★ REFERENCE TABLE · CONSTRUCTION · KITCHEN & CABINETRY
A 10-foot wall at the standard 24-inch cabinet width takes 5 base cabinets and 5 wall cabinets. The sizes below are the standard US manufacturer conventions: base cabinets 34.5 inches high (36 inches with the countertop) and 24 inches deep, wall cabinets 12 inches deep in heights from 12 to 42 inches, and tall pantry cabinets 84, 90, or 96 inches high and 24 inches deep. Widths run 9 to 48 inches in 3-inch steps for base and wall cabinets. Enter your wall length and cabinet width in the calculator to count a run, then print the tables and take them to the showroom.
Cabinet planning starts with one division: wall length in inches divided by cabinet width in inches, rounded up — because a run that is not an exact multiple still needs one more cabinet or a filler strip, never a fraction of a cabinet. The calculator counts base cabinets and the matching wall cabinets for the same run. Corner cabinets, sinks, and appliances all eat run length, so measure the clear run and read the notes below before ordering.
Run length in inches = wall length in feet × 12. Cabinet count = run length in inches ÷ cabinet width in inches, rounded up to the next whole cabinet, with an epsilon-safe ceiling (a tiny 1e-9 tolerance is applied before rounding up) so an exact multiple never rounds up to one extra cabinet. The same count applies to wall cabinets for the same run, since wall cabinets share the base widths. Leftover inches = cabinet count × width − run length: 0 for an exact multiple, and the gap that filler strips or a wider end cabinet must close otherwise. The standard 36-inch countertop height is 34.5 inches of base cabinet plus 1.5 inches of countertop.
Setup: 10 feet of wall, 24-inch cabinets.
Line 1 — run length in inches. 10 × 12 = 120 inches.
Line 2 — cabinets. 120 ÷ 24 = 5.00, rounded up = 5 base cabinets and 5 wall cabinets.
Line 3 — leftover. 5 × 24 − 120 = 0 inches left over.
12 feet at 24 inches. 144 ÷ 24 = 6.00, so 6 base and 6 wall cabinets, with 0 inches left over.
10 feet at 18 inches. 120 ÷ 18 = 6.67, rounded up to 7 base and 7 wall cabinets — 7 × 18 = 126 inches, so 6 inches must be absorbed by filler strips or a wider cabinet.
12 feet at 30 inches. 144 ÷ 30 = 4.80, rounded up to 5 base and 5 wall cabinets — 5 × 30 = 150 inches, so 6 inches must be absorbed the same way.
Every base cabinet is 34.5 inches high (36 inches with the standard 1.5-inch countertop) and 24 inches deep. Only the width varies, in 3-inch steps from 9 to 48 inches. Narrow widths (9–15 inches) are usually pull-outs, spice racks, or tray dividers; 18–24 inches are the common drawer bases and sink bases; 30–48 inches are wide drawer bases and range-adjacent cabinets.
| Width (in) | Height (in) | Height with countertop (in) | Depth (in) | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Spice pull-out, tray divider |
| 12 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Pull-out, narrow drawer base |
| 15 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Pull-out, small drawer base |
| 18 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Drawer base, small sink base |
| 21 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Drawer base |
| 24 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Standard drawer base, sink base |
| 27 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Drawer base, sink base |
| 30 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Wide drawer base, sink base |
| 33 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Wide drawer base |
| 36 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Wide drawer base, range-adjacent |
| 39 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Wide drawer base |
| 42 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Extra-wide drawer base |
| 48 | 34.5 | 36 | 24 | Extra-wide drawer base, island end |
Every wall cabinet is 12 inches deep — half the base depth, so it clears the countertop below and leaves headroom at the counter. Widths match the base widths (9 to 48 inches in 3-inch steps). Height is the variable: 12–18 inches for cabinets above a refrigerator or a high shelf run, 24–30 inches for the common over-counter run, and 36–42 inches for cabinets that reach toward an 8-foot ceiling.
