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Are 20” wide upper cabinet doors too big?

3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

We are in the final stages of designing our custom kitchen cabinets and are struggling to decide what to do with the 2 upper cabinet doors that are left and right between the range hood. Our current kitchen has 20” upper cabinet doors and we feel like they are way too bulky looking. Ideally we want 15” to max 18” per door but not sure how to do it, while keeping the upper and lower cabinets somewhat aligned?
Do you think 20” wide doors are too big. Since we are going with a two row upper cabinet design, these cabinets will be 30” in height and 20” in width. The top row horizontal cabinets will be 29” each or can be 40” and 36” (above the range hood) and 40”. But we feel like 40” horizontal cabinets are way too big as well (although they would align with the second row of the upper cabinets), hence we divided them into 4 X 29” horizontal cabinets but they won’t align with the second row upper cabinets or lower cabinets…
We do not want to do small cabinets on the top row and align each cabinet because it would look too busy?
What do you think of this design overall? Does it flow or look awkward, because the cabinets do not align?


Comments (17)

  • 3 years ago

    Consider a 42" range hood instead of 36" (you should have a hood 6" wider than your cooktop or range), then do 2 18" cabinets. And then consider drawer bases instead of cabinets, which are way better anyway, and then you don't need to worry about lining things up.

    If you're stuck with a 36" hood then you could do a small cabinet on each side of your hood (10") and then 2-15".

    FWIW, my upper cabinets and lower cabinets don't line up and I never even noticed. I have 2 smaller cabinets adjacent my hood that are shorter/have more clearance to the counter, which is nice right next to the range.

    You didn't ask, but do you have plans for the 8" pullouts? Unless you really really want the pullouts, I would add that space to the adjacent and have 40" drawers. Spices are better in a drawer. Pullouts can be good for cutting boards and sheet pans but oil/vinegar etc are better away from heat, and easier to access. Only the top row on those pullouts is accessible.

  • 3 years ago

    the appropriate size of range hood is a high priority as people said above..... your hood selection needs to be changed. then you are at about 36 each side of the hood maybe w a bit of filler..maybe not. 36 in double door cabinet will not disappoint you. you are buying one cabinet each side .....each door is 18 inches and no center stile so it will be a good storage cab. I would put a 15 inch pantry with rollouts on each side of fridge....to the left of range below the counter is that 40 inches??? place 33 in base drawers and a 6 in tray cabinet and one inch filler as needed. how many inches on right side of range below counter?? cant tell...

  • 3 years ago

    I agree about the 8" pullouts and having base drawers instead of cabinets - I have a 9" because there was no other option in my small space (I do find it useful though. (9" is just wide enough to have 2 rows of spice jars per shelf. 8" would not).

    Also agree that lining up with the lowers is usually noticed only on paper.

    I have 20" doors on my upper/lower pantry cabinets (each 52"), which is between the wall and the refrigerator. The 20" is fine as far as function. They don't look bulky either, probably because of the setting and the cabinet heights.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Absolutely eliminate those lowers surrounding your cooktop and get 3 stack drawers as wide as possible. If you must have spices right by the cooktop, use 1 top drawer for them. Much easier and more efficient. Put your cooking utensils in the other one. I added a divider inside my large drawer to have cooking oils/ghee close by.

  • 3 years ago

    @Glo and @anj_p Thanks for the suggestions on the wider range hood. We have not bought the range hood and are not sure if a 42” would look huge in our modest sized 180 sqft kitchen. But it is definitely something to consider that we have not thought of. It could solve my issue with the upper cabinet width. :)
    Good to know that cabinets do not necessarily have to line up. I checked out more photos of kitchens on Houzz and realized many kitchen cabinets do not line up and they look fine.
    The 8” pull outs are spice racks.
    And yes. Will change the lower cabinets to wider drawers. I ding know why I drew cabinets in the lower sections but they will all be drawers.

