Williams-Sonoma slim aluminum step ladder. Pricey, but worth every penny--it's very light and super easy to open/close. Comes in two sizes--a two-step and a three-step version.

We have the two-sept version. DH had to cut ours down to fit inside the cabinet, but it still does the job!

Someone here uses the smaller fold up kind and stores it in their vertical area (usually used for cookie sheets). I just love that--I will definitely do the same! I have actually earmarked two vertical slots in the kitchen for those stools.

Some people have toekick drawers that pull out and become steps so they can reach up into upper cabinets.

I am 5'2" and always struggle with reaching things...stepstools are my friend!

Someone here has one of those library style single steps that roll, then lock when you put your weight on, in an alcove under the end of her island. I wish I could remember who!

The side rolling library ladders are actually very inconvenient to use, though they're romantic and pretty. There are a number of wooden three step step ladders that fold very flat if you want one to match your cabinets.

I'm 6" taller than you, but I have a lot of shelves I can't reach either--I needed the storage. I have a lovely 6' ladder that was a birthday present a number of years ago, from which I can reach the ceiling (9'), a two step painter's ladder with the convenient shelf, and my grandmother's old kitchen stool with the steps (Cosco still makes them). Grandma's stool is too old for me to be comfortable standing on the seat for very long (the big ladder is steadier), but if I just need a boost the steps are great. That kind of thing may be too retro for a lot of people who don't have sentiment though.

In my actual library I have one of those Franklin chairs that converts to a step stool, which isn't as tall, but the ceiling is low in there.

I've been using Kiksteps (the round single step library style stepstool) for over 20 years. They are made in metal or sturdy plastic. They have bumpers & wheels so you can safely give it a nudge with your foot to roll it where you want it, then the wheels retract when you step on it. They're also light enough that you can carry them around. The Kikstep lets me reach most things & there's nothing to unfold or set up. We store it in the pantry when it's not being used.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kikstep

I am only 5' tall and have asked my KD to lower my upper cabinets to about 16 in above the countertops. The stepstool was a big consideration for me and I took some time to decide what to do about it. Conclusion was to keep it in a nearby laundry room. Considered toe kick drawers but my Mexican tile would not allow them and I can't change the tile because it would blow my budget big time. Then was going to use a narrow cabinet at the end of my peninsula to store it but have given that up for narrow shelves I can use for spices, etc. Also my DH is 6' so I have already ceded the highest cabinet - a pull up - for his use and, if he's around, no need for a stepstool!

I had an 8" cabinet space at the end of the island (6.5 inner width). I was going use it for vertical tray storage, but decided the stepstool fit there just right. Full height cab, no drawer above, so it's easy to take out and put back.

It's just across from my main cabs. Wherever you put your ladder/stepstool, make sure it's easy and convenient to use all the time!

at 5' I have that problem also. I'm dropping my counter top about an inch, will drop the upper cabs an inch or so also. plus the shelves in them. and hopefully will use the top shelf of a few for display only.

and i'll measure the left side under my sink to see if my step stool can live there. if not, it'll be a few feet away in the pantry. stuff i seldom use will be on upper shelves or in the pantry.

I'm 5' tall and typically just drag a chair over if no one is around. I've admit... I've also been known to just hop up on the counter!

Use a kik-step and store in the pantry. Great stool to reach most places.

I'm 5'2" and the best thing I did in my new kitchen was to have 2 under-the-counter drawers designated for my dinnerware. They're beside the dishwasher and make setting out and putting dishes away so convenient.

Mine have pegs that separate the dinner plates/soup bowls/bread dishes, etc. I have soft close drawers and find that there is no sliding or shifting of the dinnerware when I open & close, which was something I was concerned about when I was considering them.

I used to scrape one dinner plate over the other when I pulled them down or tried to reach to the top of the stack to put them away, sometimes damaging my dishes, and often coming close to having a stack of saucers fall off the shelf.

If you are in the early stages and can plan for dinnerware storage in drawers instead of in upper cabinets it would save you a lot of climbing.

I am 5' tall and like amck installed a lot of deep drawers for my dishes, tupperware, and cookware. WHAT a difference that has made! The things I keep up high and out of my reach are things I use very rarely. Then I just hop on a chair or the counter itself (shhh!).

It is terribly annoying at best and dangerous at worst to cook in a kitchen designed for a height different than our own. There are 'fixes' for making counters higher for the tall people, but reaching into cupboards and lowering counter height is much more difficult to 'fix' for the shorties.

Remodeling could mean many things. Is this a cosmetic remodel? Are the cabinets and countertops changing?

I am 5'3'', so not quite as short as the OP. Luckily, there are no other cooks to consider in planning my kitchen, so it was easy to make the changes needed. I am not one of the kitchen wizards here. I'll just share some of the things that helped me. These are personal choices. You should experiment to find the best height for you and anyone else helping or cooking in the kitchen.

Counter height needs to be scaled for the particular task most often done at that location.

