Kitchen cabinets are essential for any kitchen. They provide storage and organization, while also giving your kitchen a stylish look. But to get the perfect installation, you will need exact measurements of where you want your new cabinets to go.
In this article, we'll explain the process needed to get the perfect measurements if you’re looking to change or remodel your kitchen.
Let's get right into it.
Prepare to Measure Your Kitchen Cabinets
When it comes to preparation, you'll need a few different tools.
1) Tape Measure – to get your accurate measurements, you will need a tape measure that is long enough to reach across the room.
You will also want to find one with a locking mechanism, so it stays taut while you measure.
2) Pencil – you will need a pencil, a piece of paper, and graph paper to plan out how you want your cabinets installed in your kitchen.
Plan Out the Layout for Your Kitchen Cabinets
When it comes to planning out how you want your kitchen cabinets laid out, it is important to make sure that they are evenly distributed.
You can do this by creating a list of how many cabinets you want to be installed on each wall, as well as how deep they should be placed from the wall.
You should also decide how tall or short you would like your cabinet doors to be, as this could affect how much space is available towards the top of your cabinets.
Measure and Mark Openings for Your Cabinets
Once you've taken all of your measurements, you will need to mark how large each opening is going to be.
If you have a pencil and eraser, this should be very easy. Simply trace around the cabinet that is going directly above an area where you are planning to put in an opening. Then carefully erase the pencil marks where the wall meets the ground or another piece of furniture.
2) Measure how tall each opening should be – how many inches away from the floor would you like your first row of cabinets? Once again, use your measuring tape and gauge how many inches are available for your new kitchen cabinets to fit into.
Be sure not to include any baseboard trim when taking these measurements.
What Happens When the Measurements are Incorrect
It is important to take the correct measurements because if they are incorrect, you could end up with cabinets that do not fit how you would like. They may cover the outlet or exhaust fan and will severely limit your kitchen's functionality.
If you find out that your measurements were incorrect, you can always take them again and mark how large each opening should be.
However, this is an extra step and ideally, you get the measurements right the first time.
Standard Cabinet Measurements
In general, most cabinets will be designed to fit an 8-foot length of the wall.
This means that if you have a 30″ shelf, it will usually measure 16″ from the ground. Since most people do not like how this looks, they decide to make a cabinet that is only 5 feet wide and 12 feet tall (or vice versa) or make one that fills up the entire area between two walls.
Cabinets typically are 7 – 9 inches deep from the outer face of the wall but can vary depending on how close they are to baseboards and how thick those baseboards are.
Although it is relatively standard how much space there should be from the ground to where you want your first row of cabinets installed, it is important to measure how much space there is to ensure that it fits within your plans.
How to Know What Will Fit
Knowing what will fit in your newly installed cabinets can be tricky, mainly because it depends on how many cabinets you want to install and how high they are.
For example, if you want to make a pantry, but do not have enough room because the first row of cabinets ends too low on the wall, you can either get a lower cabinet or choose to install two rows instead of one (which is what most people end up doing).
However, this could change how tall or how many cabinets you had planned on having to fit your spice rack. Since each person has their likes and dislikes when it comes to kitchen design, it is important that you get measurements right and then plan out how everything will go together so that it maximizes your space.
Also, keep in mind that you can always get a small piece of trim that will make it look as if the cabinet goes all the way up to the ceiling.
You do not have to completely redesign your kitchen to make something work, you just have to understand how much space is available and how you can maximize it without making it seem as though the cabinets are too small or too large for the area where they will be installed.
Final thoughts on how to measure kitchen cabinet
Cabinet installation can be extremely rewarding and ends up looking great once it's finished. It is also a great way to upgrade your home and get more living space in your home.
If you follow these steps, you will be able to measure how large each opening in your kitchen walls is going to be. This way, you can make sure that there is adequate space for all of your cabinets and they won't cover any outlets or exhaust fans.
Once your project begins, it's important to check how to level the ground where the cabinet doors are being placed, otherwise, they may stick out from the wall at an angle. You'll also want a few extra hands helping install the cabinets, as this could take very long if done by yourself (or even with just one other person).
