Installing kitchen cabinets isn’t a job for your average homeowner.
We asked Scott Bird of Danish company Reform, which makes custom cabinet fronts for Ikea cabinets (and now has a Brooklyn showroom), for a cabinet cheat sheet, everything from how much of a gap to leave between the upper cabinets and the counter, to where not to install drawers.
Reform outfitted a Copenhagen apartment with mint-green base cabinets; see Kitchen of the Week: A Copenhagen Stylist Reinvents Her Kitchen, Ikea Hack Included for a full look.
Cabinet Measurements
Standard wall cabinets (sometimes referred to as “upper cabinets”) are 12 inches deep; standard base (below-counter) cabinets are 24 inches deep.
How deep should the cabinet boxes be?
What’s the optimum cabinet width?
A wider cabinet means a wider door, which takes up more space when it swings open—something to consider if your kitchen isn’t roomy. Scott says Reform sometimes installs 36-inch-wide cabinets; these could have two 18-inch doors that open from the middle out.
A well-proportioned countertop and base cabinets. Photograph from Kitchen of the Week: Practicality in White Marble.
How high should the base cabinets be?
The standard height for base cabinets, including the countertop and the toe kick underneath, is 36 inches.
The couple in this New York apartment took their double cabinet doors off of one unit. See Small-Space Solutions: 17 Affordable Tips from a NYC Creative Couple for a full look.
Something you might not think about when shopping for cabinets, or having custom ones built: Some cabinets have a frame around the open portion that can get in the way of reaching in.
What’s the difference between framed and frameless cabinets?
Leave enough space between the countertop and wall cabinets to work, but not so much that you can’t reach the upper cabinets.
Cabinet Installation and Placement
How high should wall cabinets be hung above the counter?
“The standard distance is 18 inches” from the top of the counter to the bottom of the wall cabinet, Scott says.
And keep in mind: During an installation, the cabinets go in before the countertop, so the installer has to take into consideration the thickness of the countertop when measuring the position of the wall cabinets.
Drew Lang of Lang Architecture installed two levels of wall cabinets to take advantage of the tall ceilings in a Brooklyn brownstone kitchen.
“In places like New York, where storage is at a premium, you often see cabinets that go up to the ceiling,” says Scott.
Should wall cabinets go all the way to the ceiling?
What to Know About Drawers
“Drawers look great, and if your drawers are neatly organized, it’s so easy to get access to what’s inside,” Scott says.
The only place you might not want a drawer is if you’re doing a cooktop: You’ll need to see how much clearance the cooktop takes up in the cabinet unit below. And for obvious reasons, you don’t want drawers in wall (or upper) cabinets.
Where should I opt for drawers (and where should I avoid them)?
A solution for awkward corners: a one-door cabinet on one side, flush drawers on the other.
Installing Cabinets in Tricky Places
Only for aesthetic reasons, says Scott.
Are there places where cabinets shouldn’t be installed?
What’s the best solution for a corner?
For an L-shaped corner, Scott finds a single door easiest and recommends a wall cabinet on one side (with a small gap of a half-inch or so at the corner, for the door to open) and open shelves on the other side.
A slim Reform cabinet makes use of a tight spot; see Kitchen of the Week: A Sixties-Inspired Danish Ikea Hack, Now Coming to America.
What should I know about installing cabinets in an island?
“Islands have to be appropriately scaled for the size of the kitchen,” Scott says.
Toe kicks can also be an opportunity for clever added storage, as seen in A Tiny Kitchen Made for Cooking: Everything You Need in 26 Square Feet over on The Organized Home.
What should I know about the toe kick?
The toe kick—the recessed bottom part of the base cabinet unit, where your toes can tuck underneath while you’re cooking—may just be the unsung hero of the whole kitchen cabinet.
Invest in appliances that can be disguised by cabinetry.
What’s one tip to keep in mind when installing cabinets?