Clean-up: The sink should not be too low because one must lean over to reach the items at the bottom of the sink. My sink is 10'' deep. Counter height is 36''

Prep: Prep is often chopping, but think of all the ways you prep food to cook. Will you use the counter for baking? Roll dough? Cut cookies, biscuits? Stuff dumplings, buns, pot stickers? 32'' counter height works best for me. My arms are quite long and I am short. The floors in our old house change in grade 1'' from one end of the island to the other. I did not know this, but fortunately it worked out alright. The eating end of the island is 33'' high.

Cooking: The methods of cooking may be more comfortable at a height other than standard. Flipping the contents of a pan on a 36'' high cooking surface is too high for me. Moving heavy pots is more easily done reaching slightly down or straight out than up. My cooktop is at 34''.

Amck has an excellent suggestion for storing dishes. My daily use dishes and flatware are in base cabinets. No reaching up and over bowls to get to the back of a wall cabinet shelf. My infrequently used china is in a kitchen hutch, again with the items used most frequently within easy reach. I don't have any traditional wall cabinets. Making the counter a little deeper allows enough room to bring the upper cabinet down to the counter. The glassware/tea/coffee cabinet has four shelves that can easily be reached without a step stool. The counter height is 32''. Hoping for grandchildren who can use a lower counter to get drinks and make breakfast. :)

Several wall cabinets are high. The cabinets above the refrigerator and above the double ovens have roll out shallow drawers that make reaching the items in the back of the cabinet easy. These are after-market roll outs. My big stockpot-steamer is above the cooktop. I do need a ladder to get that out. Cookbooks are on the other side of the vent. I can reach the ones in the front, but need a ladder to get to the ones in the back. I have got to change that system, ha!

Good luck in your planning. I hope that...

Love this forum! I post a problem when I go to bed and wake up to lots of great ideas that I hadn't considered. Thanks for all the tips.

Paula, I'm taller than you but have cabinets that go up to between 10' & 11' so even if I were a giant, I couldn't reach the top. I have the tallest of the Leifheit (sp?) ladders from W-S & it's been worth every penny of the cost; it weighs about 8 lbs, is very sturdy, & folds thin when not in use (I hang it in the pantry). Much better & safer than dragging a chair around!

When I planned my remodel I researched the rolling library ladders - which I really wanted - but it wouldn't work in my space & frankly I doubt if they're feasible in most kitchens. Maybe a really long, narrow galley with a bank of open shelf upper cabs where the ladder can roll unobstructed & you can leave it 'parked' at a distant end. And remember - whenever it's parked, the lower cab & countertop behind it is blocked. I don't remember how, or if, they turn corners but maybe that depends on the roller system.

me too! I store items on the upper shelves in small rectangular plastic baskets. Got them at Lowes, by Rubbermaid I believe. I can grab the front of the basket and get the whole thing down rather than trying to get to smaller items. I have them labeled so I know what's in them: jello/pudding/nuts, OTC medicines, baking supplies, rice/beans/pasta, etc.

Paula:
I'm 5'1", my husband is 6'1" with a crappy back. I have designed our kitchen layout -- not only in zones (Thanks to buehl, Rhome, live oak, and many others), but also so that what we use 80-90% of the time is within both of our reach: so that he doesn't have to bend to get stuff or put it away (which he doesn't do currently, and I do it. . . .), or so that I am not constantly on the stool.

Our p ots and p ans will be in the middle drawers of the drawer banks: the baking bowls and mixer, etc, will be in the bottom of those same banks (he rarely bakes, but does cooking). Many people here put their cookie sheets above their frig: that's too high for me, so I am putting mine above my raised micro -- that's an area that if I put other smaller items up there, I probably would need a stool -- but I've played with it, and I can easily grab the end of the cookie sheet and pull it down.

The high high cabs will have glass windows for the pretty stuff we rarely use (yes, those Mikasa Water and wine glasses we took hours to choose 24 years ago when we said "I do").

So, I've designed my kitchen so that I will need to use my stepstool minimally, although I've made a place for it as well. Oh, and the 14 year, 5'8" eating machine DS is also handy for getting me stuff -- but some day, he'll be gone . . . .

my solution was to marry someone who is 6'5". that way i always have someone around to get things down from the top shelf! :)

I love my Library Kick Stool. IÂm not short (5Â7") but I still canÂt reach the top shelves and I like to use all the space I have. If I had to pull out a stool every time I needed something high  it just would not get used. These are attractive and very functional.

Portland, I was gonna say "Marry tall" when I read this post but decided not to...the only thing I did to accommodate my shortness was make sure the sink was as close to the front of the counter as possible. I use chairs and get on counters if I have to, but just use the upper shelves for things used less frequently. I suppose if I were installing windows, I'd be sure not to get those double hung ones that go UP again, at least not over a counter!

