Kitchen cabinets are quite often the utmost concern while designing and building a kitchen. The cabinets can add a certain aesthetic quality to the kitchen in which they are located and can also give certain insights into the personality of the homeowner. However, not only do the cabinets themselves carry great weight in the visual appeal of a kitchen, it is highly important that the cabinets are placed in a manner that provides for easy access and the most efficient use of space while also maintaining the particular design qualities desired.

To achieve the greatest cabinet functionality, proper kitchen cabinet layout should be employed. However, we must ask ourselves the key question concerning cabinet layout - what is, in fact, proper cabinet placement? Through asking ourselves three additional questions we can began to discover a solution to our key problem.

First, how large is the kitchen with which we are working? A large kitchen should provide ample space for an abundance of cabinets, fully meeting the homeowner's requirements for cabinet spaces. However, for kitchens with smaller square footage, the homeowner may be forced to make compromises when deciding on cabinet installation. As such, it is suggested that above and below counter cabinets be used, as to maximize the square footage to cabinet space ratio. Furthermore, if the kitchen is large enough then it may be beneficial to employ kitchen island cabinets. Island cabinets provide for a large amount of surface area - used for perhaps a bar, a sink installation, or for simple food preparation - while also allowing for a great amount of cabinet space along the walls of the island that otherwise would go to waste. While kitchen islands can consume a large amount of space and can actually hinder the aesthetics of a kitchen, a kitchen that can handle an island can be greatly assisted though the addition of one.

The second question we must ask ourselves is: what is the intention of our kitchen cabinet design? Highly decorated and luxurious cabinets - handcrafted polished oak cabinets, for instance - should be placed in a manner that provides for their maximum display while also allowing for easy access. For instance, placing such cabinets facing the doorway of the kitchen allows for them to be viewed immediately upon entrance into the kitchen. However, more inexpensive cabinets need not be concerned with a kitchen cabinet layout that has a primary object of displaying the cabinets themselves and functionality should take the forefront in the decision on where to place them. Low hanging cabinets or cabinets placed near sinks and ovens have been found to be ideal locations for cabinet placement, and their installation in proximity to such kitchen fixtures is highly recommended when cabinet exhibition is not of primary concern.

Finally, we should ask ourselves how much cabinet space we actually need, not desire. Although many of us pine for a large amount of cabinet space, often, much less is needed realistically. Considering only cabinet essentials - pots, pans, and other dishware (food can be placed in a pantry, not in kitchen cabinets) - an accurate inventory of our kitchen cabinet essentials should give us a good idea about how much cabinet space we actually need. Taking into account the space needed, cabinets can be selected based upon such dimensions and the kitchen cabinet layout can be designed using kitchen space much more efficiently.

After answering these three questions we can begin to discover what is the proper cabinet layout in our own kitchens. While certain mainstream styles and fashions may dictate the cabinets that we choose, accurately answering the three crucial questions of cabinet design should help us to choose and place cabinets that best suit our own personal tastes and requirements.