Kitchen Planning Guide, Guideline 8, Base Cabinet Frontage

Guideline 8 Small Kitchens

Small kitchens - under 150 sq. ft. - allow at least 156" of base cabinet frontage, with cabinets at least 21" deep (or equivalent). The blind portion of a blind corner box does not count. (Fig. 1) Standard base cabinets are 24" deep.

Guideline 8 Large Kitchens

Large kitchens - over 150 sq. ft. - require at least 192" of base cabinet frontage, with cabinets at least 21" deep (or equivalent). The blind portion of a blind corner box does not count. (Fig. 2) Standard base cabinets are 24" deep.

Guideline 8 Clarification 1

Lazy Susan-Pie Cut or Easy Reach Corner Base Cabinets

In both small and large kitchens, pie cut-lazy susan base cabinets count as a total of 30". (Fig. 3)

Guideline 8 Clarification 2

Tall cabinets 72" or taller can count as either base or wall cabinets, but not both. (Fig 4) The calculation is as follows:

• 12" deep tall units = 1 x the base lineal footage, 2 x the wall lineal footage.
• 18" deep tall units = 1.5 x the base lineal footage, 3 x the wall lineal footage.
• 21" to 24" deep tall units = 2 x the base lineal footage, 4 x the wall lineal footage.

Guidelines used by permission from the National Kitchen & Bath Association