Proper cabinet alignment in your kitchen is vital to a well-functioning kitchen. Luckily, it’s relatively simple and will help your cabinets look fantastic! Correct alignment is essential to a successful kitchen, whether installing kitchen cabinets or hiring a pro.

Safety

Proper cabinet alignment is a must in any kitchen cabinet installation. It can make all the difference between a kitchen that looks like a showroom and one that’s safe for everyone who uses it.

Start by measuring the top of your cabinets from the highest point in the room to determine how far they need to be from the wall to be perfectly level front to back and left to right. You should also mark the back of each cabinet to ensure it is level before drilling screws through the back and into the studs in the wall to keep it from shifting or sliding.

Next, check that your cabinets’ doors align with your kitchen’s base cabinets. Adjust the hinges of your cabinets if the doors aren’t meeting flush with the cabinets at the top or bottom. This can be a trial-and-error process.

Durability

Cabinets are the most functional part of your kitchen, so you want them to last a lifetime. Luckily, the durability of your cabinets can be enhanced with proper cabinet installation.

A professional kitchen installer has the skills and experience to hang your cabinets perfectly plumb and level, even if the walls and floor aren’t straight. They also know how to secure the cabinets properly to studs and drywall, which prevents your cabinet contents from falling or crashing down.

Another important feature of kitchen cabinets is their hinges. These can be adjusted up and down or side to side, depending on the type of hinge. Most modern cabinets have fully adjustable hinges.

Style

Cabinets are your kitchen’s focal point, adding style and functionality. They’re also one of the most significant investments in your home, so it’s essential to get them right. The first step to achieving a gorgeously coordinated kitchen is to ensure your cabinets are level and plumb before installing them. This can be done using shims (thin pieces of wood or plastic) or a spirit level. Another option for bringing your kitchen cabinets up to modern standards is changing their hardware. For example, if you’re installing wall cabinets, placing knobs 2″ to 3″ from the lower corner of the door panel will bring a more sophisticated look to your cabinetry.

Efficiency

When properly installed, kitchen cabinets align and open and close efficiently. This efficiency benefits the work triangle between the sink, refrigerator, and stove.

Ideally, the base and upper cabinets in a row should end at the same height as each other (i.e., at least 17 inches from the countertop to the floor). However, this may only be possible or desirable if the cabinets are plumb.

Shimming or scribing is usually an excellent option to correct variances in height. If wall cabinets and backsplash end out-of-plumb, the resulting gap may require adding a custom extension on site.

During dry-fit, check the wall for level and plumb (using a leveling leg) everywhere in the room where the cabinets will go. In addition, double-check rough-in locations for electrical outlets and switches and undercabinet lighting, significantly if adjustments to cabinet height affect these features.