Teri,

It would help to see the rest of your layout, to see how it looks proportionally. I have 2 X 21" cabinets side by side to hold my dishes and glasses, I can't remember why I didn't get one 42" cabinet (I think maybe the max size was 36"?). So, from the outside, it looks like one large cabinet as the doors face each other. I could have used the extra space a 45" cupboard would give, the edges of my cabinets are 3/4" thick, so that means I lose 1 1/2" in the middle.

Remind me what full overlay means? I have frameless- is that the same thing?

Think of it this way--The doors on a 45'' cabinet will be smaller than the door on a 24'' cabinet and a 24'' cabinet wouldn't look weird.

Here's a link to Merillat cabinet gallery. What is great about this gallery is that most of the rooms have a pdf attachment where the dimensions of the cabinets are specified. It's a great visualization tool.

Here is a link that might be useful: Merillat gallery

Full overlay means that while you do have a face frame, there is no gap b/w doors or drawers or on the edges. My cabinets are full overlay:

Note how the drawers have no gaps b/w them and that they go to the edges of the cabinet carcass:

Notice the doors have no gaps b/w them and also go to the edges of the cabinet carcass:

I would be concerned about the shelves in a 45" tall cabinet...will they be unwieldy at that width at the "higher' points? Will the upper shelves be stationary (but adjustable)?

We have 23" doors and they're fine...so the 22-1/2" (probably only 22") doors you would have in a 45" cabinet would probably be fine.

One consideration...if you have a 45" cabinet, you will have two doors to open each time you want something...w/narrower cabinets you will only need to open one. Two doors probably isn't a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it!

The widest upper cabinet I have is 23" and the widest tall cabinet I have is 31.5" (DO cabinet)....so I do not have first-hand experience w/tall cabinets or wider cabinets. I do know that cabinets 24" or wider in the Omega Dynasty/Embassy line have 2 doors. So take it FWIW!

23" doors on either side of the window:

HTH!

I just looked at my cabinets. My widest ones are 30"+/- and are about as large as I'd want to have. I agree that a 45" one would look awfully big. My usual response is "the bigger the better" in cabinets, but this time I'd be inclined to go with one of the combinations of smaller ones. Would one section of open shelves with one larger cabinet work? That might be a nice look in the right place.

I have a 48" space that used to hold a wet bar. My KD and I went back & forth on 45" cab/2 doors vs 2 cabs/16" & 32" doors (or something like that). I went with the 45" cab and it looks fine IMO (caveat: it's in my family room near the kitchen and holds DVDs, not glassware). Remember that it will have 2 doors, each 22.5", not be one monolithic 45" door. Here's a pic (the cab in question is at the top left of the photo):

I don't think I gave you enough information.Sorry. The 45 inch space is to the left of a window. I was concerned with the size of the doors on the 45inch cabinet. The cabinets on the other side of the window will have smaller doors. If I choose the 18 in. and the 27 in. cabinets, the 18 would have 1 door and the 27 would have 2 doors. Same thing for the 21 and 24. Someone mentioned the stability of the shelves on one large cabinet. Since they will hold a lot of heavy dishes, I think I am leaning toward two cabinets. Thanks for all the help.

Oh! That makes so much more sense. :)
With the new info you just gave, I think you are definitely on the right path. I agree with you that the 45" cabinet might look too big in comparision. Do you have any preference on the 18/27 or the 21/24?
I'd say if you know the sizes of the doors on the other side, go for the option in which the door sizes are closer to the other side. Of course, that is an obvious conclusion... :) hope we can see pictures when it's done

I have a mix of 21's and 24's in my uppers and you really don't see the difference much at all (my doors are all inset if that matters). I prefer that the cabinets each have a purpose sparate from each other, verses one huge cabinet doing multiple duties.

Now if it were a cabinet totally separate from the rest, (like blue's) I'd reconsider since you could do more of a hutch like set up on that.

Terri, I have another idea. To the right of my sink wall my KD said 27" upper cab only. To the left she originally planned 36". I was bothered by the lack of symmetry on the "picture wall" (window, sink, etc), so we changed the 36" cab to a symmetrical 27" cab plus an angled end shelf for tchotkes. Even if you don't have an end run, you could have a smaller cab and then an open shelf or something else. Here's a pic (angled shelf at the very far left).

I just ordered my cabs and my order included a 45" wall cabinet with 3 same size doors. They are approx 14.75" each. The brand is Showplace.

Bluekit...I wonder why your KD didn't give you the 3 door cab as an option...you have Showplace right?

shannon

This is my first time trying to post a pic. I have a 45" cabinet. The doors are not full overlay, but I think it looks fine and does not "stand out" from the other cabs. The inside is one open space with a supported shelf, but I just checked into purchasing some pull outs for that cab. It is the cabinet by the "dead" corner, that I wish I had NOT let the cabinet guy talk me into. I wish I had gone with the corner cab.

ilovetn,

I love your cabinets! Would you mind sharing the species and stain color?

Could you divide the space between a 30" and a 15" cabinet? That way, you'd have three doors the same size.

I like holligator's idea. You will appreciate the symmetry.

I have a 'desert' counter 6'W with a bay of drawers. I made these drawers only 18" deep -Vs- the typical 24" counter. I have three full overlay 24"W x 32"H cabinets above and nine extra-deep, 24"W drawers below. If I had put two 36"W cabinets with 18" doors, it would have been too busy.

I checked into going with 15" and the 30" but the 15" is just too narrow. I not only loose a 1/2 inch on each side (the width of the walls) but the actual opening would be around 11" to 11 1/2". I have a 15" in my present cabinets and I am limited to what I can put in it. Thanks for all the great suggestions. You've all taught me to really think things through before I decide.

terri76, here's a photo of my kitchen in progress of those three wide cabinet doors.

faithseed. . .we have Homecrest cabs with Heritage Arts Oak Sable finish. I had to talk to the cabinet people to find out for sure. We live in Fl and are trying to finish this house in TN which is really hard.

What I really like is the master bath vanities which are Hickory light, but I felt like they would be too busy for the kitchen. They looked much nicer than I expected after they were installed. Here's a pic.

Here's a pic of our home which took our breath away when we saw it!

I apologize to everyone. I don't really have this picture thing down pat yet. Sorry they are so big.