of the cabinet and can be subject to change as much as cabinet doors.

Drawer fronts are usually simple and can be inset or overlay, just like cabinet doors. While some are functional, others, called false drawer front, can be only decorative.

How to Measure for the Right Kitchen Cabinet Door Size.

Measuring a door isn’t supposed to be a tricky thing. However, it would be best to get accurate measurements when you have to make the measurements and send them to a factory where a custom-size door will be made for your cabinets.

Generally, you will need a measuring tape and writing materials to measure the right kitchen cabinet door size. You can measure your old cabinet doors and use the exact dimensions for your new doors.

All you have to do is measure the width of the door by placing the beginning of the measuring tape at one of the vertical sides of the door and stretch it to the other end. Ensure that it reaches the tip. Then, record the measurement. Repeat the same process for measuring the height. Only this time, make the tip of your measuring tape rest on the horizontal and short part of the door while you stretch it to the other end.

While this is an easy way to get your measurements done for a replacement cabinet door, there is a chance that your door may have been chipped at the edges, making your measurements wrong. However, there are other ways to get the measurements right.

Alternatively, you can use the cabinet itself instead of the door. You will have to measure the cabinet openings to get the right door size for your cabinet.

Measure the width of the cabinet from the inside of the left stile. That means you should start your measurement from the left side. The left stile is the vertical part of the cabinet where the edge of the door will most likely rest. Take your measurement from the left stile to the right style, and record it.

Do the exact measurement for the height of the cabinet, starting from the bottom stile and measuring to the top stile. Record the measurement.

These simple steps will help you get accurate measurements for inset cabinet doors and frameless cabinets. It is also great for a single door on cabinets. So, how do you measure for double doors and cover for the overlay of the cabinet doors?

The overlays of cabinets are usually about 0.5 inches; therefore, it is easy to add 1 to each measurement you have recorded. For example, if you measured the width x height of the cabinet door to be 12×24 inches when you add the overlays, it becomes 13×25 inches.

How to Measure for Double Cabinet Doors

Double doors usually require more overlay than single cabinet doors. Also, measuring the cabinet doors opening differs from how it is done in single doors.

• Measure the width of the opening from the left stile to the right stile.
• Measure the height of the opening from the bottom stile to the top stile.
• Add 1 inch to the measurement result of the width and height of the opening.
• Divide the figure you get by two. This means each half of the double door gets half of the actual figure you get before division.

For inset double doors, you can disregard the last two steps.

Conclusion

Kitchen cabinets are an important part of the kitchen and are usually installed with utmost regard to the floor plan of the kitchen and the height of the ceiling. There are different types of kitchen cabinets, and each type has its peculiarity. However, the commonest and foundational of them all is the base kitchen cabinet.

Because kitchen cabinets are made from wood, the most exposed part to human contact is the door. This means kitchen cabinet doors have to be changed at one point. To do this, one needs to have an accurate measurement of the cabinet opening and the overlay, in some cases, to have the right kitchen cabinet doors.

The simple steps to measure for all types of kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts are provided in the article.