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teacup_princess

Would a countertop height desk bother you

17 years ago

First let me say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new cabinets (at least the ones that are in so far). The cabinet maker did a great job. But I goofed and didn't tell him to make the desk at desk height. I just sort of assumed he would know that. He made it at countertop height.

In his defense it's not a real desk, just a 24 x24 inch "landing spot" to slide a stool under, sit and pay bills, look at recipes, do homework, ect. Would this bother anyone to sit countertop height? Would you have him change it? He'd basically have to re-do the file drawer cabinet and the bookcase that sits on side of the desk. I'm sure it would be at my expense. I could try to post a picture but there isn't a countertop yet, it's hard to tell what it's going to look like.

Comments (15)

  • 17 years ago

    No. My sister-in-law placed her desk at counter height intentionally and I liked it so much we did the same. I love having the desk at counter level. It puts everything at the same level for the eye and serves as extra space to put dishes, food, etc. when entertaining. It's your call, but I'd say that mistake is a good thing and a keeper!

  • 17 years ago

    I also intentionally put my desk at countertop height, and I prefer it that way. In addition to the reasons cited, I also like using a stool that matches my island stools and serves as an extra at the island, as needed.

  • 17 years ago

    I'm planning a counter-height desk in our current renovation. I actually asked my dad (architect) about this exact thing last weekend when he was over looking at our demo and framing... did I want to lower the counter in the desk area or not. He said, no, leave it counter-height.

  • 17 years ago

    i had this dilemma recently with some kraftmaid cabinetry i ordered from home depot. the desk was "vanity" height, about an inch lower than counter height, but still requiring a stool to sit at. it looked really wrong in this scenario. BUT, i have to say, in a kitchen i could see the higher height working well, especially if you don't want that dip down to a desk. sounds like the other posters are enjoying theirs.

  • 17 years ago

    I am 67 and I hate stools of all types so yes it would bother me greatly to have the desk that high.

  • 17 years ago

    I had mine at desk height first, then had DH change it to counter height.

  • 17 years ago

    Do you have a pic of your layout?

    Where small desks (and that's pretty small- don't think anyone's going to be sitting there for too long anyways...)are tucked away from the rest of the counter it makes sense to have it lowered. But, if it's part of a continuous surface, I don't see any reason to stagger the level of the counter. If you have a normal height table in the kitchen, the stool or chair can be utilized at the table as an extra seat- if you have island or peninsula seating, a counter height stool can be used there too... do you have both counter and table height seating now? I'm not saying this very cohesively- but if you don't have any counter height seating anywhere else, the counter height desk/stool won't be as versatile.

  • 17 years ago

    Love Mine, often i walk up to the laptop or stand to take aphone message quickly. There are so many chairs and stools for counter heith that it will be comfortable to sit at too.

  • 17 years ago

    How much it would bother me would depend on how much it was going to cost to fix it. A couple of hundred? I'd probably fix it. A couple of thousand? I'd live with it as is for at least several months and then decide.

  • 17 years ago

    We intentionally made our desk counter height. We never sat down at it, at least not for long periods of time. It is much more convenient at counter height. And as previously stated, it does provide more counter space and is a nice continuous countertop.

  • 17 years ago

    We also put the desk at counter height on purpose in order to gain two feet of counter for buffet purposes giving us 10 feet of counter. Saddle stool fits nicely underneath and the counter height is great for taking phone messages - you don't have to bend over to write and you can choose to pull out the stool for a longer conversation.

  • 17 years ago

    Here is a picture of my inspiration photo for the desk area that I gave to my cabinet maker. (I never realized until just now that the desk in this picture IS counter height). We purposely wanted a really small desk area so that we didn't trash it up with piles of misc crap.

    What I have is almost exactly the same except the sitting area is exactly 24 x 24 and instead of a wine cabinet underneath we have a file cabinet drawer.

    Here is a link that might be useful: desk area

  • 17 years ago

    Hi, count me as another who deliberately put my desk area at counter height. Much of my work at my computer or desk is "just walking by" kind of work. But when I want to sit, I have one of my kitchen barstools there so I'm very comfortable.

    I absolutely love my desk at counter height.

    Anita

  • 17 years ago

    I find myself bending over the laptop all the time while it's charging at my kitchen desk. Hate it. Count me among the standing or stool set. We inherited a particularly odd set-up with 3 sections: 2 feet, drop to desk height for 3 feet, and then back up to counter for 2 feet. The upper cabinets were installed to mirror this. It's a waste of valuable kitchen real estate and not compatible with the way we actually use a kitchen desk (standing, or in short bursts). I'd prefer a single, level surface at counter height.