
Here is how to measure a kitchen for cabinets in one paragraph: draw the room first, then measure every wall that will hold cabinets at three heights, the ceiling in several places, each window and door from casing to casing with its sill and head heights, and the centerline of every pipe, gas line, outlet and vent, all in inches and all from the same corner. Add a square check at each corner, the spec sheet of every appliance, and a dozen photos. That set of numbers is what a designer needs to draw a plan you can order from, and nothing on it takes more than a tape measure, a level and about an hour.
We sell cabinets for a living, and the drawings that reach our designers range from a napkin with three numbers to a laser-measured PDF. Both can work. What fails is a sketch that looks complete but measured the wrong things: the old cabinets instead of the wall, the window glass instead of the trim, one ceiling height in an old house. This guide is the field routine we would hand a friend, with a printable checklist, a fully measured example kitchen, and a note on how each number changes the plan.
Key Takeaways
- Everything in inches, from one corner: write 141¼, not 11'-9¼". Every position on a wall is measured from the same starting corner so the numbers add up without conversion.
- Three heights per wall: near the floor, at about 36 inches and at about 84 inches. Walls are rarely flat or plumb, and the plan uses the smallest of the three.
- Ceiling at every corner and mid-run: a ⅜-inch dip can decide whether 42-inch uppers fit.
- Centerlines, not edges: drains, supply stops, gas stubs, outlets and vents are located by their center, measured from the corner and from the floor.
- Appliances come from the spec sheet: the cutout a new dishwasher or refrigerator needs is on the manufacturer's installation sheet, not on a tape laid across the old one.
- Measurement errors are yours to own: our return policy lists incorrect customer measurements among the things we cannot take back, which is why it pays to have a designer read your numbers before anything is ordered.
Table of Contents
- Tools You Need Before You Start
- Draw the Room Before You Measure Anything
- Measure Every Wall at Three Heights
- Ceiling Height, Soffits and Bulkheads
- Windows and Doors: Casing to Casing, Sill to Floor
- Plumbing, Gas, Electrical and Vents
- Checking Square, Plumb and Level
- Corner Cabinet Measurements
- Appliances: Measure the Spec Sheet, Not the Old Unit
- The Path In: Doorways, Stairs and Tall Cabinets
- What to Photograph
- Measuring Existing Cabinets for Replacement, Refacing or Painting
- Mistakes That Cause Re-Orders
- Worked Example: One L-Shaped Kitchen, Measured
- Printable Kitchen Cabinet Measurement Checklist
- Sending Your Measurements to a Designer
- Frequently Asked Questions
Tools You Need Before You Start
Nothing here is specialist. You need a tape that stays straight across a 12-foot wall and something that tells you whether the floor and walls are true. A second person halves the time and removes most of the sag from long pulls.
| Tool | What it is for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 25-foot tape measure, 1-inch blade | Wall lengths, heights, centerlines | A wide blade stands out without buckling. A bent hook adds or loses ⅛ inch. |
| 4-foot level | Plumb walls, level floor, finding the high spot | A 2-foot level misses the gentle hollows that matter over a whole run. |
| Self-leveling laser (optional) | Floor high point, ceiling dips, a reference line around the room | Worth borrowing for a long kitchen or an old house. |
| Graph paper, pencil, eraser | The sketch | Quarter-inch grid at ½ inch = 1 foot fits most kitchens on one sheet. |
| Painter's tape and a marker | Marking centerlines and stud locations on the wall | The marks show up in your photos. |
| Step ladder | Ceiling, head casings, vents | Measure ceiling height from the floor up, never by adding shorter pieces. |
| Phone camera | Photos of every wall, corner and utility | Shoot with the tape extended in frame where you can. |
Record everything to the nearest ⅛ inch. Cabinet spec books list sizes to the eighth (Fabuwood's Allure spec book says so in its dimension notes), and a ¼-inch rounding on each of five numbers can add up to more than an inch on a wall.
Draw the Room Before You Measure Anything
Measuring first and drawing later is how numbers end up attached to the wrong wall. Draw the outline before the tape comes out, even if it is out of proportion, and write the numbers on it as you go.
