Measure the wall and pick what stands on it. You get the standard base cabinets that fill it in KraftMaid's or IKEA's widths, the fillers left over, the wall cabinets above, every cabinet's depth and height, and whether the counter keeps the NKBA's landing areas.
Your wall
A 144″ (12′) wall takes 3 base cabinets: 12″, 30″ and 9″around a 30″ range, a 36″ sink base and a 24″ dishwasher · 1.5″ fillers at both walls · all 4 of the NKBA's landing areas kept
Counter beside the appliances (NKBA)
Quick answer: standard base cabinets are 24″ deep and 34½″ high (36″ with a 1½″ countertop), and wall cabinets 12″ deep. Widths come in 3″ steps: KraftMaid makes them from 6″ to 48″, IKEA’s SEKTION frames come in 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 30 and 36″. To fill a wall, take away the appliances and a filler at each wall, then split what is left into standard widths. A 12′ wall with a 30″ range, a 36″ sink base and a 24″ dishwasher takes three base cabinets: 12″, 30″ and 9″.
How to use the kitchen cabinet size calculator
- Measure the wall along the floor, corner to corner or to where the counter will stop, and say which ends a wall closes.
- Pick what stands on it: a fridge, a range, a sink base and a dishwasher, each in its usual widths. Set the filler you want at a wall.
- Pick the maker: KraftMaid’s 3″ steps or IKEA’s SEKTION widths. You get the base cabinets left to right, the wall cabinets above them, the fillers, every depth and height, and the NKBA’s counter check, all drawn to scale.
The sizes behind the numbers
Base cabinets: KraftMaid’s 24″ depth is “the industry standard base cabinet depth”, and “The standard base cabinet height for kitchen cabinets is 34-1/2″ tall. When paired with a 1-1/2″-thick countertop, this establishes an overall countertop height of 36″”. Its widths go “starting at 6″ wide and expanding in 3″ increments up to 48″ wide”. IKEA’s SEKTION base frames are 24″ deep with the suspension rail and 30″ high, and stand on 4½″ legs, which also comes to 34½″.
Wall cabinets: “The standard wall cabinet depth is 12″” (KraftMaid), with 24″-deep ones over a fridge; heights run from 12″ to 54″. IKEA’s wall frames are 14¾″ deep and 15, 20, 30 or 40″ high, in the same widths as its bases.
Fillers: KraftMaid’s spec book says to use fillers where full-overlay cabinets meet a return wall, “This will ensure proper clearance for drawers and roll-out tray access”. It makes them 3″ and 6″ wide, cut to fit. Beside a wall, a fridge needs 3¾″ for its door to swing (Whirlpool, Samsung), and a dishwasher in a corner needs 2″ (GE).
Counter between the appliances: the NKBA’s Kitchen Planning Guidelines ask for 24″ of counter on one side of the sink and 18″ on the other, 12″ and 15″ either side of a cooktop, and 15″ on the fridge’s handle side. Where one stretch of counter serves two of them, take “the longer of the two landing area requirements and adding 12″”. The counter over a dishwasher counts.
Standard kitchen cabinet sizes
| Cabinet | KraftMaid | IKEA SEKTION |
|---|---|---|
| Base widths | 6–48″ in 3″ steps | 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 30, 36″ |
| Base depth | 24″ | 24″ (with the rail) |
| Base height | 34½″ | 30″ frame + 4½″ legs = 34½″ |
| Wall cabinet depth | 12″ (24″ over a fridge) | 14¾″ |
| Wall cabinet heights | 12–54″ | 15, 20, 30, 40″ |
| Tall (pantry) cabinets | 84–96″ high, 9–36″ wide | 80 or 90″ high, 15–30″ wide |
Which cabinets fill a run
The fewest cabinets that add up to the run exactly, each 36″ or less, as even as the widths allow:
| Run | KraftMaid | IKEA SEKTION |
|---|---|---|
| 48″ (4′) | 24 + 24″ | 24 + 24″ |
| 60″ (5′) | 30 + 30″ | 30 + 30″ |
| 72″ (6′) | 36 + 36″ | 36 + 36″ |
| 84″ (7′) | 30 + 27 + 27″ | 30 + 30 + 24″ |
| 96″ (8′) | 33 + 33 + 30″ | 36 + 30 + 30″ |
| 120″ (10′) | 30 + 30 + 30 + 30″ | 30 + 30 + 30 + 30″ |
Five worked examples
A 12′ (144″) wall with a 30″ range, a 36″ sink base and a 24″ dishwasher. Three base cabinets: 12″, 30″ and 9″, with 1.5″ fillers at both walls. All 4 of the NKBA’s landing areas are kept.