(Since when is 5'2" short? Teehee)

1. Store your shortest stuff on the lowest shelves.
2. Hang the shelves above with minimal (and I do mean MINIMAL) air space. On uppers, this should enable you to reach the first two shelves w/o a stool.
3. On that second shelf up, use a turntable for stemware, bottles, and the like. You only need to reach the bottom of those things, and the turntable allows you to *reach* stuff in the back.
4. Cookbooks also work on high shelves since you only need to reach the bottom corner.
5. My refrigerator is short, and I doubt that I could do this with a Lieberr, but we have a deep cabinet above with lots of dividers. Again, with cookie sheets and the like, you only need to be able to reach the bottom corner.
6. We have a cabinet enclosing our range hood. I use it to store Costco paper towels. On the lower shelf, I can reach w/o a stool.

I'm well under 5' 2" with very short arms. The other thing that works for me is to have my husband cook!

one other thing--I decided against the integrated fridges (Liebherr or Thermador/Miele/Bosch/Gaggenau or Subzero integrated models) because I could only spare a 36" width and those fridges in 36" kept too much of the vital space out of reach. Saved me some money I guess.

And I do have my shelves set as close together as possible. Sort of annoyed the spouse when I first did it. Thought they seemed so SQUISHY. Like seriously dude. How much extra space do you need for plates!?? They don't get claustrophobia. I do have drawers I could put dishes in should my 2 year old leave home. I guess having extra deep lowers is good for shorties because you can fit more stuff in everywhere, especially LOW. I have an extra 6" on some of my uppers and lowers and while I can't reach any extra space on the uppers, I can reach all the lowers.

I'm also 5' 2" and happen to be a librarian, so I heartily recommend the KikStep already mentioned by previous posters! After using them @ work for 20+ years, I'm getting a nice bright red one for my new kitchen. Sturdy and practical, and they last forever. :) Good luck w/your planning!

I am 5'2" and keep my red folding stepstool in the vertical tray cabinet next to the sink. It works great, but I do have to get out the 3 step ladder from my laundry room, occasionally.

A bigger issue is the placement of my microwave. It is too high to take out bowls of soup, etc. It is also taking up valuable real estate on the lower shelf of a top cabinet in what has become our main prep area. If I had realized that, I definitely would have used a drawer MW in a base cabinet, even though it would take up valuable space in my small kitchen, or even a small counter MW.

I do use turntables in my 12" upper cabinets. Deeper upper cabinets would have given me more space on the lower shelves and I could have used larger turntables.

I love this forum! I am 5' tall (60" just sounds better) and had planned on getting the WS step stool but I am now very excited to also look for tunrtables for my uppers. Where do you find? BB&B? WS?

Thanks for the turntable ideas for the high cabs. I have them in the old kitchen for my spices, but didn't make the jump to thinking about them higher up. Almost time to move in to the new kitchen and I'll be buying some new turntables. What wonderful ideas come from fellow GWers!

I'm not even 5' tall... In my last kitchen when the kids were little, I made a peninsula that was table height - 30 or 31" that the high chair fit under - along w/ 4 chairs - and it was perfect for rolling and decorating cookies, making pizza, etc. Also would do most of my prep there. Now with teen aged kids I put in a 36" peninsula - but I lowered one side of my kitchen counter with the stovetop to 32" so I have lower workspace to cut, chop, prep, etc. I had a similar issue w/ the microwave - ended up w/ the KA oven/microwave combo - which I had mounted fairly low and above that will be vertical storage for baking pans, broiler pan, etc. Also had my upper cabinets at 16" above (regular 36") counter top (vs. usual 18") - but now I'm thinking I could have even lowered them to 15" b/c on the cooktop wall there is an additional 4" of space (to accommodate the Kerug, etc.) Hope this helps.

How about one of these?

Here is a link that might be useful: pull down shelf

I am 5'11" but my mother is 5'1". We had a kick stool in the kitchen, but after age 10 or so I was her constant step ladder. I'm going to get some sort of folding stool for my kids (though they are tall) and my housekeeper (who is not). This thread has been very useful for that!

"I am 5' tall and like amck installed a lot of deep drawers for my dishes, tupperware, and cookware."

that's what I plan also. also lowering my upper cabs a bit. and lowering the 2nd shelf in them.

the turntables are great for baking things like soda, baking powder, flavoring bottles, food coloring, cupcake papers etc. also for pn butter jar, syrup bottles, etc.
cups and glasses. I use one for my spices also (all 8-10 of them).

mw - how about a shelf attached to the bottom of your upper cabs in a corner area?

Oh dear, I didn't do any of the clever ideas listed here for my short self. I do have an eat-in kitchen with table/chairs, and when DH is not around to reach stuff for me, I drag over one of the chairs and stand on it. Keeps my leg muscles in shape too LOL! Been doing that for years, and my chairs seem none the worse for wear.

I've been eyeing the Williams-Sonoma Ultraslim Step Stool for years (oh man, it's cool), but couldn't bite the bullet and spend the $129 for a 3-step step stool. When not climbing on my kitchen chairs, I have a $35 ugly-but-does-the-trick stepstool from Target.

I had just assumed, before reading this thread, that having to clamber up on something was just a way of life for us short people, and accepted it, made peace with it. Sigh. (just a little drama folks!)