Cabinet Sizing, Charted: the Standard Numbers Every Kitchen Is Built On

Every stock kitchen in North America is built from the same dimensional system. Learn five numbers and the 3-inch module, and any layout becomes arithmetic.

Base cabinets

34½” tall × 24” deep, which lands countertops at the canonical 36” after a 1½” top. Widths run 9” to 48” in 3-inch steps — the module that makes mixing brands possible. Special citizens: sink bases (30–36”, false-front), corner solutions (36” blind or 33–36” lazy susan), and drawer bases (12–36”, the most cost-per-inch you’ll spend and the storage you’ll use most).

Wall cabinets

12” deep (13” nominal with the door on some lines), widths on the same 3-inch grid. Heights are the design decision: 30” classic with a soffit, 36” standard today, 42” to the ceiling in 8-foot rooms. Mounting convention: bottoms at 54” off the floor — 18” of backsplash above the counter. Over appliances: 12–15” tall units above fridges, microwave cabinets at 15–18”.

Tall cabinets

84”, 90”, or 96” heights, 24” deep for pantry/oven units, 12” for broom storage. An 84” tall aligns with 30” walls-plus-soffit; 96” runs to an 8-foot ceiling exactly.

The clearances that make it a kitchen

• 42” work aisles (48” in two-cook kitchens); 36” walkways elsewhere
• Dishwasher within 36” of the sink edge; landing counters of 15”+ beside the fridge and 12”/15” flanking the cooktop
• 30” clearance cooktop-to-hood (check the hood’s spec)
• Islands need 42” on working sides — the island that “just fits” doesn’t

Reading a plan like a maker

Runs are dimensioned in fillers: a 146” wall holds 144” of cabinet plus a 2” filler split at the corners, because walls are never square and doors need knuckle room at returns. A plan with zero fillers wasn’t drawn by someone who has installed one — the 3-inch module builds the kitchen, and the fillers make it fit the house.