i had 42" vs36" priced out too thinking it would be a lot, but it is very minimal and can you ever have too much storage space? i havent done my kitchen yet but hope to do 42" when i do!

Agree with Ardcp's post. How high is the kitchen ceiling? Is it 9'?

Also think about having to clean the top of the cabinets with the space above them. Those tops will be dust collectors, and you or your wife will have to climb a stepladder to get up there to clean them. Better to have the cabs touch the ceiling and not deal with that issue.

Also, as you've noted, the shorter cabs are "what's available" by the builder. That's why they're considered a more mass market look that is found in thousands of developments. It's also a slightly more difficult instaaton for cabinets to touch the ceiling, because ceilings are all slightly uneven (it's done all the time though so don't worry; but developers are looking for the easiest possible). Those are reasons that 42" height cabinets to the ceiling are considered more high-end. Also consider a stacked look of a 30" cabinet with a shorter cabinet stacked above it to the ceiling. I think it's a good idea to mix these looks, e.g. one wall have stacked cabinets, and the other have 42" cabinets.

I don't care for the staggered look, but I like a very simple, clean, streamlined look in the kitchen.

I would take the cabinets to the ceiling -- part to avoid the need to clean the top, part to make it streamlined. I suspect that'd be 42". I like the stacked look with a shorty cabinet on top.

Cabinets to the ceiling is my preference. Also, read the posts regarding as many drawers as possible for bottom cabinets. It will also add to your cost but drawers are wonderful!

Absolutely do 42" uppers. But better yet, take them to the ceiling with a beautiful crown molding. You won't regret it but you might if you don't.

My vote also is for all 42" cabinets. I'm not sure why, but shorter ones always remind me of a handsome man whose tuxedo trousers are too short. :-)

All the way to the ceiling. No such thing as too much storage. There's no rule that you can't put Christmas decorations or old tax return in upper cabinets, if you have the space.

If it is in your budget and you need the storage then go for it.

We have 9 ft ceilings and even with 42" uppers they still wouldn't go all the way to the ceiling. It would have cost us way too much to get them to the ceiling. Anyways, do we mind dust collecting up on top of the cabinets? Nope, not in the least, as it is not visible to anyone:-p

We ended up with a mix of 36" and 42", as we actually like the cityscape look. We also have a ton of storage space now, so the extra cost of taller uppers would have been just been a waste of money for us.

To the ceiling....more storage, no dusting....win win.

I too like the staggered look and find the 42 inch cabinets are good if you really need the storage.
If you have 9 foot ceilings and enough storage, I would consider a staggered look. To clean the top of cabinets just lay shelf liner or newspaper on top and replace once in a while.

This is totally random but what is the name of your counter top? Is it granite?

I am not sure what the name of that counter top is but I know it was granite. That was another home our builder did that we went to look at. We ended up choosing granite counters that were very close in color to that one, though, and a couple photos are attached of that. Ours were called Crema Valentino.

We also reconfigured the kitchen a little to take away the wraparound counter to give us a bigger island as well as open up more space to walk in & out of the kitchen.

Also, for anyone else wondering we did end up going with 42 inch cabinets. The price was a lot less for this than I thought it might be. I did not take them to the ceiling, though, since that cost was too high in my opinion plus I don't have a smooth kitchen ceiling, anyway. The main part of the kitchen is 9-feet high but the part closer to the eating area is 10-feet high so going up to 9-feet would still leave some cabinets short of the ceiling.

lovely. And it doesn't look so choppy. Good job. Kudos to you for going outside of your builder's box, so to speak.

It looks great -- you made the right choice I think. Your granite is very pretty