- Draw the outline from above. Show every wall, including short returns and wall jogs around a chimney or a column. Mark the thickness of walls at doorways if the kitchen opens to another room.
- Letter the walls. Start at one corner and go clockwise: Wall A, Wall B, Wall C. Every later measurement refers to a wall letter, so your notes and photos match.
- Pick one starting corner per wall and draw a small arrow to show it. All positions along that wall (window edges, outlet centers, the drain) are measured from that corner. Never measure half of them from the other end.
- Show every opening and fixed object roughly in place: windows, doors, radiators, the sink, range and refrigerator, a column, a floor register. Label what is on the other side of each wall (exterior, garage, dining room); it tells the designer where a hood can be ducted.
If you already have a floor plan from a builder or an architect, use it as the base drawing but still measure the room. Plans are drawn to the framing; drywall, plaster and trim can take ½ to 1½ inches off a dimension before a cabinet ever arrives.
Measure Every Wall at Three Heights
For each wall that will hold cabinets, pull the tape from the starting corner to the far end of the wall, or to the edge of whatever stops the run: a door casing, a side wall, the edge of an opening. Take that measurement three times:
- just above the baseboard, around 4 inches off the floor, where the base cabinets and the toe kick sit;
- at about 36 inches, the countertop line;
- at about 84 inches, near the top of the wall cabinets.
Write all three on the sketch, and circle the smallest. The plan is built on the smallest number because a cabinet run that fits at the tightest point will fit everywhere else, and the gaps elsewhere get covered by fillers and scribe molding. If the three readings differ by more than about ½ inch, note it: the designer may widen a filler at that end so the installer has material to trim. Our guide to fillers, end panels and scribe molding shows which piece closes which kind of gap.
Measure the wall, not the cabinets on it. Old boxes often stop short of a wall with a filler buried behind trim, or run into a corner that was built out with an extra layer of drywall. If they are still up, see the FAQ below on measuring around them. Also hold a straight board along each wall at counter height and note any bow, chase or plaster bulge that shows daylight under it.
Ceiling Height, Soffits and Bulkheads
Measure floor to ceiling at every corner of each cabinet wall and at the middle of each run. In an older house, a ceiling that is 96¼ at one corner and 95⅝ at the other is normal, and the difference matters. With a 36-inch counter and the usual 18 inches of clear space above it, the bottom of the wall cabinets sits at 54 inches, so a 42-inch wall cabinet needs 96 inches of height. On the 95⅝ corner, it does not fit at that position. Wall cabinet heights in the lines we sell step in fixed sizes (Fabuwood Allure's spec book lists 30, 36 and 42-inch uppers, plus shorter stacking boxes), so the lowest ceiling reading decides what can go to the ceiling and what needs crown molding above it.
For soffits and bulkheads, measure the depth out from the wall, the height of the bottom edge and where each end falls along the wall. A bulkhead that hangs to 84 inches will cap a 30-inch upper hung at the usual 54 inches. Note what you believe is inside it (a duct, a pipe, nothing), because an empty soffit can often come out and a duct usually cannot.
If the ceiling slopes, record the height at the wall and at 12 inches out from the wall, the depth of a wall cabinet. The designer needs both to find where a box of a given height stops fitting. Our wall and tall cabinet sizes guide covers how upper heights, stacked boxes and crown are chosen once these numbers exist.
Windows and Doors: Casing to Casing, Sill to Floor
Cabinets stop at the trim, not at the glass or the drywall opening, so every window and door is measured to the outside edge of its casing. For each opening record:
- the distance from the wall's starting corner to the near outside edge of the casing;
- the width from outside casing edge to outside casing edge;
- for a window, the height from the floor to the top of the sill (the flat stool you could set a cup on), and to the top of the head casing;
- for a door, the height to the top of the head casing, and which way the door swings.
The sill height is the one people forget. With a 36-inch counter and a 4-inch backsplash, anything lower than about 40 inches will collide with the backsplash or the faucet, and a tall faucet may need more. A sill at 42 inches is comfortable; a sill at 38 means a decision about the window, the backsplash or the counter height, and it is better made before the order than after. If the window is being replaced or re-trimmed, measure what will be there.
