Never understood why the "standard" is 12.5, absolutely go with deeper....I think the more important question to ask them (not knowing the construction details this manufacturer uses) is what is the clear usable space inside the 14" cabinet or 14.5 cabinet to make sure the 12" plates fit nicely

If you're doing inset, you probably want to do at least 13" deep. I know a few people on GW have done 15" deep uppers. 12 1/2" deep uppers is not common with most cabinet manufacturers. Curious who is the manufacturer?

Did your ask your cabinet person, what the additional cost was to increase to either 14" or 14 1/2"? That is going to probably vary quite a bit depending on who the cabinet manufacturer is.

They are Conestoga cabinets. The increased cost is calculated on a square foot basis, so not too costly to increase depth. I, too, think that 12 1/2'' is a very odd measurement. I will figure out, or have him figure the inside depth to assure correct internal size.

I was also thinking that 15'' might work, but not certain about other aspects of that depth. I am interested to know if those who have any size deeper wall cabinets are happy with them, and also whether 15'' is too deep both from a practical and aesthetic perspective.

Thanks for your answers.

We have 18" uppers and 24" lowers, pulled forward from the wall 6", which gives us 30" countertops. Love this setup! Lots of threads on this. I'm on my phone otherwise would post pictures. Good luck!

Conestoga 12 1/2" cabinets should be 11 1/4" inside dimension(12 1/2" - 3/4" face frame - 1/2" back).

I'm thinking about doing Conestoga inset myself. Curious, what reseller are using? Also, are you doing unfinished or finished?

I have always had 12" deep uppers, but at one house we had exceptionally shallow counters and base cabinets. This made working even more difficult because my face was right near the upper cabinets all the time. There were a host of other design "flaws" in that old house, but that was certainly something I disliked.

I am not sure I have a recommendation based on that information, but just throwing it out there for your consideration. Maybe deeper cabinets should be further off the counters?

I installed 15" deep wall cabinets along the wall with the cooktop, and also installed 28" deep base cabinets beneath them. It really make that wall more useful. I have a set of glass mixing bowls where the largest 6 qt one always had to be stored elsewhere because it wouldn't fit in a standard 12" upper.

We are using 13" uppers in our kitchen that we are currently remodeling, mostly DIY. We have the cabinets but do not have them installed yet. I'm not sure if it's because they are not actually on the wall yet but that extra inch seems like it makes a big difference in the interior space.

My uppers are 15" deep and the base cabs are standard 24" depth. Don't notice anything inconvenient in function or appearance at all. I'm really glad I went that deep as my kitchen is small and I only have 2- 33"wide uppers and 2- 12" wide open shelf cab uppers. I'm 5'8 and DH is 6'4 and no issues at all.

I have deeper cabinets, and it makes a big difference in my glass storage. My everyday pub glasses stand 3 deep now, so all of my daily drinking glasses fit on one shelf. That is important for short people.

Plates are all in drawers, so no issue for me.

Nancy

Mine are 13" deep with 24" base cabinets. My cabinets over my sink are a couple of inches shallower and higher to help things feel more open when working at the sink. My cabinets are inset and my 12" plates fit fine. Another inch of depth might have been nice but I think it might have made things feel too closed in.

12" deep is standard. They do it because of ripping boards - sheets are typically 48" wide...so, they can get 4 boards to make upper cabinets and 2 boards to make lower cabinets. According to the cabinet makers I talked with, this was the only reason that this became "standard" - if you make the interior say 13", all of the sudden, you can only get 3 boards out of a sheet and then you have 9" left over to try to figure out if you can do something with it.

So finishing up that "cabinet making lesson"...we opted to go with our uppers being 14" deep (interior), 3/4" door makes it 14 3/4" from the wall and I LOVE them. I really don't think that the average person would walk into our kitchen and "see" that they are deeper than standard.

Like springroz mentioned regarding glasses - In our old cabinets (standard depth), the cabinet was only deep enough to fit glasses 2 back...in the new cabinets, I can fit 3 back easily and comfortably. I am also short so, having my most often used things (glasses) within easy reach in a cabinet is important to me. Cups are the next shelf up (still can access those easily. And again like springroz, my plates, bowls, etc. are all in a drawer, so those are very easy access (though I admit I'm still getting used to having them there - 40-ish years of getting into upper cabinets to get plates is a lingering habit! One that I'm quite happy to be able to break!)

Thank you all very much. This has help me with the decision, and I am going to make the wall cabinets 14 1/2 or 15 inches deep. this will still give 10 inches of countertop extended beyond them, and hopefully no bruised foreheads or black eyes. I am only 5'1'' tall, so not an issue for me. The glass storage and big bowl mentioned above will make a big difference to me as well.

andreak - I now understand the manufacturers' thinking, thanks to your post. It makes logical business sense, but I guess they will have some waste with this order.

aries61, I am working with Cabinet Maker's Choice. Chad Witwer is helping me, and he is patient and thorough. Brian Long from Cabinet Joint is really good, too. The Conestoga cabinets are very nice and easy to assemble. These will cost around $3,000 less than what Lowe's quoted for Kraftmaid overlay, and $7,500 less than the two quotes from local custom people. ( Those numbers don't include installation costs of $4,000 for Lowe's and $2,500 for the custom people.) I am going with having them finished in Conestoga's Frosty White. For an upcharge, I could have used Sherwin Williams or BM colors, but after ordering sample doors in various whites and in natural maple, I found that this color works great in my kitchen. I also thought about ordering them unfinished to have the beautiful brush strokes that come with painting them yourself. The white finish on the sample doors is really nice and that's why I decided to have them finished.

Now that the wall cabinet depth has been solved, the only question I am dealing with is whether I should have a contrasting colored island. I am a bit fearful that the island will become beaten up from feet knocking into it along the seating area. It might not show as much with a darker color.

pasture19, I just found out yesterday that my bosses wife used Chad at Cabinet Maker's Choice several years ago and spoke very highly of him.

I have a small(54") peninsula that I was also thinking about doing in a stained cherry finish instead of painted like I'm doing in the rest of the kitchen. Fortunately, my bosses wife still has a sample box of the cherry stains that she'll be having my boss bring to work today.

Curious, what door are you going with?

We are going with 14" along the wall with 16" 'L' shaped cabinets in the corners on each side of the sink. Both are inset. They are just starting to go up and so far I am very happy.

ReBe231, You'll have to let us see some pics.

I have 15" deep cabinets over 24" bases on the perimeter of my kitchen. I do nearly all prep work on an island.

I LOVE the 15" deep wall cabs for storage. However, if I had to prep on the perimeter, I might not like the wall cabs as much. They do seem a bit "in my face" when I happen to prep before them, which is seldom.

Because the sink has a window above it, and the range has a hood over it, there is no sense of crowding with these perimeter work areas.

I would definitely do this again.

I have 15 inch uppers and they are perfect. Plates fit and there are no negatives re access or black eyes. I would not consider 12 inches again. Nope.