Before you start planning out your brand new custom kitchen, you may need to measure your kitchen.
If you are not able to obtain a copy of your kitchen floorplan, you’ll need to measure it manually. Here are detailed guidelines to help you out.
If you are remodeling your kitchen, you can ignore measurements of any cabinetry you plan to remove. You should take all the measurements in inches rather than feet.
Here’s how a kitchen floorplan may look like:
How to Measure Your Kitchen
Should you plan to draw up your own floorplan, here are the steps you can take:
Step 1: Make a rough drawing of your kitchen floor plans
Here are some common symbols that you might need:
NOTE: If there are doors, draw your doorways in the direction they are going to swing to.
Step 2: Include key objects in your drawing
Do include any kitchen cabinets, kitchen island, appliances and any key objects into your drawing.
Make sure they are drawn to scale. This will give you an accurate representation of the space within your kitchen design.
Step 3: Start measuring your kitchen!
We find it easier to start from the top left of a drawing and work in a clockwise direction. There are no fixed rules about it, as long as it is efficient for you.
Windows and Doors
Remember to measure every window, door, and wall in your kitchen. And take of the trim or external area of your window or door:
The trim is taken as part of window or door. Take measurements from the outer part of the trim on one side to the one on the opposite side.
In addition to measuring the height of a window, you should measure the height from the floor to the window too.
To prevent your drawing from becoming too cluttered, you can record the window measurements on a separate table:
| Distance from Floor to Bottom of Window (inches) | Height of Window Including Trim (inches) | |
| Window #1 + Description | ||
| Window #2 + Description | ||
| Window #3 + Description | ||
| Window #4 + Description |
It may be easier to label windows in a clockwise direction from the top left corner (Window #1 etc). And add a description or name that corresponds with its adjacent room. This way, you can easily identify the window when referring to your drawing.
Repeat the process for your doors.
Ceiling Height
The height of the ceiling is usually indicated in the middle of your drawing.
While measuring your kitchen, you should measure the ceiling height at different locations, especially if there are significant differences.
Step 4: Start measuring your kitchen furniture
Your kitchen floor plan should include your kitchen cabinet and kitchen island plans as well.
These items are measure, starting from the wall adjacent to them.
Remember to measure the height as well!
Step 5: Start measuring your kitchen appliances
Make sure these are drawn to scale.
Again, you can record them in a separate table:
| Width (Inches) | Height (Inches) | Depth (Inches) | |
| Refrigerator | |||
| Stove | |||
| Dishwasher | |||
| Microwave | |||
| Trash Compactor | |||
| Sink | |||
| etc | |||
| etc |
Step 7: Double Check
Make sure your measurements are correct by checking and comparing your records.
If you have a rectangular kitchen, measurements for parallel walls should match. For example:
Additional Tips
Check for mold
A s you make your kitchen plans, take note if there any molding has occurred. You should measure the distance of the mold from a landmark like a wall or a corner of your kitchen.
This may affect your kitchen remodeling workflow. It will be faster and more cost effective if your contractor was pre-warned about any molding that they have to take care of.
Note any irregularities
Do the same for any irregularities or any touch up work that you’d like to have done.
Too much work?
Our professional contractors do this on a daily basis, why not let them handle it for you? Contact us.