Write down the casing width as well; a wall cabinet jammed against a 3½-inch casing looks cramped, so the designer usually holds a filler or a small gap there. For a sink under a window, the window's centerline is usually where the sink is centered; our sink base sizes guide explains how the sink base is chosen around that line.
Plumbing, Gas, Electrical and Vents: Measure to the Centerline
Everything that comes out of a wall or floor is located by its center, with two numbers: the distance from the wall's starting corner, and the height from the floor. A strip of painter's tape in an X on the wall behind each item, with the numbers written on it, makes your photos self-explanatory.
| Item | Record | Why the designer needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Sink drain stub-out | Center from corner, center height from floor | Must land inside the sink base |
| Hot and cold supply stops | Center of each from corner, height from floor | A stop behind a side panel means moving it |
| Dishwasher supply, drain route and power | Where each is now, if the dishwasher stays in place | They pass through the sink base side; the dishwasher sheet sets where |
| Gas stub | Center from corner, height from floor, which way it points | Sets the range centerline |
| Range receptacle (120 V or 240 V) | Center, height, and which it is | Confirms the range can connect where drawn |
| Refrigerator water valve and receptacle | Center from corner, height | Must fall inside the refrigerator opening, not behind a tall panel |
| Countertop receptacles and switches | Center from corner, height of box center | A box set high on the wall can clash with the light rail and under-cabinet lighting below uppers hung at 54 inches |
| Range hood duct or wall cap | Center from corner, size, height of bottom edge | Decides whether a new hood can reuse the duct; hood height itself comes from the hood's manual |
| Floor and wall registers, radiators, baseboard heat | Both edges from corner, height, depth off the wall | A register under a base cabinet needs a toe-kick vent or a duct move |
Moving any of these is common in a remodel and is not a reason to plan around a bad spot, but the move needs a plumber, a licensed gas fitter or an electrician working to your local code, and it needs to happen before the cabinets are set. Measuring where things are now lets the designer tell you what the plan would ask them to move, so you can price it before you commit. Do not open walls to look for pipes during the measuring visit; note where you suspect something runs and let the tradesperson confirm it.
For a hood, note whether the wall behind the range is exterior and what is above the ceiling; the duct run and fan size are covered in our range hood CFM guide.
Checking Square, Plumb and Level
Cabinets are square boxes. The room usually is not. Three quick checks tell the designer where the room will fight the boxes, and each takes a couple of minutes.
Corners: the 3-4-5 check
From the inside corner, measure 36 inches along one wall at counter height and mark it. Measure 48 inches along the other wall and mark it. The straight distance between the two marks should be 60 inches if the corner is a true 90 degrees. On a large kitchen, doubling to 72, 96 and 120 inches is more accurate. A reading over 60 means the corner is open (wider than 90 degrees); under 60 means it is closed. A quarter inch either way is ordinary. At 60¼ the corner is open by about half a degree, which sounds small, but over a 10-foot run it walks the far end of the wall about an inch away from where a square countertop expects it. Write the diagonal on the sketch at that corner.
Walls: plumb
Hold the 4-foot level vertically against each cabinet wall at both ends and the middle. If the bubble is off, measure the gap between wall and level at the top or bottom. With your three wall lengths, that shows which way the wall leans and where scribe molding will be widest.
Floor: find the high point
Lay the level (or a straight board with the level on it) on the floor along each cabinet wall, about 20 inches out, where the front of the base cabinets will sit. Find the highest spot along the whole run, mark it, and measure how far the floor drops from there to each end. Base cabinets are set from the high point and shimmed up everywhere else, so a ¾-inch drop across a kitchen means ¾ inch of shims at the low end and a taller gap under the toe kick. It also changes the height of any appliance opening at the low end, which is the dishwasher trap in the worked example below. The installation side of this is in our guide to leveling and shimming base cabinets.
