I'm curious why you are doing this? I also plan to have the wall oven under the counter, but not raise the height. Are you planning to raise because you want to make it easier on your back-- or because you think you need to do it for installation purposes?

I would worry that raising the counter on that one place would make the installation of the countertop challenging-- what would you use on the sides of the "bump-up"?

just my thoughts

Height-wise, I'd prefer the oven to be no lower than on a range.

The counter would not be "bumped-up", it would be a full section about 5-6' long at increased height, isolated from the other cabinets by a walkway.

lambic, 20 some years ago when I moved into my current home I was distressed to realize that all of my countertops were 38" high. I'm 5'5" and the prior owners were both over 6' tall and had the cabinets custom made to accommodate their height. The range and dishwasher were both on platforms to also raise them to 38" and put them at the same level as the rest of the countertops. Over the years I have become accustomed to this height and most of my prep work has actually been done at 40" because I have a 2" high hugh cutting board sitting on the 38" countertop.

Finally, I am getting my new kitchen and I'm going to do the countertops all at 38". The wall oven will be under the cooktop but with the 38" countertop height it won't seem to be sitting on the floor. This works for me (and everyone in my family is taller so they don't want lower counters)but you may want to think about your height in relation to the height of the countertops but it sound like you have this well thought out.

my current counter top height is 36" and the KD didn't tell me that I would need to raise the countertop to accommodate it. In fact, she told me that the handle, would be slightly higher than the handle on my current slide-in range. this is because my new oven wouldn't have a ccoktop on top to deal with as my current one does. Maybe it depends on ovens-- which wall oven are you considering installing?

Raising the counter height isn't necessary but a matter of personal ergonomics (I learned that word last week). Universal design tries to place everything within a scientifically determined range of motion but each person is different. So given our own limitations and the limitations of the kitchen space we have to work with, raising or lowering a counter may be the best solution to a problem.

I thought the same thing, lambic. An under-counter wall oven can end up being slightly lower than an oven in a range because the control panel sits above the oven door. I also wanted the counter space on top of the oven cabinet. My wall oven is installed under the counter in a stand-alone cabinet (which includes a side cabinet for storage) which is about 39-1/2" tall. My thought was to have it at about 40", but wall outlets placed ahead of time dictated a slightly lower counter height. Works great for me!

bloomin...

You might want to take a look at the thread that was started today entitled "Eye Candy for Anglophiles." One of the kitchens (starts with a "B"--sorry, don't remember the name) has a photo of a raised cabinet similar to what you're considering.