Designing Your Layout
Room setup
When you create a project, you set the room's width, depth, and ceiling height in inches. You can change these at any time from the room settings in the Properties panel when nothing is selected.
Cabinet types
Base cabinets
| Type | When to use |
|---|---|
| Base Cabinet | Standard floor-mounted cabinet with doors or drawers |
| Drawer Base | All-drawer configuration; no doors |
| Sink Base | Open interior for under-sink plumbing |
| Blind Corner | Fills a corner run; access from one side only |
| Lazy Susan | Corner cabinet with rotating shelves |
| Trash Pull-out | Narrow base with interior bin hardware |
| Island | Free-standing base not attached to a wall |
| Vanity | Bathroom base cabinet, typically shallower depth |
| Desk Base | Kneespace cutout for desk or seating areas |
| Appliance Garage | Compact upper unit for countertop appliances |
| Filler | Narrow filler strip to close a gap |
Wall cabinets
| Type | When to use |
|---|---|
| Wall Cabinet | Standard upper cabinet, mounted to the wall |
| Corner Wall | Upper cabinet for inside corners |
| Microwave Cabinet | Built-in microwave housing with shelf above |
| Open Shelves | Open shelving unit with no doors |
Tall cabinets
| Type | When to use |
|---|---|
| Tall Pantry | Floor-to-ceiling storage with doors |
| Fridge Surround | Built-in panels and upper cabinet around a refrigerator |
| Wardrobe | Full-height wardrobe for bedroom or utility |
| Oven Tower | Houses a wall oven with storage above and/or below |
| Linen Tower | Narrow tall cabinet for bathroom or laundry |
| Hood Cabinet | Upper cabinet framing a range hood |
Adding cabinets
Drag and drop: Drag any cabinet type from the library panel onto the canvas. It snaps to the nearest wall automatically if snap is on.
Click to place: Click a cabinet type in the library, then click a position on the canvas.
Presets: The Presets tab in the library shows saved cabinet configurations. Drag a preset to reuse an exact size and spec you've used before.
Editing a cabinet
Click a cabinet on the canvas to select it. The Properties panel opens on the right with the following controls:
- Name — Label shown in drawings and the cut list
- Width / Height / Depth — Dimensions in inches
- Material — Cabinet box material (see below)
- Door Style — Shaker, slab, or none
- Finish / Paint Color — For painted cabinets
- Manufacturing Method — Paint Grade or Prefinished Standard
- Molding — Crown, light rail, or sub-rail configuration
Materials
Materials define what the cabinet box is built from. Cabora supports two default manufacturing methods:
Paint Grade
- Carcass: ¾" paint-grade plywood
- Back: ½" paint-grade plywood in a dado joint
- Finish: painted on site
- Edge banding: paint-grade iron-on
Prefinished Standard
- Carcass: ¾" prefinished birch plywood
- Back: ½" prefinished birch plywood in a dado joint
- Finish: factory prefinished
- Edge banding: color-matched 0.5mm PVC
Both methods use Blum 110° soft-close hinges and Blum Tandem Plus Blumotion drawer slides by default. You can override hardware at the shop level in Shop Defaults.
Appliances
Appliances are layout reference objects — they hold space on the canvas but are not manufactured. Drag them from the Appliances section of the library.
Available appliances:
- Refrigerators: 36", 33", 30", panel-ready, column fridge, column freezer, beverage fridge, wine fridge, fridge drawer
- Ranges: 30", 36", 48", 60"
- Hoods: Standard, 36", 42", 48"
- Other: Dishwasher, microwave, microwave over range, microwave drawer, wall oven, washer, dryer
Working with multiple cabinets
Multi-select: Shift+click to add cabinets to the selection, or Shift+drag on empty space to box-select.
Align: With multiple cabinets selected, alignment buttons appear in the toolbar — align left, right, top, or bottom edges.
Distribute: Move selected cabinets to equal spacing using the distribute controls.
Saving cabinet presets
Right-click any cabinet on the canvas and choose Save as Preset. Give it a name — the preset captures the cabinet's type, dimensions, interior items (shelves, drawers), hardware, and any finish overrides.
To reuse a preset:
- Open the Cabinet Presets tab in the Library panel.
- Drag the preset onto the canvas.
Presets are private to your account and available across all projects.
Appearance settings
The Appearance panel (accessible from the 3D view) controls how the design looks in the 3D view and in AI renders. Changes here don't affect cabinet construction — only the visual presentation.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Cabinet finish | White, natural oak, espresso, and more |
| Countertop | White quartz, black granite, butcher block, and more |
| Hardware finish | Brushed nickel, matte black, chrome, and more |
| Wall color | Custom hex color, or choose from Sherwin-Williams and other brand palettes |
| Floor material | Light oak, dark wood, tile, and more |
| Appliance style | Standard, mid-range, luxury, budget |
| Backsplash | Subway tile, mosaic, slab, and more |
| Lighting | Recessed, pendant, under-cabinet |
| Style preset | Modern white, warm traditional, coastal, industrial, classic oak |
Per-cabinet color overrides
You can override the global cabinet finish on any individual cabinet or appliance:
- Click a cabinet to select it.
- In the Properties panel, click the color swatch next to Paint Color.
- Choose a specific color (or enter a paint brand code).
This is useful for two-tone layouts — for example, a white perimeter with a navy island — and the per-cabinet colors are included in AI renders.
Tips
- Snap to grid: The snap button in the canvas toolbar toggles grid snapping. Turn it off for fine-grained positioning.
- Center the view: Press C to center all objects in the canvas, or F to fit everything on screen.
- Undo/redo: Use ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z at any time. Version history (save named snapshots) is available on the Shop plan, or on Studio with the AI Pro Pack add-on.