Corner Cabinet Measurements
Corners are where most layout options are won or lost, and every corner cabinet uses space on both walls. For each inside corner, record:
- the distance from the corner to the first obstruction on each wall (window casing, door casing, range centerline, the end of the wall);
- the 3-4-5 diagonal from the square check;
- anything in the corner itself: a pipe chase, a vent, a bump-out, an outlet within a foot of the corner.
Those distances decide which corner cabinet fits. A 36-inch lazy Susan base, such as Fabuwood Allure's LSB36, uses 36 inches along both walls. A blind base uses its full length on one wall and about 24 inches on the other: Allure's BLB36/39 is a 27-inch box that occupies 36 to 39 inches of wall from the corner, and its spec book notes that a filler must be used on the adjacent wall and is not supplied. A diagonal corner wall cabinet such as the WDC2430 needs 24 inches on each wall at upper height. If a window casing sits 30 inches from a corner, some of those options disappear before a single cabinet is chosen. Our lazy Susan and corner cabinet guide compares the corner cabinets side by side, and types of base cabinets covers the rest of the base family.
An out-of-square corner matters most for a lazy Susan, which has less room to cheat than a blind base with a filler. If your corner reads more than about ⅜ inch off at 36-48-60, say so when you send the plan.
Appliances: Measure the Spec Sheet, Not the Old Unit
The appliance openings are the least forgiving part of a kitchen plan, and the numbers do not come from your tape. They come from the installation instructions of the exact model you will buy, which list the cutout or opening size, clearances and where the utilities must be. If you are keeping an appliance, find its model number (usually on a label inside the door or on the frame) and download its sheet. If you are buying new and have not chosen, give the designer the size class and the type, and pick the model before the cabinet order is final.
Some examples of what those sheets say, from GE Appliances documents:
| Appliance | What the manufacturer specifies | What it changes in the plan |
|---|---|---|
| 24-inch built-in dishwasher | A 24-inch-wide opening, 32⅜ to 34¾ inches from the floor to the underside of the countertop, and at least 2 inches between the dishwasher and an adjacent cabinet or wall when installed in a corner (GE built-in dishwasher installation instructions) | Opening height depends on your floor and counter; a dishwasher against a corner base needs a filler |
| Refrigerator | About 1 inch of breathing room at the top and back, and about 2 inches on the hinge side, or pull the unit forward (GE refrigerator size guide) | Opening width and the height under the cabinet above it; door swing against a wall |
| Range or cooktop | 30 inches between the cooking surface and the bottom of an unprotected wood or metal cabinet above; gas ranges need 6 inches of side-wall clearance above counter height (GE minimum clearance list) | Height of any cabinet over the range, and how close a range can sit to a tall cabinet or wall |
| Over-the-range microwave | A minimum 66-inch mounting height from the floor to the top of the appliance (same GE list) | The bottom of the wall cabinet above the microwave must be at 66 inches or higher |
The range figure is not only a GE rule. The National Kitchen & Bath Association's Kitchen Planning Guidelines cite the International Residential Code for the same 30 inches to combustible material, reduced to 24 when an approved hood or noncombustible protection is installed, and they send you to the manufacturer for over-the-range microwaves. Read your own model's sheet; the GE numbers above show what to look for, not what every brand requires.
Two appliance traps come up often. A refrigerator's depth is listed with and without the doors and handles, and a "standard depth" fridge stands several inches proud of 24-inch base cabinets; decide whether you want it flush before the tall panels and the cabinet above it are sized. And a panel-ready dishwasher or refrigerator needs the cabinet line's panel ordered with the cabinets, so the designer needs its model number, not just "24 inches."
The Path In: Doorways, Stairs and Tall Cabinets
A cabinet has to reach the kitchen before it can be installed. Our standard freight delivery is curbside, as our shipping policy sets out, so the boxes travel the last stretch through your door, hallway and possibly a staircase. Measure the narrowest door and the tightest turn on that path, especially a stair landing.
