I am installing new cabinets in my kitchen. The kitchen is a small (12 ft long by 8.5′ wide) galley kitchen with an open beam, slanted ceiling that is 17″ higher on the inside wall than the outside wall. The upper cabinets on the outside wall are pretty much constrained by bumping up against the ceiling beams. In the old kitchen (with their knotty pine veneered cabinets along the outside wall but only a single cabinet on the inside wall) had the upper cabinet on the inside wall about 3.5″ higher than those on the outside wall. What is the standard spacing between the counter top and the bottom of the upper cabinets? Does having the upper cabinets about 4″ higher on the inside wall seem about right?
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Replies
I have seen upper cabs as low as 15" above conter & as high as 24".
The most common that I have seen is 18"
When asked why is there four engines on a 747------ "cause we couldn't fit six" a Boeing engineer
Standard height between finish counter and bottom of upper cabs is 18" - any less and you could have problems w/ counter top appliances not fitting. If you want to go higher the only concern is the reachability of the upper shelves of the cabinet.
Geoff
I vote for keeping them all at the same bottom height of 18", but your inside wall cabs to be 6" taller than the outside ones. Or more.
18" is minimum, I hang the ones i build at 20-24". Appliances and work space demand more than the min. height in an efficient kitchen.
WOW, 24inches and teh majority of teh upper cabinet is unusable for most woman and many men.
...depends on the height of the cabinet. 24" space works on cabinets 24" tall-beyond that and it's a bit of a reach, but it also dpends on the height of the client, and their reach.
in the same regard, I've built counter heights at 38" instead of 36" for a fairly tall guy whose back hurt when he bent over to do dishes.
You build the counter 3' tall and the bottom of the upper cabinet is 2' above that. You put the bottom of your upper cabinet 5' off the floor? Forget reaching beyond the bottom shelf, I can't even see into it. I bet many of your clients opt for drawers in the lower cabs for things they actually use.
24" is the max, 20" is more usual. Depth is a similar factor, and can be reduced as the cab height increases, at least depth on the upper shelf.
Hey. As formentioned 18" from the countertop is optimal You can be a little higher, but no more than 3". Some of the things that dictate the height of your wall cabinets are fridge panels, pantry cabinets, height of your fridge, and ceiling height. Have you purchased cabinets? Stock cabinets are limited in heights (of wall cabinets) to allow for a balanced/symmetrical look. Also, if you push up the cabinets you maybe raising your hoodfan up and out of range of being effective. Check your CFM rating.
What is the height of your ceiling on the outside wall? What is the height of your existing base and wall cabinets? What are the heights of your purchased/prospective cabinets?
Grant