Thirty inches over the sink: the grid, and the height a window decides
Reviewed September 2026 · Captivating Cabinets
Thirty inches is the most common sink-base width in a kitchen, which makes it the most common width for the cabinet hanging above one. That position has a problem all of its own: a window usually sits in the middle of it, and the window rather than the ceiling decides how tall the box can be. The grid below prices every height so the decision can be made against real numbers instead of a range.
Five fronts, nine heights
The short half of this table is doors only. Everything else in the collection at this width starts at thirty inches tall.
| Height | Double door | Blind | Open, matching interior | Open shelf | Glass door part |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12″ | GN W3012 — $234.00 | — | — | — | — |
| 15″ | GN W3015 — $243.75 | — | — | — | — |
| 18″ | GN W3018 — $253.50 | — | — | — | — |
| 21″ | GN W3021 — $273.00 | — | — | — | — |
| 24″ | GN W3024 — $318.50 | — | — | — | — |
| 30″ | GN W3030 — $383.50 | GN WBC3030 — $383.50 | GN NDW3030 — $461.50 | GN WOS3030 — $565.50 | GNK GDW3030 — $201.50 |
| 36″ | GN W3036 — $451.75 | GN WBC3036 — $451.75 | GN NDW3036 — $542.75 | GN WOS3036 — $672.75 | GNK GDW3036 — $234.00 |
| 39″ | GN W3039 — $503.75 | GN WBC3039 — $477.75 | GN NDW3039 — $568.75 | GN WOS3039 — $698.75 | GNK GDW3039 — $126.75 |
| 42″ | GN W3042 — $526.50 | GN WBC3042 — $523.25 | GN NDW3042 — $620.75 | GN WOS3042 — $757.25 | GNK GDW3042 — $279.50 |
At thirty and thirty-six inches tall the blind corner and the plain box display at the same figure to the cent, and above that the blind is the cheaper of the two — a corner unit costing less than the cabinet beside it, which is not true at twenty-four inches. The glass column is a part to add to the first column, and its thirty-nine-inch entry displays below both its neighbours, the same anomaly that shows at other widths.
Four more families live at this width and price on their own terms: the twenty-four-inch-deep refrigerator boxes at $351.00 to $497.25, the microwave units from GN MW3018 at $360.75 up to the twenty-one-inch-deep MC family at $708.50 to $773.50, the appliance wall box GN WAC3018 at $796.25, and GN WR3018, a bottle lattice, at $575.25.
Above a sink, the window sets the height
Work down from the window head rather than up from the counter. Measure from the underside of the upper-cabinet line to the top of the window casing; that figure, rounded down to a height the grid actually builds, is your cabinet. The five short boxes exist precisely for this — $234.00 at twelve inches tall, $243.75 at fifteen, $253.50 at eighteen, $273.00 at twenty-one and $318.50 at twenty-four.
What happens instead, more often than it should, is that the full-height box gets ordered because it matches the rest of the run, then crowds the casing, then gets explained away with trim. A short box costs between a hundred and three hundred dollars less and sits where it was meant to. Where there is no window and the run goes to the ceiling, the height question is a different one entirely, and the wall cabinet article works through it against ceiling heights.
What belongs in the box above a sink, and what does not
Everyday plates and glasses belong there, because the dishwasher is below and the put-away trip is one step. Spices, oils and anything that minds steam do not. The air coming off a sink is wetter than the air anywhere else on that wall, and a cabinet directly above it takes all of it, all day.
That is also the argument against putting an open shelf unit in this position. GN WOS3030 at $565.50 is the most expensive front in the grid and the least suited to sitting over a bowl of hot water — splash and steam land on everything in it and keep landing. If the plan wants something open on the sink wall, move it to the end of the run and leave the sink position closed.
The one half-open thing that does work near a sink is glassware on a rail: GNK STMW30 at $403.00 hangs under a thirty-inch upper and puts stems within reach of the dishwasher without a door in the way. Hang it beside the sink rather than directly over the bowl.
The parts cut to thirty inches
Five line items are sized to this width and not one of them arrives with the cabinet. GNK LED W30 at $130.00 is the interior puck set. GNK LED FLS30 at $539.50 is the thirty-inch undercabinet bar that lights the counter below, with GNK LED DRIVER at $204.75 and GNK LED WLS SWITCH at $221.00 as separate lines sized to everything on the circuit. GNK STMW30 at $403.00 is the stemware rail. GN W0306 at $273.00 is the six-inch-tall tray cabinet that sits above a thirty-inch run. And GNK AS-W30 at $45.50 is a spare adjustable shelf, or $97.50 for the two-pack.
The undercabinet bar matters more than most people expect, because it is the light that reaches the counter and the backsplash rather than the doors. No colour temperature is published for any of these fixtures, so ask for the spec sheet before the order goes in rather than discovering it after the drywall is closed.
Common questions
- What size cabinet goes above a 30 inch sink base?
- A thirty-inch upper, when the wall allows it and no window intervenes, because matching the width above and below keeps the stiles in line down the elevation. When a window does intervene, the width stays and the height changes.
- How tall should the cabinet above a kitchen window be?
- Measure from the upper-cabinet line down to the top of the window casing and take the largest height the grid builds that fits: 12, 15, 18, 21 or 24 inches, $234.00 to $318.50 at this width. Do not force a full-height box over a window head.
- How much is a 30 inch wall cabinet?
- From $234.00 for the twelve-inch-tall box to $526.50 at forty-two inches, at displayed prices on the review date. Open, blind, open-shelf and deep versions of the same width all price separately.
- Can a 30 inch wall cabinet have glass doors?
- Yes. GNK GDW3030 at $201.50, GDW3036 at $234.00 and GDW3042 at $279.50 are the parts, added to the cabinet price. The thirty-nine-inch entry displays oddly low and is worth confirming.
- Should I put open shelving above the sink?
- We would not. Steam and splash reach everything on it, and a finished interior is harder to scrub than a plate. Put the open bay at the end of the run or where the kitchen meets the dining space, and keep the sink position behind doors.
Keep reading
The guides behind the numbers on this page.
- Important kitchen dimensions before buying cabinets
The lines a cabinet above a sink has to respect: window head, backsplash and reach.
- How to clean and care for kitchen cabinets
What steam and splash do to a cabinet face over years, and how to slow it down.
- Wall and tall kitchen cabinets: sizes and buying guide
The nine heights at this width, and which of them a window usually forces.
- Kitchen layouts guide
Where the sink lands in each layout, and therefore where this width lands.
- How to match cabinets, countertops, backsplash and flooring
The sink wall is the most looked-at wall in the room, which raises the stakes on this box.
- Space-saving cabinet solutions
Rails, racks and inserts that make a wide upper hold more than three shelves would.