Tall cabinets deserve one more calculation. A pantry cabinet arrives lying on its back and has to be tilted upright in the room, and while it tilts its diagonal (height and depth together) sweeps past the ceiling. A 96-inch-tall, 24-inch-deep pantry, such as Fabuwood Allure's TP182496, has a diagonal of about 99 inches, so it cannot be stood up under a 96-inch ceiling. The 90-inch version of the same box has a diagonal of about 93 inches and tilts up with room to spare. If your ceiling is close to 96, that is often why the designer picks a 90-inch tall cabinet with a small stacker or crown above it. Our pantry cabinet sizes guide covers the tall-cabinet options.
What to Photograph
Photos catch what the numbers miss. Take them after the tape marks are on the wall, in daylight, with the counters cleared.
- One wide shot of each wall, straight on, from as far back as the room allows.
- Each corner, from far enough out to see a foot of each wall.
- The ceiling line along each cabinet wall, especially soffits, bulkheads and beams.
- Each window and door with the casing in frame, and one close-up of the sill.
- Under the sink with the cabinet empty, showing the drain and supply stops with the tape in frame.
- Behind the range and refrigerator, pulled out if possible, showing the gas stub, receptacles and water valve.
- The floor where it meets each wall, which shows the baseboard, any heat registers and the flooring height.
- The appliance data labels, close enough to read the model number.
- The path in: the entry door, the hallway and any stairs.
A slow video walk-through is a useful extra, but send stills too: a still can be zoomed and read against the tape, a frame from a moving video usually cannot.
Measuring Existing Cabinets for Replacement, Refacing or Painting
How are kitchen cabinets measured when they are already on the wall? Width, then height, then depth, in inches, and that order is baked into most cabinet codes: a W3036 is a wall cabinet 30 inches wide and 36 inches tall, and a B18 is an 18-inch base. Our guide to reading cabinet SKU codes decodes the rest. Width is taken across the outside of the face frame, and depth from the wall to the face of the frame, not the door, which is why a 24-inch base measures closer to 25 with its door on.
Which of those numbers you need depends on the job:
- Full replacement in the same layout. List the existing cabinets in order as a reference, but plan from the wall measurements. The new line's sizes and corner cabinets will not match the old ones inch for inch, and a like-for-like list is how an old mistake, such as a missing dishwasher filler, gets ordered twice.
- Refacing. The boxes stay, so every door and drawer front is measured individually, width by height, to the eighth, along with the face-frame openings and how far each door overlaps the frame. Our article on whether refacing is worth the money covers when that route makes sense.
- Painting. Painters usually price by the number of doors and drawer fronts plus the boxes, or by linear foot. Count doors and drawer fronts per wall and measure the total run length of bases and uppers. Our painting vs replacing cost comparison puts those counts to work, and cabinet cost per linear foot explains how a run length turns into a budget.
Mistakes That Cause Re-Orders
Our designers look for these when they review a drawing. They are listed here because each one ends in a remake, a delay or a filler that should not exist, and a second look at the sketch costs nothing.
- Mixing feet and inches. 11'-8¾" copied down as 118¾ instead of 140¾ is an easy slip at the end of a long day, and it moves every cabinet after it. Write everything in inches.
- Measuring positions from both ends of a wall. Half the outlets measured from the left corner and half from the right is how a sink ends up six inches off its window.
- Ignoring the flooring. New tile, or a floating floor laid after the cabinets, changes the dishwasher opening and the toe kick. Tell the designer what flooring is going down, how thick it is, and whether it runs under the cabinets.
- Framing, not finished walls. In new construction or a gutted room, drywall on both sides of a run takes about an inch (½ inch per wall with standard ½-inch board). Measure after drywall if you can; if you cannot, say the numbers are to the studs.
- Guessing appliance sizes. "A normal fridge" is not a size. The width, the height under any cabinet above and the depth with doors all come from the spec sheet.
- Forgetting the hood and its duct. A hood that is 30 inches wide on a 36-inch range, or a duct that lands behind a wall cabinet's side, is a redesign after the fact.
- Forgetting the path in. A 96-inch pantry that cannot be stood up, or a 36-inch box that cannot turn a stair landing, is still a cabinet you own.
