Creating cabinets
The Create furniture tab builds cabinets parametrically. Every part it creates is a named group with the right material, so the cut list, edge banding, hardware and drilling are correct without any manual tagging.
Cabinet types
| Type | Typical use | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Base cabinet | Kitchen base, vanity | Width, height, depth, doors (1/2), shelves, plinth height, back panel |
| Drawer base | Drawer bank | Number of drawers, front heights, slide type from catalogue |
| Sink base | Under sink | Cut-out for sink, false front |
| Wall cabinet | Upper kitchen | Doors, shelves, glass door option |
| Tall cabinet | Pantry, oven housing, wardrobe | Shelves, internal drawers, hanging rail |
| Corner | Blind or L corner | Carousel option |
All dimensions are in the current unit (mm or inches).
Doors
- Solid — one panel, edge-banded on four sides.
- Glass, full — 4 mm glass, priced per m² from Prices → Hardware.
- Glass in MDF frame — 70 mm rails and stiles + glass.
- Glass in aluminium frame — 21 × 21 profile mitred at 45°, priced as one m² line under Hardware → Glass door (aluminium frame). The frame is displayed in 3D but not listed as separate parts.
Hardware from the catalogue
Choose hinges and slides from Hardware → Catalogue. The catalogue contains real dimensions and drilling data:
- Hinges: generic 35 mm, Blum CLIP top / BLUMOTION, Hettich Sensys, Häfele Metalla 510, Grass Tiomos, Salice Silentia+. All use the 35 mm cup, 37 mm plate setback and 32 mm pitch (System 32).
- Slides: ball-bearing 45 / 35 mm, roller, Blum TANDEM, LEGRABOX, MERIVOBOX, Hettich AvanTech YOU, Häfele Moovit MX, Grass Dynapro.
Drawer box widths are derived from the slide’s side clearance automatically.
Building a kitchen
Cabinets are created one at a time, the way they are built in the workshop — each unit is its own component, so you can move, copy and swap it without disturbing anything next to it.
- Pick a type from the palette (kitchen, appliance, corner, other).
- Set width, height and depth, plus doors, drawers and shelves. Choosing a type loads its standard sizes first, so most cabinets need one or two changes.
- Press Create. The cabinet appears at the model origin as a single component — move it into place with SketchUp’s own Move tool.
- Build the lower row first, then the upper row, each as separate units.
Read selected loads an existing cabinet’s parameters back into the form, and Edit selected rebuilds it with your changes.
Editing after creation
The generated groups are ordinary SketchUp geometry — resize, move or delete freely. The cabinet remembers its parameters, so you can re-open it in the Create furniture tab, change a value and regenerate.
Undo
Every Create in 3D model is one Undo step.