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Whether you install flooring before or after kitchen cabinets depends primarily on the type of flooring you are using. For materials like hardwood, tile, and sheet flooring, the best practice is to install the flooring first. This ensures the cabinets are installed at the correct height and on a stable surface. However, you should not install cabinets on top of floating floors, such as laminate or luxury vinyl plank (LVP). These types of flooring need room to expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes. Placing heavy cabinets on top can restrict this movement, potentially causing the floor to buckle and making the cabinets unstable. For floating floors, install the cabinets first and then lay the flooring up to them. Other reasons to consider installing cabinets before the flooring include saving money on materials (since you won't need flooring under the cabinets) and avoiding potential damage to your new floor during cabinet installation. Additionally, installing cabinets directly on the subfloor might prevent voiding your flooring's warranty.

As a homeowner, there are a few things you can do to prepare for your cabinet installer. Once the cabinets are ready for your home, you can do the following:

• Ensure pets are safely in another room, out of the way of open doors and large moving objects.

• Clear countertops for removal.

• Tidy the floor the installers will walk through and around. 

• Prepare to have the installers in your home for the entire day, for multiple days, until the project is done. Expect to have a noisy environment, especially if they will remove old, existing cabinets.  

If your cabinets don’t reach the ceiling, you can extend them higher, adding visual interest, privacy, and storage space to your kitchen. Depending on the height of your ceiling, you may want to extend the structure of the cabinets and install longer doors to make each individual cabinet taller, or you could add additional cabinets above the existing ones. Either option is cheaper and easier than installing entirely new cabinets.

The 1/3 rule is a design guideline used by interior designers and cabinet installers to select appropriately sized pulls for cabinets and drawers. The rule suggests that for a balanced and cohesive look, a cabinet pull should be approximately one-third the height of the cabinet door or one-third the width of the drawer face. This guideline helps create a symmetrical appearance because the human eye tends to follow the length of the pull across the cabinet face.

While the 1/3 rule is a helpful starting point, it is not the only option. If a measurement falls between available pull sizes, it's generally best to size up. For an ultra-contemporary aesthetic, you can also opt for full-width pulls that span the entire drawer.