Many of the layout-side errors, such as a run that adds up to the exact wall length or a drawer base jammed into a corner, belong to the drawing stage rather than the measuring stage; our guide to cabinet sizes in 3-inch increments covers those, and important kitchen dimensions before buying cabinets has the standard sizes and clearances the plan has to respect.
Worked Example: One L-Shaped Kitchen, Measured
Here is a complete set of measurements for a small L-shaped kitchen, written the way we would like to receive it, followed by what each number does to the plan. The appliance figures are illustrative; your own come from your own spec sheets. Both walls start at the shared inside corner.
Wall A (sink wall): inside corner to the door casing
- Length: 141 at 4 inches off the floor, 141¼ at 36, 140⅞ at 84. Plan length 140⅞.
- Window: near casing edge 48 from the corner; casing to casing 42 (far edge at 90); sill 42 off the floor; top of head casing 83½. Window centerline: 69.
- Drain stub: center 68 from the corner, 17 off the floor. Supply stops: 63 and 73 from the corner, 21 off the floor.
- Counter receptacles: centers at 30 and 112 from the corner, 44 off the floor.
- Door casing: begins at 140⅞, 3½ wide.
Wall B (range wall): inside corner to the side wall
- Length: 128⅝ at 4 inches, 128⅜ at 36, 128 at 84. Plan length 128.
- Gas stub: center 64 from the corner, 5 off the floor. Range receptacle (120 V): center 60, 4 off the floor.
- Existing hood duct: 3¼ × 10-inch wall cap, centered 64 from the corner, bottom edge at 86. Exterior wall.
- Refrigerator water valve: center 110 from the corner, 10 off the floor; receptacle at 110, 48 off the floor.
- Bulkhead: from 94 to 128 along the wall, 14 deep, bottom at 83⅝. Owners believe it is empty.
Room-wide
- Ceiling: 96¼ at the corner, 96 at the door end of Wall A, 95⅝ at the middle of Wall B, 95¾ beside the bulkhead.
- Corner square check at 36-48: diagonal 60¼ (open about half a degree).
- Floor: high point at the far end of Wall B, ⅜ lower at the corner, ⅝ lower at the door end of Wall A. New tile planned up to the base cabinets and under the dishwasher, not under the boxes.
- Refrigerator chosen: a 36-inch French-door model whose sheet calls for about 70¼ inches of height plus 1 inch of top clearance.
What the designer does with those numbers
The sink wall. The plan works from 140⅞, not 141¼. A 36-inch lazy Susan base in the corner uses the first 36 inches of both walls, a 15-inch base fills 36 to 51, and a 36-inch sink base from 51 to 87 centers exactly on the window's 69-inch line. The drain at 68 and the stops at 63 and 73 all land inside that box. The dishwasher takes 87 to 111, and 29⅞ inches remain before the door casing: a 27-inch drawer base and a 2⅞-inch filler against the casing. The window sill at 42 clears a 36-inch counter with a 4-inch backsplash by 2 inches, enough for a standard faucet but worth checking against a tall one.
The dishwasher height. The bases are set from the floor's high point, so with a 3 cm top set directly on the boxes the underside of the counter is about 34½ inches above the high point. At the dishwasher, about ½ inch lower, the opening grows to roughly 35 inches, just over the 34¾-inch maximum in the GE sheet quoted above. The new tile running under the dishwasher takes most of that back; without it, the dishwasher would need a platform.
The range wall. From the lazy Susan at 36, a 15-inch base, a 30-inch range from 51 to 81 (centered at 66, with the gas stub at 64 inside the range's connection zone, to be checked on the range's own sheet) and a 9-inch base from 81 to 90 leave 38 inches for the refrigerator against the side wall, which covers 36 inches plus the hinge-side clearance GE recommends. The hood duct centered at 64 is 2 inches off the range centerline; the hood liner may cover it, or the duct moves 2 inches while the wall is open.
The uppers. The lowest ceiling reading, 95⅝ in the middle of Wall B, is the one that counts. With the bottoms at 54, a 42-inch wall cabinet needs 96, so it misses by ⅜ inch. The designer would draw 36-inch uppers topped with crown molding, or lower the uppers to leave about 17½ inches above the counter if the owners prefer the taller box, and would explain the trade-off rather than choose silently.
