Maximum width you would make a door

[Duane N]

I have some kitchen cabinet doors that would be 21 1/2" wide.  1/2" deep X 1/4" thick tenons...panel inserts would be close to 18" wide.  Two of the doors are for my sink base cabinet and I was trying to keep the doors as singles for easier access under the sink.  I have read many prefer not to go over 20" wide on doors.  How wide is too wide?

[Splinter Puller]

I made a 24" wide door cabinet once and it looked too wide. Mock it up with cardboard and judge for yourself.

[packerguy®]

I have some kitchen cabinet doors that would be 21 1/2" wide.  1/2" deep X 1/4" thick tenons...panel inserts would be close to 18" wide.  Two of the doors are for my sink base cabinet and I was trying to keep the doors as singles for easier access under the sink.  I have read many prefer not to go over 20" wide on doors.  How wide is too wide?

I think its a preference thing (there is no right or wrong answer) Certainly its within reason making a 21-1/2" wide door that is structurally sound.

But for me I would not make it wider than 67% (2/3 thirds) of the height. Just not a fan of doors that are wider than that proportionally.

[srv52761]

I have some kitchen cabinet doors that would be 21 1/2" wide.  1/2" deep X 1/4" thick tenons...panel inserts would be close to 18" wide.  Two of the doors are for my sink base cabinet and I was trying to keep the doors as singles for easier access under the sink.  I have read many prefer not to go over 20" wide on doors.  How wide is too wide?

Go with the narrower doors and add a faux center stile.  I did that for our sink base and it looked fine.

[Duane N]

I made a 24" wide door cabinet once and it looked too wide.  Mock it up with cardboard and judge for yourself.

It was more of a structural question than how it would look.

I think its a preference thing (there is no right or wrong answer) Certainly its within reason making a 21-1/2" wide door that is structurally sound.

But for me I would not make it wider than 67% (2/3 thirds) of the height. Just not a fan of doors that are wider than that proportionally.

Thank you.  The height of the doors are going to be 23".  So it's most likely I'll stick with my original idea of doing 2 separate doors with a false stile between them.

Go with the narrower doors and add a faux center stile.  I did that for our sink base and it looked fine.

This was my original idea but I just wanted to ask about what's a "normal" width for a single door.

[Roly]

It was more of a structural question than how it would look.
Thank you.  The height of the doors are going to be 23".  So it's most likely I'll stick with my original idea of doing 2 separate doors with a false stile between them.

This was my original idea but I just wanted to ask about what's a "normal" width for a single door.

Here are the specs from Shenandoah Cabinets   LINK  scroll down to specifications then down to full specifications.   It appears they only go up to a 36" width without a center post,  this may be for strength on a sink base.  Look for the other styles for single door cabinets and about 20" is the max width for a single door.  This may also be for production concerns.  Roly

[srv52761]

Here are the specs from Shenandoah Cabinets   LINK  scroll down to specifications then down to full specifications.   It appears they only go up to a 36" width without a center post,  this may be for strength on a sink base.  Look for the other styles for single door cabinets and about 20" is the max width for a single door.  This may also be for production concerns.  Roly

Yes, this can be an issue on a sink base if not accounted for.  In my case, I also had a set of faux drawers above the doors to match the drawer layout of the rest of the cabinets, effectively making the top board of the face frame almost a 1x8.  I gave up the space I could have used for a skinny pull-out pocket, but felt total access under the sink was more important.

[srv52761]

It was more of a structural question than how it would look.
Thank you.  The height of the doors are going to be 23".  So it's most likely I'll stick with my original idea of doing 2 separate doors with a false stile between them.

This was my original idea but I just wanted to ask about what's a "normal" width for a single door.

I wanted my faux stile to look as tight as the rest of the frames so I beveled the back ends a tad and made it about a 16th too long at each end.  Then fine tuned it with a piece of sand paper stapled to a wooden block.

[Bibliophile 13]

It’s not just about looks. When you open a big door, you take up a lot of space around it, and then you have to work around that big panel swinging out into the space you are trying to occupy. You don’t make cabinet doors more than 24” wide for the same reason you don’t make the cabinet more than 24” deep. It exceeds the practical working dimensions of the average human body.

[mike4244]

I have some kitchen cabinet doors that would be 21 1/2" wide.  1/2" deep X 1/4" thick tenons...panel inserts would be close to 18" wide.  Two of the doors are for my sink base cabinet and I was trying to keep the doors as singles for easier access under the sink.  I have read many prefer not to go over 20" wide on doors.  How wide is too wide?

The panels should be quarter sawn when they are that wide. I'm assuming the doors are solid wood. 
mike