Kitchen Cabinet Buying Guide

1. Measure the room

Work wall by wall. Measure corner to corner at roughly 36 inches off the floor, where the countertop will sit, because walls are rarely plumb at the baseboard. Write down the distance from each corner to every window, door casing, outlet, vent, gas line and appliance opening. Record ceiling height and note any soffit above the upper run. A hand sketch with those numbers is a perfectly good drawing — you do not need CAD.

2. Learn the standard sizes

Cabinets come in fixed sizes and the gaps get closed with filler strips. Knowing the grid makes your layout decisions far quicker.

Unfamiliar terms? The cabinet terms glossary decodes the abbreviations you will see on a quote.

3. Pick a door style and finish

Shaker is the workhorse — clean lines, broad appeal, easy to sell later. Slab and high-gloss suit modern rooms and wipe down in one pass. Raised panel belongs in traditional houses. Whatever you like on screen, order a sample door first: monitors lie about white, and paint reads differently under your kitchen's light.

4. Choose RTA or assembled

Ready-to-assemble costs less and ships faster; pre-assembled saves your installer hours. Same boxes, same hardware, different labor split.

5. Budget the whole order

Cabinets are only part of it. Add finished end panels for any exposed side, crown and light-rail molding, toe kick, fillers, hardware, and delivery. Those extras routinely add ten to fifteen percent, and leaving them off a budget is the single most common surprise. Our instant quote tool prices them alongside the cabinets so the number you see is the number you pay.

Frequently asked questions

What is a 10x10 kitchen?

A 10x10 is the industry's pricing yardstick: two ten-foot walls in an L-shape with a standard mix of wall and base cabinets. Almost no real kitchen is exactly 10x10 — it exists so you can compare collection pricing apples to apples.

What are standard cabinet dimensions?

Base cabinets are 34-1/2 inches high and 24 inches deep, reaching 36 inches with countertop. Wall cabinets are 12 or 13 inches deep and commonly 30, 36 or 42 inches tall. Widths step in 3-inch increments from 9 to 36 inches.

How do I measure my kitchen for cabinets?

Measure each wall corner to corner at 36 inches off the floor, then mark every window, door, outlet, vent and appliance opening with its distance from the nearest corner. Note ceiling height and any soffit. Wall-by-wall measurements plus a rough sketch is all we need to quote.

How much should a cabinet order cost?

For a typical mid-size kitchen, plan on a range rather than a number: entry ready-to-assemble lines start near $2,000 for a basic layout, while a larger kitchen with panels, trim and specialty cabinets climbs from there. Upload your layout for a real figure instead of guessing.

What door style should I choose?

Shaker is the safe, resale-friendly default and works in almost any house. Slab and gloss read modern and clean easily. Raised panel suits traditional homes. Order a sample door before committing — screen color is never the real color.