The refrigerator and the bulkhead. The refrigerator needs 70¼ plus 1 inch, so 71¼ inches of clear height. The bulkhead bottom is at 83⅝, leaving 12⅜ inches: room for a 36-wide, 12-high, 24-deep wall cabinet (Fabuwood Allure lists it as the W361224) above the refrigerator, with ⅜ inch to spare. If the bulkhead turns out to be empty and comes down, that cabinet can grow.
The corner. Open by half a degree, the far end of Wall B sits about an inch off square from Wall A. The base cabinets follow Wall B, so the difference shows up as a wedge-shaped gap behind the lazy Susan and in the shape of the countertop. The designer flags it for the installer, and the fabricator templates to the real walls.
None of those calls needed more than a tape, a level and a sketch, only the right numbers taken in the right places. The 3-inch increment guide runs the width arithmetic step by step.
Printable Kitchen Cabinet Measurement Checklist
Print this table or copy it onto the back of your sketch, and tick each line as you go. It follows the order our designers check a drawing in, and saves climbing the ladder twice.
| ✓ | Measurement | How to take it | Write it as |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Room outline and wall letters | Sketch from above, walls lettered, start corners marked | Wall A, B, C… |
| ☐ | Wall length, low | Corner to wall end or casing, 4 in. up | Inches, to ⅛ |
| ☐ | Wall length, counter height | Same, at about 36 in. | Inches, to ⅛ |
| ☐ | Wall length, upper height | Same, at about 84 in.; circle the smallest | Inches, to ⅛ |
| ☐ | Ceiling height | Floor to ceiling at each corner and mid-run | One number per spot |
| ☐ | Soffit or bulkhead | Start, end, depth off the wall, height of the bottom edge | Four numbers per soffit |
| ☐ | Windows | Corner to casing; casing to casing; sill height; head height | Four numbers per window |
| ☐ | Doors and openings | Corner to casing; casing to casing; head height; swing | Three numbers and an arrow |
| ☐ | Sink drain and supply stops | Center from corner, center from floor | Two numbers each |
| ☐ | Gas stub or range receptacle | Center from corner, from floor; 120 V or 240 V | Two numbers and a note |
| ☐ | Refrigerator valve and receptacle | Center from corner, from floor | Two numbers each |
| ☐ | Outlets and switches on cabinet walls | Center from corner, center from floor | Two numbers each |
| ☐ | Hood duct, vents, registers, radiators | Center or both edges from corner; height; size | Numbers plus a note on what is behind the wall |
| ☐ | Corner square check | 36 in. on one wall, 48 on the other, measure the diagonal | Diagonal, to ⅛ |
| ☐ | Walls plumb | 4-ft level at each end and the middle | Gap at top or bottom |
| ☐ | Floor high point | Level along each run, 20 in. off the wall | Location, and drop to each end |
| ☐ | Appliance model numbers | From the data label, or the model you are buying | Model number and spec-sheet link |
| ☐ | Flooring and countertop plans | Flooring type, thickness, under the boxes or not; countertop type | A note |
| ☐ | Path in | Narrowest door, stair landing, ceiling where tall boxes stand up | Width and height |
| ☐ | Photos | Walls, corners, windows, utilities, labels, path in | Files named by wall letter |
If you only have ten minutes, the first five rows plus the windows and the sink drain are enough for a designer to start a rough layout. The rest turns a rough layout into one you can order.
Sending Your Measurements to a Designer
Once the sketch is done, it goes to our free design service. The request form takes a couple of minutes and asks directly whether you have measurements, with three honest answers available: yes, rough numbers, or not yet. Rough numbers are fine to start with, and if you have none, a designer walks you through it. It also asks your ceiling height, and at the last step lets you attach up to five files of up to 10 MB each. It accepts what people actually have: iPhone photos in HEIC, a PDF scan of your sketch, a spreadsheet, a short video clip, or a DWG or SketchUp file if someone has already drawn the room. If you have more than five photos, put them in a zip file.
