I have a "U" with standard depth cabinets/counters and I have a mix of 12" and 15" deep uppers...two 12" and four 15". I don't notice the 15" as being more "in my face" than the 12". I work in front of all of them with no problems.

I have to admit, though, that when I use my KA stand mixer, I move it to the mini-peninsula. But, that's more b/c my backsplash area is a tad short and my KA mixer just barely fits under the light rail...I have to take the mixer cover off to move it! [Yes, when I keep talking about 18" standard backsplash heights, I do so speaking from experience...another thing I missed/didn't really think about when I did my kitchen...there were so many other issues!] It would be an issue regardless of upper cabinet (12" or 15") or base cabinet (24" or 30") depth.

If I had it to do over, all my upper cabinets would be 15" deep! (The two on the sink wall are only 12" deep, I really wish they were 15"!)

Chopping air veggies... Would that be like the air drummer on America's Got Talent last season?

lol, something like that :) I walk around pretending - pulling the knife from the knife block, pulling out the cutting board, walking from the fridge to the prep space, washing, chopping, dumping into pot on stove. The whole nine yards.

I was also on a "I'm so happy with my cabinets and my kitchen" high :)

Thank you!

I will go with 15" then. Is it 15" + 1 " door, or
15" considering the door? I am going with shaker style frameless, if that matters.

Buehl, I take that you set your upper cabinets lower than 18" height and you regret it now?

Craftlady, may you enjoy your new kitchen with happiness! Cannot wait for mine now that we have finally agreed on a layout!

Please, can you tell me if Is it 15" + 1 " door, or
15" considering the door? Thanks!

I don't want to leave you hanging, but I'm not sure actually. My cabinets are inset so I'm fairly certain that mine are just 15" deep including the door since it sits inside the frame. I assume your doors are full overlay (for frameless I guess they have to be, right?) so hopefully someone with a similar situation will let you know for sure.

Thank you, Craflady! Yes, they are frameless, full overlay.

Yes and no, they were installed at 18" high...but when the light rail was put on I lost an inch. If I had known what I know now, I would have had them installed at 19" high to accommodate the light rail.

So, yes, I regret the reduced depth, but I didn't plan for it!

BTW...I'm 5'10", DD is 5'11", DH is 6'5", and DS is 6'6"...none of us have problems working at our standard depth counter in front of the 15" cabinets.

I'm not home so I cannot measure, but as I recall, the cabinets themselves are 15" deep...so add 1" for the door and in reality they're probably closer to 16" deep overall. My cabinets are full overlay as well (but framed).

Inset cabinets would only be 15" deep overall b/c the door is "inset" into the frame, not sitting outside on top of the frame or box like yours and mine.

Remember, too, that while standard base cabinets are 24" deep, the standard counters are 25.5" deep...to cover the 24" cabinet + 1" door + knob/pull and to direct spills away from the cabinets and directly to the floor.

Buehl, thanks! I will make sure to account for the light rail when specifying the height at which they have to be installed.

Sorry I am still confused, do you mean that your uppers come out a total of 16"? (15" + 1" door)? Thanks again.

Buehl, now that I read your answer more carefully I see that you told me what I need: I need to ask for 15" deep uppers, so that with the door, they will be 16" totoal.

In this pic, you see my MW cab, which is 18" deep and flanked by 12" deep cabs. I wish I had thought of making those on the side 15" deep. I'm 5'10", and working in front of the MW is a little annoying because it is "in my face", but I think 15" would have been perfect (and I could have used the extra depth for storage on either side.) (Lowers are standard 24" deep.)

Live and learn....

{{!gwi}}

Red-eared, Thank you for the picture! the difference in sizes is clear.
Your cabinets are beautiful!

Buehl, when you have the time to measure your uppers, can you pelase confirm the dimensions?
Thank you very much again!

Okay, on topic, but a little different question. I am planning 15" uppers with inset cabinets--will this affect the look of a wall mount hood over my range? The hoods I am looking at are all 24" front to back (deep) but I'm considering a scoop style hood "a la Pips kitchen" --will that look funny or will I need to move it out from the wall, then is it sticking out too far? Should I consider another hood style?

I'll see if I can link the picture of the hood.

Here's the link to Pip's Kitchen hood. My treatment will be similar, but uppers will be 15".

Here is a link that might be useful:

just saw this...yes, with the door the total depth of the uppers will be 16".

15" deep cabinet + 1" door

BTW...that 15" includes the back wall & the face frame, so the actual interior depth of the shelves themselves will be:
15" - thickness of back wall - thickness of face frame

E.g., if you have a 1/2" thick back wall & 1/2" thick face frame, the depth of the shelves will be:
15" - 1/2" - 1/2" = 14"

If you have frameless cabinets, then only the back wall reduces the depth of the shelves.

Hey thanks for the message, I was just going to post a new question or bump if no one responded--I'm trying to conserve posts as they drop off so quickly.

Anyhow, I met with my cabinet maker and he recommended against that particular hood (although I do love it) since it would require me to set it out to get the upper aligned and then it would stick out too far over my range. One solution would be to make the cabinets above the range be standard 12" but in my set up I think it might look odd to have a bank of 36" inset further and I still would not get benefit of that beautiful scoop on the hood. I think I'm just going with a hood that has a more traditional profile.

Wow, one thing just leads to another.