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Built-in cabinet look best practices
I’m planning on purchasing two base cabinets to put together a built-in entertainment center/storage cabinets for a three wall alcove/recessed nook area in my living room. I have a few questions about the proper or recommended way to handle the dimensions for this.
1) Cabinets width – the walls are of course not perfectly square and the interior wall to wall width of the alcove ranges from 58 7/16” to 58 7/8”. For the cabinet width is the right approach to leave 3-4” of space to allow for 2” fillers pieces on either side? So in this case, going with two 27 1/4” wide cabinets for a total width of 54 1/2” would be appropriate? Or would 27 1/2” wide cabinets for a total width of 55” be better to ensure there is enough coverage with the fillers?
2) Cabinet depth – the depth of the alcove is 23 1/2”, and at that depth on either side is where the alcove side walls transition to 90 degree corners to adjacent interior walls. I understand the filler pieces should sit 5/8 proud of the cabinet, so I need to account for that in my cabinet depth correct? To ensure that the filler pieces do not protrude beyond the alcove side walls. And if I wanted to use scribe molding for the filler to wall transition, I would need to account for that too (3/4”)? If the above is true then my final cabinet depth should be no more than 23 1/2” less 5/8” less 3/4” which would be 22 1/8”, and put the appropriate cabinet depth to order at 22”. Does that make sense?
3) Finished countertop width – would the best
approach here to achieve the built in look be to order the width based on the
minimum width measurement of the alcove area (58 7/16″), and then use scribe
molding for the transition to the wall? -
1 Reply
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Sure, see below:
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Yes, leaving a standard 2″ wide filler on each side of your cabinet run is the best option. Fillers are useful because they create a transition between out-of-plumb walls and perfectly plumb, square cabinets. At 2″ wide, they provide enough space that any wall irregularities are much less noticeable and won’t draw the eye.
This is one of the most overlooked benefits of fillers. They make installation much easier because the cabinets are not installed tightly against the walls. They also allow you to apply scribe molding to the face of the filler so it can conform to uneven walls. This avoids having to scribe the entire filler to the wall and then rely on painted caulk, which often cracks over time.
Professional installers typically use scribe molding rather than caulk. They will often leave the filler about 1/4″ away from the wall so the cabinet run can slide into place smoothly without damaging the drywall. Once the cabinets are installed, the scribe molding is applied as the final step, and any baseboard or other trim can terminate cleanly into the face of the scribe molding. The result is a cleaner, more professional appearance that is also much easier to install.
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Correct. The listed cabinet depth is measured from the back of the cabinet box to the face frame. The doors project beyond that measurement. For example, a 24″ deep cabinet with the doors installed is actually about 24-13/16″ deep overall.
I generally recommend pulling the fillers forward so they are flush with the cabinet doors. You don’t have to, but in my opinion it creates a much cleaner finished look.
Also, note that scribe molding is 3/4″ wide, not 3/4″ deep. It only projects about 1/4″, so it doesn’t add much thickness.
I also typically recommend holding the cabinet run back about 2″ from the face of a rounded drywall corner. This leaves plenty of room for the countertop to terminate nicely, since most countertop installers prefer an overhang of approximately 1–2″, depending on their installation preferences.
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