A designer replies within one business day. Most 3D designs are finished within 24 to 48 hours once we have your measurements and project details, and on request the same plan can be priced in up to three brand tiers so you can compare cost without a redraw. Go over the plan with your designer before you order; that is the moment to catch a wall that does not add up or an appliance without a model number. We build and remodel kitchens ourselves, and that habit of reading a plan the way an installer will is where it comes from. We do not install the cabinets we sell, so the final check of the room before ordering is yours or your contractor's; once the cabinets arrive, our guides to hanging upper cabinets and installing kitchen cabinets yourself pick up where this one stops.
If you would rather try a layout tool first, our comparison of free kitchen layout tools shows what each can and cannot produce, and what a free 3D kitchen design includes explains what comes back from us.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I measure for kitchen cabinets if the old ones are still installed?
Measure the wall across the face of the old cabinets at counter height and at the top of the uppers, measure the old cabinets themselves as a reference, and photograph the ends of each run where fillers or trim might hide space. Then confirm the bare wall measurements once the old cabinets are out, before the new order is released. If that is not possible, tell the designer, who will plan more filler at the wall ends.
How are kitchen cabinets measured: width, height, depth?
Width first, then height, then depth, all in inches. A W3036 is 30 inches wide and 36 tall; bases are typically 34½ inches tall and 24 deep, and wall cabinets 12 deep. On a framed cabinet the width is the outside of the face frame, and depth is measured to the face of the frame, not the door.
How do I measure for kitchen cabinets and countertops at the same time?
Measure the room for the cabinets as described here, and tell the designer the countertop material and thickness, since a 3 cm slab on the boxes and a 2 cm slab on a plywood subtop land at different heights and that height sets the dishwasher opening. The top itself is templated by the fabricator after the bases are installed and level, so it follows the real boxes and walls; our countertop heights and depths guide has the standard numbers. For an island, measure wall to wall across the room and let the designer size it to the aisle using the island clearance guidelines.
What if my walls are not square?
Almost none are. Record the three wall lengths, the 3-4-5 diagonal at each corner and the plumb readings. The designer uses the smallest length, puts fillers where the walls are worst, and the installer scribes trim to the wall. Only corners more than about ⅜ inch off at 36-48-60 usually change the choice of corner cabinet.
Can I send rough measurements and fix them later?
Yes, for the design stage. Rough wall lengths, a ceiling height and window positions are enough for a first layout. Precise numbers are needed before ordering, because cabinets are built to the plan and an order placed on a wrong measurement is not returnable.
Do I measure differently for a bathroom vanity or laundry room?
The method is the same: wall lengths at more than one height, centerlines of the drain and supplies, the window and door casings, and the path in. The heights and depths differ, and our bathroom vanity sizes guide covers them for bathrooms.
Turn Your Sketch Into a Plan
When the checklist is done, send the sketch and photos through the design service, or through our contact page if you have questions first. You can also call 609-900-3358 with the sketch in front of you, and we will go through it with you line by line. If you are still choosing a line, the kitchen cabinet cost estimator gives a budget range from your wall lengths alone.

Written by
Noor K.Technology Manager at Captivating Cabinets
Noor manages and develops the Captivating Cabinets website, and writes practical guides on cabinet styles, finishes, pricing, and remodel planning.
Get a free 3D design + quote
- Your layout rendered in 3D, with an itemized quote
- Back in 24–48 hours
- Free, and yours to keep either way
Recent Articles

October 14, 2026
Bathroom Vanity Sizes and Heights: Widths, Depths and Clearances

October 14, 2026
Kitchen Cabinet Installation Cost in 2026: Labor Per Cabinet, Per Foot, and Per Kitchen

October 13, 2026
Fast Lead Time Kitchen Cabinets: Lead Times by Brand

October 13, 2026
Shaker Kitchen Cabinets: Styles, Colors, Prices and How to Choose

October 13, 2026
Scribe Molding for Cabinets: What It Is and How to Fit It


