From what I've read here, they're a good idea because a lot of dishes don't fit into the 12" cabinets. I guess it would depend on what you're planning on putting in them. Everyone says that you should really think about what each cabinet is supposed to do and then plan around it.

I think it's a great idea (never had them though). Wonder how it affects working on the counter if you don't deepen the lowers. Would sure help getting glasses and mugs in, always seem to be a smidgen short of getting that last row squeezed in!

I'm adding 14" or 15" uppers to my short list of things I wish I had gotten in my new kitchen. Like raehelen, I worried about how it might affect working at the counter. But, with my huge new island, I don't think I will ever work at a perimeter counter again for more than 30 seconds at a time. The extra space in the uppers would have been quite handy.

Thanks for your quick replies. Raehelen's observation is exactly why I am having a problem with these cabinets -- we have the standard 25" deep counters!! I love that the upper cabs are deeper, but we don't have 2 additional inches of counter space. Although it seems 2 inches would be insignificant, it actually makes it a little harder to reach under (head comes VERY close to the cabinet doors) and it just seems like it would be more difficult to use the counter space under these two cabs (which are on either side of our sink) for cutting things, etc. Now that I am writing it "out loud" I think I may have to change this and make the cabs 12.5" deep instead of 14. That 1.5 inches will make a difference I think. I'm a knicklehead... my contractor's gonna kill me!!

Can you tape some paper from the ceiling to mimic where the cupboards would be? Mocking up different concerns helped me so much in our remodel. I have 15 inch deep uppers and do love them but I have 30 inch deep counters. That said, my SIL just redid her kitchen and didn't realize that she had had 14 inch deep uppers and now has 12 deep -- really hates how it has affected her use of the cupboards. I think it might also depend upon how much space is between you counters and the upper cabinets. Good luck in making yet another decision.

Pattie Bee - yes, actually, the cabinet is in and installed, and I increased the depth after we received cabs w/o finished interiors, but it was basically on a whim (my fault *cringe*) and without doing any sort of "mock up" to see if it was what I really wanted. I would probably have been fine with 13", but the 14s seems to take aup a large amount of space and these cabs are on the wall above either side of our sink so even if I am not using that space a whole lot for chopping (we have a big peninsula) it just makes it look and feel sort of claustrophobic if you know what I mean, and leaning in to plug in a toaster, deal with coffee maker, etc feel like it may be a little cramped - plus your head is super close to the upper cabs - like you could give 'em a smooch or something if you really wanted to!!

I just called my cabinet lady - she's going to have the cabinet guy modify the depth so I have 1/2 inch more than a standard cabinet depth - which will probably not be too noticeable, but I think it'll be perfect - a little bit more room on the interior can never hurt, but that extra 2 inches was bugging me!! Thanks all.

I did the mock up and saw my 15" deep cabinets installed and love them (sure we returned the cabinets eventually but they were installed). Part of my happiness is that all of the dishes will fit, and perhaps because I'm only 5' tall it wasn't an issue otherwise. It also allows the microwave to tuck in flush.

I don't think I"d ever go back to the standard :) It's nice to know that things will fit well.

A basic cabinet "thing" though to consider is that most debths and widths are "standard" in 3" increments. So for most cabinets a 14" deep would be totally custom where as a 15" deep isn't an upcharge (or a very minimal upcharge). If you're going custom anyhoo...it won't matter, but for most cabs it could really hurt your budget to go any less than than the 3" increases.

We put in 14" uppers in our last house over a standard depth counter. We didn't even notice any difference when using the counter, but sure appreciated the extra couple inches in the upper cabinets! It was well worth it and I'd do it again.

We wanted a small microwave on a shelf in our upper cabinets and found that we needed the extra depth (as well as a "clock outlet").

jayne

All of my uppers are 13" deep. That is standard with Brookhaven and Woodmode. I really like that extra bit or room and don't notice any less counterspace. We did a minimal light rail and it angles in toward the wall where our old cabinets had a heavier moulding that stuck out and took away precious space. In fact, since the space between the uppers and bases is a just a bit more than we had before, everything works better than before.

We wanted 14" deep uppers but when we mocked them up found that for us (my 5'9" husband and 5'5" self) it would have been a problem.

We don't have the luxury of the big island others have mentioned, so we really needed comfy access to our counters. Additionally, we have a corner and there we found it was insanely tight (the 14" deep cupboards meeting each other at the 90 degree spot -- it virtually eliminated access to the corner countertop).

I love the idea but for us, at least when dummied up, it wouldn't work.

Mine are 13 deep. Great depth especially if you are going with inset cabinets.

Keep in mind WHAT you're measuring. If you need 12 inches on the inside, specify that, because it's not the same depth as you would measure the cabinet being from the wall. If you're going with 14 inches or something deep, it might be less of a problem but if every portion of an inch is going to be important as to whether your plates fit, the inside measurement is the crucial one.

We did 13" cabinets and are very glad we did. They are inset and need the extra space.

Doing the best of both worlds - 12" walls with workspace under the cabinets, 15" and 18" walls going all the way down to the counter for built in hutch look and deeper storage

We asked our contractor to make the upper cabinets flush with the body of our Bosch microwave. That turned out to be 13.5" which allows room for the microwave door to swing open. The inside depth is 12.5". At 5'1" I do not even notice the difference and had to go just now to verify the cabs were as deep as the contractor told us.

Jodi-

I had 14 inch deep upper cabinets installed in my kitchen and absolutely love them. They do not interfere with your counter space like you think they would. They sure make a difference in what you can get in your cabinets. Would do it again.

@Susan Hawkins - this is a 15-year-old thread. You have not added any information not already covered in it.

Very helpful for future readers! A kitchen remodel doesn't happen often so it's nice to find this type of information when you need it. We are contemplating going to 14" all the way across a 6 ft upper cabinet span (inset with glass) or bump out the center 2ft. to 15" and leave the 2 sections to the L and R at 13". We are trying to accommodate the darn microwave (that we all want to hide these days!) If anyone has pictures I would appreciate that.

FYI: planning standard counter depth / cabinets will be stained maple / placing microwave on a shelf in the middle of the span / bottom section will have a beverage cooler to balance look