The countertops we removed were flush with the base cabinets. It looked ok, but I dearly love the additional 2" I have with properly installed countertops. My kitchen is small and every inch counts. The biggest disadvantage with flush cut is that any liquid that rolls off the counter, rolls down the front of the cabinets. That's a pain!

Will your door hardware stick out farther than the countertop?

I assume this is the side of the cabinet and the carcass and the countertop will be flush.

It's not the most ideal situation because flush means perfectly flush and with an overhang you have a bit of room for imperfection.

However, in this case I think it would look better to go flush rather than notch the trim around the door.

Also when you are this close to the door it is probably cleaner to have the cabinet go to the trim around the door than have a narrow slot of drywall 1" wide between the edge of the cabinet carcass and the trim underneath the small counter overhang.

Yes, I am referring to the side of the end cabinet where there is only a cover panel and no doors/drawers - not the front where the doors and handles are. That area will have the standard overhang for drips.

The kitchen is small (10x11) and every inch counts. I agree that a flush cut will not "hide" any imperfections which is not ideal...so not sure which is worse: no overhang or the tiny little strip of drywall. Anyone have any pictures of these choices?

One last option is to install a cabinet that is 3" smaller but then that side of the kitchen would end up shorter and there would be less counter and cabinet. Then I could have an overhang and I wouldn't have that tiny strip of drywall. But every inch in a kitchen counts so not sure about that choice.

Does anyone know how much overhang there should be on the ends of cabinets where there are no drawers/doors? Is it less than on the fronts? 1/4"? 1/2" ? Thanks again

I don't think it would be much of a problem.

I've seen pictures of countertop installations which are flush above cabinets everywhere. Here is one.

One of the problems of not having sufficient overhang is spills going down the cabinet face, but since this is only for the side I don't see it being an issue.

"The other choice is to have the cabinet stop 1/4" before the door trim allowing for that amount of countertop to butt up against the molding. But then that would leave a tiny little strip of wall between the end of the cabinet and the molding. "

Can you use a strip of cabinet filler (same color, wood) to fill the 1/4" gap?

i agree with others - since it's the side, it wouldn't bother me to have it flush. Seems best option.

You can do flush, or you can "notch" the quartz. That is what I opted to do for the overhang of my bathroom vanity counter and door trim. They just cut a corner off the granite.
Mine was on the front though, not the side. And, I only notched about 1/2 " of a normal overhang amount.
But, notching the quartz is another option (it looks finished to me, and not like an accident either...since it is shaped around the trim.)

Thanks for all of your answers and input. And for the "flush" picture!

p.s. my kitchen style is modern with clean lines. The front edge overhang will be square (or straight) without any bevels or curves.

Thank you for asking this question! And for all of the answers. I just had the same question, and this was a huge help!

myboys1 and tonimduffy, what did each of you wind up doing? I know this is an old thread, but I'm hoping you're still getting notifications. We have the same issue, except that instead of a sliding door, our cabinet is an end run that ends at the opening to the kitchen. We don't have any room to play with, and I don't want the countertop overhang on the side of the cabinet to jut out into the opening. This is an area that I won't use for cooking, as it's only a 12 inch wide base cabinet to the right of my refrigerator - it'll just be a "drop zone" for mail, keys, charging cell phones, etc. We're doing a quartz countertop with an eased edge, and the side of the cabinet will be finished. I'd love to know what you did and see photos if you don't mind sharing them. Thanks!

I have the same situation!

Overhang the top past the cabinet and return the top to the wall.

Look at Dura Supreme cabinetry's website for examples of counter tops flush with cabinetry. This is a trendy look and I think it works well with certain types of cabinetry such as full overlay and in an area where food and drink prep is not going on.