upper cabinet depth choices?

16 years ago

Doing our first kitchen re-do ever. Mid 80's home, builder's grade "European" style cabinets that have bugged me since we moved in 10 years ago. I find the current depth to be very workable (12 inches). We've chosen white cabinets with a shaker-style door; hubby and I are traditional, like the clean lines. I really love the steamlined 1940's kitchen that his great-aunts had in Philly. Ours is a smallish kitchen, with the cabinets in an L-shape (window in short wall over sink).

Here in SFL, more people choose ornate cabinet styles with lots of architectural detailing. It feels heavy to me, though. I have health issues, so I want to be able to dust easily.

Kitchen Designer wants to give our home (which is a simple ranch with few architectural details) some interest by bumping out a few of the upper cabinets to 15", so the crown molding is not in a straight line. This would also provide more storage above, so I could put platters in the upper cabinet. (I do have a walk-in-pantry where the platters are currently stored, so it's not really that big an issue for me).

I'm concerned about two things: will the bumpouts (flanking the stove, and another pair flanking the sink) break the clean lines too much to give a good aesthetic? I'm afraid it will look chopped up & fussy.

Will the deeper upper cabinets, sticking out farther over my food prep area, infringe on my counterspace functionality?

Kitchen Designer assures me that neither of these are true,that it will look fabulous, but I'm uneasy. Do any of you have this sort of start-and-stop depth on upper cabinets on a straight run of counter? If so, how does it work for you? How does it look?

Thanks for your input!

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Comments (9)

jkasch
16 years ago
I am looking for answers to this question too. Hopefully some who have had experience in this area will respond with their thoughts.
peace_rose
16 years ago
I'm bumping this up because I think it's a good question, too! Sorry I can't be more helpful...
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twosit
16 years ago
I am doing some 15' depth uppers for exactly the reason that you are concerned about. I want to break up the look.
Actually, I want it for storage as well. I don't think it will affect your countertop at all. I considered all 15" uppers, but I also want some taller than others--and that doesn't seem to work with the crown molding.
svwillow1
16 years ago
We used 16" uppers along one wall because we wanted to hide a small microwave inside rather than have it out on the counter. We did have to fir out behind the hood because they are made to run flush with the standard 12" deep uppers. Also, if you have recessed lighting centered on the counter top's edge, you may need to move it out an inch or two so it won't cast a glare on the cabinet doors. Other than that, we have had no problems with the deeper cabinets interfering with the work space below, and we do use the extra storage.
bmorepanic
16 years ago
I have no comment on the look, but I did want to remind you that where a cabinet is next to a deeper thing (hood, deeper cabinet) it can affect how wide you can open the door.

A made-up example:

Normal wall cabinets to corner, then a 15" deep cabinet then the hood.

The 15" deep cabinet needs to have the hinges on the side opposite the hood and the handle next to the hood to be able to open completely. If its the opposite way, the door will hit the hood.

BUT the same thing is true for the normal depth wall cabinet next to the 15" deep cabinet - either the handle needs to be on the 15" cabinet side, or you can't open its door completely.

Other than that, there is generally one convenient spot where most prep work is performed and the depth might matter to you if its over that spot. If its just space that's used for setting down stuff, it won't. There are two butts to that statement tho. If the cabs have wide doors (> 11 inches), the doors will open into the aisle space. I'm a space cadet while cooking and I would brain myself - no problem. You could have a strong preference against looming cabinets and they would always irritate you.
User
16 years ago
Simple clean lines do not work well with staggared depth cabinets if you want to maintain the serene feel. It'd be a better choice to make all your uppers 15" in depth and pull your base cabinets forward (doing custom depth bases is a lot more expensive than custom depth uppers) and use a deeper countertop. You gain a lot of storage and don't lose the clean streamlined look that is so attractive to you.
bostonpam
16 years ago
I agree with live wire oak. We pulled one wall of lowers 2" because we wanted to paneled our American DWs and I didn't want any issues. It gives us so much more space. I didn't have the room on the other side to do it. I now wished I ordered deeper uppers too - my next kitchen in 20 years!
Buehl
16 years ago
I did something similar...I'm sure I have more detail than you do, but to give you some idea of what it will look like:
davidro1
16 years ago
i have deep uppers. Very useful. I also have the lift-up fronts. Not hinged doors.
Described in http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/kitchen.commercial.htm#cabinetdoors