I'm just an inch shorter than you are and find my island height of 33" a comfortable prep height (5'10" dh doesn't have a problem with it either). 38" would be horrible for me. I would have to have my arms to far up when having to chop down on things, and it'd kill my shoulders and upper back.

The guideline I've read here is to measure 6-7" down from your elbow (when you're standing with arms bent at 90 degrees). Of course, guidelines don't always work for everyone...Have you mocked up the height and tried it out for awhile and for different tasks so you know before it's permanent?

What is the purpose for raising the island height?

This is a "personal choice" item with 36" used as an average height that works for a wide range of people. I like cutting surfaces to be higher and kneading or rolling surfaces lower than 36".

Things like this are impossible to say because it depends on where your elbows are - not your height. The ideal counter height is supposedly 3" below your bent elbow. Of course, you and (spouse or SO) will probably not have exactly the same answer. Providing multiple heights in the kitchen so both have somewhere to work is certainly an answer.

Thankfully, this is easy to test! If you have a big cutting board now or could get a small piece of the inexpensive type of ikea countertop, pad it up to 38" and use it for a bit and see if the height is what you need.

I really don't think that you would like a 38" height for working on. We have a large 38" high island. I didn't really plan for that height. Our custom cabs came in a little higher than normal, and they didn't take into account the 2" thick wood top we used. Standard counter height bar stools will not work for our children or even for adults. We will have to buy bar height bar stools and cut them down a bit. I don't have a sink, but I think it would be uncomfortable to raise a heavy pot that high. The extra two inches makes a big difference. It also visually intrudes into the space more. By the way, I am 5'7".

Many people raise the height for their bathroom countertops so that they don't have to bend over so far to wash their faces. I don't see what the advantage for a higher-than-normal kitchen counter would be. In fact, some people put in a lower-than-normal height area for a baking center (rolling out dough).

Thanks everyone for the input, we are signing our contract tomorrow so I really needed to decide!

I'm not really sure why we decided to raise it, maybe because last Thanksgiving I did a lot of prep work and cooking and found that my lower back was killing me.

We stacked some wood on our counters though to see what the additional height would be like (our counters now are about 35 1/4 because of the addition of a tiled floor after the fact), and I found that the 38 inch height seemed REALLY tall. It made me think that I needed to ask others this question. I knew GW would come through for me as always!

Time to go lower the height!

Thanks,

Kat

Ah, As I age I have noticed when I have a long day in the kitchen (such as most holidays) I feel it the next day. I found changing my footwear during that day at least once and standing on a cushioned surface helps.

Our counters are 37" and I'm 5'7". I find it too high to chop or knead comfortably.