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How high should the wall cabinets be hung? I think my husband has our existing wall cabinets too low because there doesn't seem to be much space between the countertop and the bottom of the wall cabinets. The coffee maker (admittedly tall) just fits under. I can't imagine having a paper towel dispenser under the wall cabinets. I'd like to know before we begin installing our new cabinets. Is there a range we can work with? I'm tall for a woman and I have long arms. I'd like the wall cabinets to be at least a few inches higher then they are now---even if the existing cabinets are hung at the correct height. I feel like the cabinets get in the way of my seeing my work area on the counter when I'm preparing meals. My bottom cabinets do not need to be higher than standard cabinet height because, even though I am tall, I have long arms and can reach the counter without bending down. But those damn upper cabinets just feel like they are in my way!
I guess that would depend on what the cabinets measure and if you need decorating space at the top. I just realized my cabinets are only 30 inches tall and all these years I assumed that they were 36 inches- and I'm pretty sure the new standard is 42 inch cabinets-If we had those i think I would be in the same predicament as you are now.
I'm hoping to find out how far we can vary from the standard heights. There are tall people and there are short people. Standard height does not fit all people.
I really could care less about resale value. There are enough tall people in the world to sell my house in the future. LOL I just don't want to deviate too far from the norm.
Wall cabinets, no matter if they are 30, 36 or 42 high (the only 3 heights there are) they are mounted 54" from the floor. That leaves 18" space above your counter top. 34.5 base, 1.5 counter, 18 space, 42 upper cabinet gives you 96" right to the ceiling. A 30" high upper leaves you 12" above the upper or a soffit. Thanks for letting me know about the closely guarded secret.
Can I make the 18' space 20' or 21'? I've found sites online that discuss custom designing spaces for short people and tall people but specifics aren't provided.
Maybe the solution is to have a counter area that doesn't have any cabinets on the wall, and make that area my main workspace. There won't be an island.
In my experience you can add about 2" and most people will be okay (not all.) Taking off 2" is more noticeable but again alot of people do not notice.
If upper cabinet height becomes a problem you can make an end run around it by installing cupboard/pantry units at the ends to use in place of uppers. My mother hurt her shoulder last year and we are going to do this since she has lost a lot of strength/mobility in terms of lift things above shoulder height.
One way to get around it is to have multiple heights and sell it as a gourmet kitchen or putting one of the thick cutting boards on a lower height cabinet to make up the diference but you need to be in a higher end or nicer ktichen to try and pull that off.
Basically if you build for your own physical attributes be prepared to have some buyers simply not like it. In which case you either need to be in a neighborhood where everyone rips out kitchens upon purchase anyway or stay in the house long enough that a new buyer would consideer them outdated from the jump.
Personally I like them 2" higher than standard and for both upper and lowers to be two inches deeper (which means you have to use an separate cooktop or front controll slide in range.)
Can I make the 18' space 20' or 21'? I've found sites online that discuss custom designing spaces for short people and tall people but specifics aren't provided.
Maybe the solution is to have a counter area that doesn't have any cabinets on the wall, and make that area my main workspace. There won't be an island.
Yes you can do a 20" space over the counter but you will not be able to use 42" uppers. And if you use 36" uppers you will only have 4" left to the ceiling. You don't want that. You can do multi step buildup to make a crown but that can get expensive. You can use 30" uppers and would be left with 10" above the uppers which is good enough for some decorative pieces to show up there.
Of course if you have higher then 8' ceilings then your options are unlimited.
Can I make the 18' space 20' or 21'? I've found sites online that discuss custom designing spaces for short people and tall people but specifics aren't provided.
Maybe the solution is to have a counter area that doesn't have any cabinets on the wall, and make that area my main workspace. There won't be an island.
I just measured mine because I have always thought they were hung "high" thinking they may be 20+" and they are only 18". I would think that another 2 inches and reaching things INSIDE could be an issue, unless you are 6' tall. I have to have my son get stuff down from the third shelf already-I am 5' 4".
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