  • 3 years ago

    @herbflavor Yes. The counter space on the left and right of the stovetop are 40” width.
    So, you would not put the fridge and wall ovens next to each other but would separate the two by a 15” pantry? Is there are reason for doing so? Just wondering.

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks everyone who suggested to eliminate the lower cabinets and put wide drawers instead. I forgot to update my bad drawing but that’s the plan.
    How tall do you recommend the drawers do be underneath the stove top to accommodate pots. My tallest pot is 10” tall.
    Do I need to leave a “dead drawer” right underneath the electric cooktop before adding 2 drawers underneath?

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    separating pantries allows distinguishing items into different zones. also I would personally want a buffer between my fridge compressor and the steam and other oven. do you realize you have 4 appliances and 40 inches of counter that is to be shared? I'm thinking you have an island behind all this for pivot and landing...I hope so....15 or 18 in wide pantry cab with pullouts at full depth holds a lot...I dont know where all these 20 in dimensions are coming from.....two cabs at 15 in and separated by fridge would be very nice . I can sit and think how different things that people come and grab go in one area and my baking stuff and back up ingredients go in another spot . specific styles of the tall pantry cabs vary quite a bit now. get it exactly how you want.

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  • PRO
    3 years ago

    As others have said uppers and lowers don’t need to line up- looks important on appear but in real life they are on different planes so it doesn’t matter. Are you SURE you want those 8” pullouts? They seem like a good idea but at least the spice ones require you to get down on your knees to read the labels- I installed them in my first kitchen and never again. Base tray cabinets and utensil pullouts are great however for narrow spots.

  • 3 years ago

    @herbflavor You definitely made me rethink my layout with the fridge beside the wall ovens… I did read that they shouldn’t be next to each other but I see so many kitchens to be that way? Would it not look like the “flow is being interrupted” with the fridge standing between 2 tall 15” or 20” cabinets? Just my thought… not sure.
    Yes, we will have a 10’ X 3.5’ island in front of that wall that I shared the drawing off. We will have more countertop space on the opposite wall which will be a coffee/beverage station.

  • 3 years ago

    @HALLETT I might swap the left lower space pull out rack with a tray pull out cabinets. I thought I may need 2 spice racks so I can have all my spices and sauces/oil etc next to my cooktop.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    there is nothing "flowy" in the looks department about a long wall with all your cooking appliances and refrigeration and tall storage...Flow is how the kitchen works in total. You arent sharing that . This wall and all that it contains should allow people doing things between cooking/retrieving/ and moving back and forth to work well....I'd separate the pantries. If you use the stacked ovens a fair amount , a pantry to the right of fridge will put a step or two or a body width between people at the fridge and the cook or people using the ovens. Household members use the fridge constantly.

  • 3 years ago

    We have several wide upper cabinet doors. We have a small u shaped kitchen and used stock cabinets which limited the design. Only one of those doors bothers me, as it opens over a corner, and if left open, blocks access to the last cabinet. The others are fine. So I think it depends on where they are located.

  • 3 years ago

    @K H think about how you use your spices. I use everything except salt and pepper during prep. I'm typically not grabbing spices and shaking them into things as I cook. Maybe you do, and if that's the case then I understand wanting them accessible by the stove. However I would still argue that anything not on the top of a spice rack is difficult to access while you're cooking as you have to bend over to see them from the side. Drawer storage either in your prep zone (if you use spices mostly during prep) or drawer storage in your cooking zone (if you use them while you cook) will be the most accessible.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Building on what herbflavor said. Most important is to think about how you use the kitchen, how you move around the kitchen, what you don't like about how you have to move around your kitchen as it is now. What will be the traffic patterns through the kitchen - must people walk through it to get to the back door or the basement? All the way through to get to the fridge?

    Imagine yourself moving around your kitchen as you fix a meal, getting things out of the fridge and the oven, with the various possible layouts (I am not good at imagining/visualizing, but I managed to talk myself through it!). That is the only flow you really need to worry about! Function>looks.

  • 3 years ago

    Why aren't you looking for more accessible storage with drawers and fewer uppers.


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