Standard kitchen
cabinet sizes.
There is no law setting kitchen cabinet sizes in Australia. There is a convention, and it exists because of appliance sizes and sheet material widths rather than because anyone legislated it.
The short answer
Australian base cabinets are typically 720mm high before the kickboard, giving a finished bench height near 900mm, and typically 560 to 600mm deep. Overheads are usually 300 to 350mm deep. Widths run in 150mm steps from 300mm up to about 1200mm. Those are conventions driven by appliance sizes and by the width of the board the cabinets are cut from, not rules @EM@ and a cabinet cut to your wall will always fit better than one picked from the list.
Where the numbers come from
A bench near 900mm suits the height of most adults working standing up, and it is the height dishwashers and under-bench ovens are built to slide under. A base depth of 560 to 600mm matches the depth of those same appliances and leaves the benchtop a small overhang at the front. Overheads are shallower so you can stand at the bench without hitting your head. None of it is arbitrary, and none of it is compulsory.
Why widths go in steps
Catalogue cabinets come in fixed widths because a factory making thousands of the same box is cheaper than one making yours. The steps are usually 150mm. The consequence is that a 3140mm wall gets cabinets adding to 3000mm and a 140mm filler panel doing the rest, and that panel is dead space you paid for.
When the convention is worth breaking
Tall people often want a bench above 900mm, and it costs nothing to specify at the drawing stage. A wheelchair user needs a lower working height, sometimes two heights in one kitchen. A galley under 3m wants shallower base cabinets so the walkway still works. An old house with a 2.4m ceiling wants different overhead heights from a new one with 2.7m.
What we do
Every cabinet we cut is drawn to your measurements rather than picked from a list, so the run fills the wall and the filler is a choice rather than a necessity. It ships flat packed or delivered assembled. send us the dimensions and the drawing comes back with every cabinet dimensioned.
Sizes, hardware and services
More in this series: Bench height · Hinge overlay · Benchtop thickness · Drawers vs cupboards · Appliance cut-outs · Undermount vs topmount · Under-cabinet lighting · Soft close vs push to open · Runner load ratings · The work triangle · Power point placement.
Frequently asked
Common questions
If your question is not here, call the studio. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Ask us directly →What is the standard kitchen bench height in Australia?
Around 900mm finished, which comes from a 720mm base cabinet plus a kickboard and the benchtop. It is a convention rather than a rule, and it is worth changing if the people using the kitchen are notably tall or short.
How deep are kitchen cabinets?
Base cabinets are typically 560 to 600mm deep and overheads 300 to 350mm. The base depth is set by the appliances that have to fit under the bench.
What widths do kitchen cabinets come in?
Catalogue cabinets usually step in 150mm increments from 300mm to about 1200mm. Cut-to-size cabinetry has no steps, which is how a run fills a wall without filler panels.
Can I get non-standard cabinet sizes?
Yes. Everything we cut is drawn to your room, so the sizes follow the wall rather than a list.
Delivered assembled
The assembly is done
before it arrives.
Carcasses built square on a bench, Blum hardware fitted, doors hung and adjusted to even gaps. On site you are fixing finished cabinets to a wall, not building them on the floor. Our own team fits it in Central Queensland; your installer fits it anywhere else in Australia. Prefer to build it yourself? The same kitchen ships flat pack.
Black joinery, marble bar
Galley layout for a narrow room
Gloss doors, adjusted to even gaps before delivery
Specification
The same three answers,
on every quote.
Board thickness and moisture rating, edging method, hardware brand. Ours are printed on the quote so you can hold them against anything else you are offered.