Cabinet & Drawer Size Calculator

The arithmetic

Door width = cabinet width ÷ doors + 2 × overlay
Door height = cabinet height + 2 × overlay

An overlay door sits in front of the face frame and covers part of it, so it must be larger than the opening — not smaller. For a 36-inch cabinet split in two, each opening is 18 inches, and a half-inch overlay on each side gives 19.

Worked examples

36 in, 2 doors, 0.5 in overlay → 19.0 × 35.0
18 in, 2 doors → 10.0 × 35.0
72 in, 2 doors → 37.0 × 35.0
34 in high → 19.0 × 18.0 at half height
68 in high → 19.0 × 69.0
0.25 in overlay → 18.5 × 34.5
1 in overlay → 20.0 × 36.0

A full-inch overlay adds a whole inch in each direction, which on a narrow cabinet is the difference between doors that clear each other and doors that clash at the centre. Wider cabinets handle large overlays better; narrow ones need the smaller figure.

Check the gaps before ordering

Two overlay doors meeting in the middle need a gap so they do not rub. The usual allowance is 1/8 inch, taken out of the door width — two doors at 19.0 inches across an 18-inch opening leave no room at all if the arithmetic ignores it. The practical fix is to reduce each door by half the gap: 18.94 inches rather than 19.0.

Hinges impose their own limits. A concealed cup hinge needs a minimum door width and a specific bore distance from the edge; below about 4 inches of door width, or with a very thick door, the standard hinge no longer fits.

Drawers and pull heights

Drawer fronts use the same overlay logic but are usually calculated per drawer rather than per cabinet: opening height plus twice the overlay, minus the gap between fronts. Keep the gaps consistent, because an eighth of an inch that varies between drawers is the first thing anyone notices.

The pull height here is 40% of the door height, which puts it in comfortable reach on a base cabinet. Tall pantry doors want two pulls or one placed higher, and doors above eye level want the pull near the bottom edge instead.

Frequently Asked Questions