A 16′ (192″) wall with a 36″ fridge as well. 27″ and 33″ base cabinets either side of the range, a 4″ filler by the fridge (its door needs 3¾″) and 2″ by the dishwasher. All 5 landing areas are kept.
The same four appliances on a 14′ (168″) wall. Only 3 of the 5 landing areas fit: the stretch between the range and the sink is too short. The NKBA’s counter needs a 188.75″ wall.
A 10′ (120″) wall of cabinets only, KraftMaid. 30″, 30″, 30″ and 27″, with 1.5″ fillers at both walls.
The same wall in IKEA SEKTION. IKEA makes no 27″ frame: 36″, 36″, 24″ and 21″.
Common mistakes
- Cabinets tight to the wall. Without a filler, a full-overlay door or a drawer hits the wall or its trim before it opens.
- A fridge jammed into a corner. Its door needs 3¾″ beside a wall to swing open, more to pull out the drawers.
- Deep cabinets over the counter. Wall cabinets are 12″ deep, half a base cabinet’s 24″, so they “won’t obstruct access to the countertops below” (KraftMaid). Keep the 24″ ones for over the fridge.
- The range right beside the sink. The NKBA wants counter between them: the sink’s 18–24″ and the range’s 12–15″, plus 12″ where one stretch serves both.
- Ordering 27″ cabinets for IKEA. SEKTION has no 27″, 33″ or 9″ frame; the fill uses 12–36″ only.
Hang the wall cabinets with the kitchen cabinet height calculator, size the sink base with the sink size calculator, price the top with the countertop calculator, and draw the whole kitchen in the free 2D planner.
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Kitchen cabinet size questions
What are standard kitchen cabinet sizes?
Base cabinets 24″ deep and 34½″ high (36″ with the countertop); wall cabinets 12″ deep and 12–54″ high; tall cabinets 84–96″ high. Widths go in 3″ steps: KraftMaid 6–48″, IKEA SEKTION 12–36″.
What is the standard depth of kitchen cabinets?
24″ for base cabinets and 12″ for wall cabinets (KraftMaid). IKEA’s wall frames are 14¾″ deep. Over a fridge, wall cabinets are often 24″ deep.
What are standard base cabinet widths?
In 3″ steps: 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36″ are the common ones (KraftMaid runs 6–48″). IKEA SEKTION: 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 30 and 36″.
How tall are base cabinets?
34½″, so a 1½″ countertop finishes at 36″. IKEA gets there with a 30″ frame on 4½″ legs.
What are standard upper cabinet sizes?
12″ deep, the same widths as the base cabinets below them, and 12″ to 54″ high (KraftMaid). A 42″ one reaches an 8′ ceiling when hung 18″ above the counter.
What is a filler in kitchen cabinets?
A strip between a cabinet and a wall (or between two cabinets) so doors and drawers clear it. KraftMaid makes them 3″ and 6″ wide and cuts them to fit.
How much counter space do you need beside a stove and sink?
The NKBA: 12″ on one side of a cooktop and 15″ on the other; 24″ on one side of a sink and 18″ on the other. One stretch serving both needs the longer one plus 12″.