Mistakes to Avoid When Ordering Kitchen Doors
24 June 2026 · Ally
Replacing your kitchen doors is a wonderfully rewarding project, and getting the order right first time is what makes it feel effortless. Most problems trace back to a few avoidable slips at the measuring and ordering stage. Knowing them in advance means you can sidestep every one. Here are the common mistakes to watch for when you get your kitchen doors to order, so yours arrive exactly as you pictured.
1. Rushing the measurements
By far the most common of all cabinet measurement mistakes is going too fast. A door is made to the exact size you give, so a hurried or careless figure becomes a door that doesn't fit. Take your time, measure each door individually, and treat this stage as the foundation it is. The few extra minutes are always worth it.
2. Measuring only one door
It's tempting to measure a single door and assume the rest match, but doors that look identical sometimes differ, particularly in older or handmade kitchens. Measure every door and drawer front in turn, and note each against a numbered cabinet, rather than relying on one figure for the lot.
3. Mixing up your units
Switching between millimetres, centimetres and inches is a recipe for error. Kitchen doors are made to the millimetre, so work in millimetres from start to finish. Sticking to one unit throughout removes a whole category of mistakes in one stroke.
4. Forgetting the overlap
If you're measuring a cabinet opening rather than an existing door, remember that the door needs to overlap the frame, not drop into the gap. Ordering a door the exact size of the opening is a classic slip. Always check what overlap your supplier recommends and add it to your figures.
5. Overlooking hinges and drilling
Doors often need holes drilled for hinges, and sometimes for handles. Ordering without thinking about how the doors hinge, or whether they should arrive drilled or undrilled, can leave you with doors that don't suit your cabinets. A moment's thought here, and a question to your supplier, saves trouble later.
6. Not checking colour in your own light
A finish can look quite different on a screen or printed brochure compared with how it appears in your kitchen. Ordering a full set without seeing a sample in your own light risks a colour that isn't quite what you hoped. A swatch or sample door first is a small step that prevents a big disappointment.
7. Skipping the final check
The single best habit is to double-check everything before you order. Go back through your list, confirm each measurement, and make sure every cabinet is accounted for. This one pass catches the vast majority of errors while they're still easy to fix.
Order with confidence
None of these mistakes is hard to avoid once you know to look for them, and a little care turns ordering into the easy step it should be. For the full method behind accurate measurements, our guide on how to measure kitchen doors correctly takes you through it step by step.
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