My fiancee is a foot shorter than me and this has presented problems for her in the kitchen with food prep. Even after the finish floor (3/4″ hardwood) is laid, she is still going to be faced with a challenge to work comfortably in front of the stove and surrounding countertop. I have not finished the single, stand-alone cabinet to the right of the stove so there is still time to alter the finished height of that (and she could conceivably do all her work there) but the stove thing is more problematic; I can lower the legs but then I’m looking at two inches of unfinished cabinet to the left. A permanent step will create problems for me, a portable step seems an unwieldly item to consider. Any advice for this conundrum? At the moment, I’m leaning toward dropping the stove height and trimming out the (now exposed) cabinet to the left of it. Thank you.
Replies
Could you post a picture ?
I would think you would be best dropping both sides of the range, then stepping up to reg. counter height. Even with the adj. feet removed, you're only talking a slight drop from the usual 36" counter height.
How can you do this in a pleasing manner where at least the bottom of the cabs are in a line? See if there's a shorter cabinet that would work for you in their vanity line. Up to just a few yrs ago, the vanity cabs were way shorter than the kitchen line. Now, vanities are made taller but still shorter than 34-1/2.
or
See if there's an upper that might fill the bill for that space. If you can't find the usual 24" deep, you can always block it out from the wall.
or
Have one custom built for just that space-many will do what you want for a premium.
Check on your dishwasher height, laying finished flooring after cab install sometimes traps the dishwasher in the space. You may have to remove the adj feet (if there's 4) to get it in/out without lifting the counter. At 3/4" floor higher than usual, you are getting close.
Another option-a drop in range if still available-you can certainly custom the box below.
Remember, having cab sides higher than the top of the range is putting a flamable thing next to the flame and with a pot on the stove and the gas (if it is) on high, flames travel off to the side.
And, like I told my daughter as her wedding day approached-
"there's still time".
Yep, the ideal solution for a short person is a separate stovetop and oven, so the stovetop can be at a convenient height. (Short people actually can handle the standard oven and dishwasher easier than taller people, though, so long as the controls are within reach.)
At the very least, lower the countertop height on one side of the range.
Calvin and Dan, you both made the assumption that this woman is short. All the OP stated was that she is a foot shorter than he is. For all we know, he is 6'-10".
To the OP, the first question to answer is, "Who's going to do the cooking?"
Then, visit your local library and check out several books on kitchen design.
yup, an assumption was made.
He said he was going to take the feet off the range to make it easier for her.
so,
I assume she's short.
thanks
She's 5 feet, I'm six. I've decided to lower the stove as far as it will go and make do with a lowered cabinet on the right side of the stove; it's got a butcher block top and she can more or less do all her prep there. And then I'll do something clever with the left side, using some fire retardant material. And if she still absolutely needs a step for the other areas, she can improvise with high heels. We're both cooking so I'll just factor in a few more visits to the chiropractor's in my annual budget, no big deal.
Of course, you could always just make the floor slope to one side.
tuanj
Best of luck in the project..............
and best to you both in the upcoming nuptuals~!
Cooktop and seperate oven.
Ideally two cook tops. One for her, one for you.
Actually, (this is very space dependant), you could build an island or section of counters, that has an electric cook top, with counter top on both sides, that has the ability to change heights.
Something like this: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/30196/adjustable-height-workbench
Or have an island with the floor at different heights on opposite sides (being serious this time).
shorty chef
I feel for you, I'm 6' 4" and my back hurts at the sink. What about a pull/slide-out step where the kickspace is? Could be a combo of casters and drawer slides - a magnet catch at the back, give it a kick and it pops open a bit... This could also work elswhere in the kitchen. If you want it to work in front of the stove, skip the drawer slides and have a hinge/pivot point where the cabinet/stove meet - it would have to be curved or angled on the opposite side to clear. Or buy her a pair of platform kitchen clogs.
This works
My dad did this with the bathroom sink when we were little. There was a drawer that was about ten inches deep at the bottom of the vanity, and had rollers on the floor for support.
When we were little kids, there was a sheet of 3/4 plywood over the top, that could be lifted off if you wanted to access the space in the drawer. When we got bigger the plywood deck went away and there was just a deep drawer, perfect for cleaning supplies.
Hmmm..My friend has this kind of problem and all he did was he sacrifices. He lowered it down for his girlfriend.