We have our distance at 18 or 19 inches... its been a while so I forget and I'm 5'4" and initially hated it. Now that I am used to it, I love it as then I can easily fit a toaster oven, mixer and TV under the countertops. I can reach shelf 1 fine. #2 I can reach the front but not the back, and forget 3 but we keep things we don't use regularly. No regrets here.

You can always add extra molding to drop it more.

Our space is 16-3/4 inches between countertop and cabinet bottoms and I wish it were a bigger space for all the reasons Pcjs mentioned above. More space will give you additional opportunity for decorating in that wall area and it won't look so Oreo cookie-like either. JMO

We ended up with 18" after adding a moulding and under cabinet lights. This seems just fine, but I don't think I'd want any less. Some opt for special cabinets to have a lower countertop. In this case you could drop the uppers down as well, but be careful you don't make the kitchen look top heavy.

Beware if you have tall items like a Coffeemaker. They make them jumbo tall now. on our old kitchen (which we are gutting) the distance is only about 14" and I am hard pressed to get our coffee maker under there. It currently has to live somewhere else.

Most of mine are 18 - one is 16 1/2 I think. The shorter one is related to the microwave being on a shelf - so it could be lower - the lower cabinetry was lowered a bit too but the space in between is still a bit shy of the 18. The shorter space is where I keep my coffee maker, grinder, paper towel. Otherwise I don't have much on my counters though I do have a small TV in a different area.

The shorter space is working fine for me but I think you do have to carefully consider what you're going to want on your counters. I've been looking at new coffee makers and some of those babies are quite tall - probably too tall for my shorter space.

On a side note, I have 42" tall upper cabinets so lots of space I can't reach even at 5'5". I keep a little turtle stool under my sink (folded takes very little space) so I have something within easy reach when I need to get to the top shelves.

A good trick if your shelves are adjustable is to position the bottom two lower than they would be if you spaced them out evenly. It really helps to make their contents accessible to those of us who are height-challenged.

dsommerl gave us this kitchen planning link in another thread. It's worth checking out for these very issues.

Ours is 18". I would consider going an inch or two lower, but not higher. There is no reason for it. As long as your tallest appliances will slide under, that's enough room. Our coffee maker and KA mixer have more than enough room.

I was told 15-18" is standard. Because of my low ceilings, mine will only be 15".

Sue

mine are 15 (previous owner remodel) and i love them. there is plenty of room between standard height counter and lower cabs to work comfortably. i'm 5-4. the only reason not to do it would be if you plan on putting things too tall to be accomodated in the space. i think the link posted above (which i checked earlier) encouraged people to go with 15, for ease of use of the upper cabs.

Mine are approx. 15.5". I'm 5'4" and like that I can comfortably reach items on the top cabinet shelves without having to pull out a step ladder.

I'm not one for keeping stuff on my counters so the height is not an issue for me with tall things. If I had the space to go higher, I'd only go another inch - maybe.

I suggest you measure the height of the appliances that you will keep on your counter to determine the height.

Ours uppers are 15" and the Kitchen Aid mixer (the tallest appliance) fits underneath, but you can't lift it up to move the bowl. And in planning our next kitchen, it is one of the things I plan on changing. Another 2" are needed for that.

Wow, thanks for all of the responses!

I'll have these upper cabinets on one long length of a 17' by 10' kitchen. Cabinets will have glass fronts and the run will be broken in the middle by a large window. The 10' length at the end has a window and no upper cabinet and there are a couple of other locations without upper cabinets, so I have a few options for taller appliances. I'm glad to hear from fellow short folks that they like the dropped upper cabinet. Maybe I'll go with about 16". And I'll definitely keep a stool on hand for the upper shelves.

Thanks everybody. It's always good to hear others' experiences.