| Height (in) | Depth (in) | Widths available (in) | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Above refrigerator, high shelf run |
| 15 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Above refrigerator, short run |
| 18 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Above microwave or short run |
| 24 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Standard over-counter cabinet |
| 30 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Common over-counter cabinet |
| 36 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Tall over-counter, toward 8-ft ceiling |
| 42 | 12 | 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 | Full-height to 8-ft ceiling |
Tall cabinets run floor to near-ceiling and are 24 inches deep like base cabinets. Widths are narrower than the full base range: 18, 24, 30, or 36 inches. Height follows ceiling height: 84 inches for a standard 8-foot ceiling with clearance, 90 inches for a taller room, and 96 inches for a full 8-foot ceiling run.
| Height (in) | Depth (in) | Widths available (in) | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | 24 | 18, 24, 30, 36 | Pantry, oven tower, 8-ft ceiling with clearance |
| 90 | 24 | 18, 24, 30, 36 | Pantry, taller room |
| 96 | 24 | 18, 24, 30, 36 | Pantry, full 8-ft ceiling run |
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Run length in inches | Wall length (ft) × 12 | 120 at the defaults — the run in the cabinet's own unit. |
| Base cabinet count | Run inches ÷ width, rounded up | 5 at the defaults — how many base boxes to order. |
| Wall cabinet count | Same as base count | 5 at the defaults — wall cabinets share the base widths. |
| Leftover inches | Count × width − run inches | 0 at the defaults — the gap filler strips must close when it is not 0. |
The sizes above are standard US manufacturer conventions, stated as standard dimensions rather than copied from any single source — and conventions vary: some manufacturers offer 13-inch-deep wall cabinets, frameless (European-style) boxes measure differently from framed boxes, and custom shops build any width at all. Treat the tables as the standard starting point, then confirm against your chosen manufacturer's spec sheet before ordering. The calculator has its own limits: it counts a straight run only. Corner cabinets eat about 24 inches of run each, a sink base and a range each take a fixed width that cannot be split, and appliances need their own gaps — subtract all of those from the wall length before entering it, or the count will overstate the run. Filler strips close small gaps at walls and corners, but a gap wider than about 6 inches usually means re-choosing widths, not a wider filler. Error policy: a wall length that is missing, non-numeric, or zero or less, and a cabinet width that is missing, non-numeric, zero or less, or not one of the standard widths (9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 48 inches) are reported as errors rather than calculated, so no result ever shows NaN.
Bright Side Kit. "Kitchen Cabinet Sizes Chart: Base, Wall & Tall Pantry." https://brightoolbox.com/kitchen-cabinet-sizes-chart/ Accessed October 24, 2026.34.5 inches without a countertop, 36 inches with the standard 1.5-inch countertop. The 36-inch finished height is the ergonomic standard for kitchen counters — 34.5 plus 1.5 equals 36.
24 inches deep. Wall cabinets are 12 inches deep — half the base depth — so they clear the countertop below and leave headroom at the counter.
12 inches deep. Some manufacturers offer 13-inch-deep wall cabinets, but 12 inches is the standard convention used in the tables above.
84, 90, or 96 inches, depending on ceiling height. All three are 24 inches deep, and widths are 18, 24, 30, or 36 inches.
6 base cabinets and 6 wall cabinets. Twelve feet is 144 inches, and 144 divided by 24 is exactly 6, with nothing left over.
7 base cabinets and 7 wall cabinets. Ten feet is 120 inches, and 120 divided by 18 is 6.67, rounded up to 7 — 7 cabinets cover 126 inches, so 6 inches must be absorbed by filler strips or a wider cabinet.
A corner cabinet eats about 24 inches of run. Subtract the corner from the wall length before entering it in the calculator, or the count will overstate the straight run. The same applies to sink bases, ranges, and appliance gaps.
Use filler strips — or re-choose widths. The calculator rounds up, so the last cabinet overshoots the run; the overshoot is the gap filler strips must close. A gap wider than about 6 inches usually means picking different widths rather than a wider filler.