How to Measure Your Kitchen for New Cabinets

SHOPKITCHENS PLANNING LIBRARY

How to Measure Your Kitchen for New Cabinets

Start with overall wall dimensions, then record doors, windows, ceiling height, fixed utilities and exact appliance sizes. Measure every opening from a consistent reference corner and recheck critical dimensions before a cabinet order is finalized.

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  • Tools: tape measure, pencil, graph sheet, phone/camera
  • Measure walls, ceiling, openings, appliances, utilities and obstructions
  • Use inches; record fractional inches rather than rounding early
  • ShopKitchens Designer uses these measurements to block occupied wall zones

Last reviewed: September 2026 · EVERGREEN

FIGURE 1 — Label walls before measuring — Give each wall a letter and measure finished corner to finished corner. The same wall letters should appear on your worksheet and in Smart Designer.

Measure in this order

  1. Overall walls. Record each finished wall length.
  2. Ceiling and bulkheads. Measure finished-floor-to-ceiling height and any dropped areas.
  3. Doors, windows and passages. Record width plus distance from one known corner.
  4. Utilities. Mark plumbing, gas, electrical, vents and fixed services.
  5. Appliances. Use actual model specifications where known.
  6. Recheck. Repeat the dimensions that control cabinet fit.
FIGURE 2 — Measuring a window — Record opening width and its location from one fixed corner. When elevation matters, also record height from the finished floor.

Worked example

An L-shaped room has Wall A = 120″ and Wall B = 108″. A 36″ refrigerator starts 18″ from the inside corner on Wall B. A 42″ window starts 46″ from the left end of Wall A. Those offsets become blocked zones before cabinet combinations are generated.

Download Printable PDFDownload Measurement WorksheetEnter My Measurements in Smart DesignerUpload My Completed Sheet

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