I prefer ceiling height. I like the look better and I have no interest in dusting the tops of cabinets.

My vote would be ceiling height. IMHO, staggered cabinet heights can look dated.

I have the layout that I am not able to attach here. says its long to attach. but i'll tr again. perhaps will give a better idea about how the cabinets are staggered. Thanks!

here it is:

How tall are your ceilings?

@rantontoo - 9 feet ceilings all over the house.

My preference is to the ceiling...I agree with what crl said about dusting the tops of cabinets...on the bottom of my bucket list.

Can you have ceiling height cabinets with 10 ft ceilings?

Also vote for ceiling height on yours if you can do that.

Ceiling height also

French toast, sure you can have ceiling height cabinets to ten feet. At that height they are usually stacked cabinets I think. Costs money and the taller they are the harder it is to get into them so you just have to decide whether they are worth it.

Thanks everyone!

So, if we were to overlook the cleaning/dust aspect, would you still choose ceiling height? What is the reason for choosing ceiling vs. staggered look? Thoughts please.

It looks better to me and more storage is better than less storage.

Because it looks better and you get more storage.

To the ceiling. I think it is a cleaner look, easier to clean and extra storage is never a bad thing as far as I am concerned. When I redid my kitchen this summer I had a number of people ask if I'd enlarged the space. The answer was no. The biggest difference was white cabinets to the ceiling instead of pale yellow cabinets that were not. Layout was almost the same as well.

To the ceiling or all the same height unless you are doing two different color/finishes. A kitchen designer I talked to before going with the one I chose said it's called castling. Like castle-ing. She said that was a dated look. I don't care if it's dated if it's what I like, I just happen to prefer it cleaner and to the ceiling.

In my kitchen design, I had it all the same height, then decided to do the fridge cabinet and the oven cabinet in oak instead of the white which I will have on the rest, Christopher Peacock style. Because of that, we did those two pieces just a bit higher so the crown from the white could die into the oak cabinet because it seemed off to have the crown hit at the same height and touch on two different finishes.

Another vote for "to the ceiling".

All one height - I don't care what height you choose as long as it is all the same.

When the cupboard is in the corner and higher than the surrounding cupboards it looks like the surrounding ones are pushing a sausage out of it's casing.

When the cupboard is lower between two higher cupboards it looks like the middle cupboard is falling down.

The whole thing is a look I've never liked. I would never criticize a kitchen that went with that look but since you asked....

To the ceiling. I've never liked the staggered look and think it will date a kitchen.

Another vote for to the ceiling. I prefer the look of "to the ceiling" kitchen cabinets & the extra storage is a plus.

All one height - I don't care what height you choose as long as it is all the same.

This.

So apparently I'm totally the minority here, but I love the different heights. Our cabinets were all one height (8' ceilings, and the cabinets were not to the ceiling). When we remodeled, I changed them up. We have one ceiling height on each of the 3 walls. I love them.

hello contributors - wow!!! that's an overwhelming majority or I should say 100% vote for ceiling height.

@buehl - you have a wonderful kitchen! to answer your question, the taller cabinets are ceiling height and are also deeper than the shorter ones.

i want the cabinets to look good and i am concerned about the "dated" look. My KD is not giving any feedback on the trend. The way the builder is charging us for the kitchen upgrade, I won't be in a (financial) position to update my kitchen anytime in the future; by that I mean not in a several several years. So I don't want to be stuck with a kitchen that is out of style.

I am definitely thinking about getting the ceiling height cabinets now. Thank you so much for taking out the time to help me make a decision!!

Thanks!

I love the idea of the extra storage that taller cabinets would bring there's just enough stuff I don't use regularly that it would be really appreciated, but...

You can be overwhelmed by the sheer number and volume of cabinets in your kitchen. It was part of the reason that you were putting them at different heights because you were worried about feeling claustrophobic?

Personally, I like the varied height but it does have a visual and practical consequences. You know the practical consequences, I am not sure how using a stepped up approach on that first cabinet on the right as you look into the room is a good idea. Have you seen that in real life or seen pictures of such an arrangement it would seem to me to begin to make the whole kitchen area weighed down and massive.

That is a very large number of chairs at that island/table. Is there sufficient space for them to be pulled out and still have cabinets on the wall behind them and allow walking space? It looks awfully tight in the illustration provided.

Ceiling height. Like others, I don't like the look of staggered height. Didn't like it when it was popular either.

Hi Practigal,

It was part of the reason that you were putting them at different heights because you were worried about feeling claustrophobic?

You are bang on target. and have articulated my thoughts well. Its a U shaped kitchen and with the sheer number of cabinets all ceiling height, i was feeling overwhelmed. I saw a similar model with all Bordeaux stained cabinets. That kitchen looked very overwhelming. But since I am going with the white painted cabinets and my kitchen is slightly larger than the model, I think ceiling height cabinets should not be that overwhelming.

Have you seen that in real life or seen pictures of such an arrangement it would seem to me to begin to make the whole kitchen area weighed down and massive.

No, haven't seen this staggered layout in real life.

That is a very large number of chairs at that island/table. Is there sufficient space for them to be pulled out and still have cabinets on the wall behind them and allow walking space? It looks awfully tight in the illustration provided.

The kitchen is 16'x15' and the island is 8'x4.5'. KD said that there will be about 4' walking space on all the 3 sides. Thoughts?

Thanks!

Another vote for to the ceiling... it makes our small (13.5' x 12.5') kitchen feel larger and no dusting cabinet tops!

Our island is 60" long, I originally had 3 stools parked at it, down to just 2 now because we prefer 30" spacing between stools and that middle stool was always just in the way.

We have 43.5" clearance between the stove and island:

and 46" clearance between seating side of island and stairway wall.

I was concerned we wouldn't have enough clearance to walk behind stools, but one person can walk through when someone is sitting, without shifting to the side. If it turned out to be an issue, I would have switched to backless stools.

I like to-the-ceiling because I like more space and it's easier to do
than to make different heights look good. But it is definitely possible
to make different heights look good.

Buehl's stacked cabinets are furniture-ish, in that they are organized sort of as units. Each section is like a hutch, so they make sense and are appealing. In PD's original post, it looks like a random jumble of sizes except for the one on the end which also has a nice logical arrangement.

Don't worry about looking dated. Your kitchen will be dated before it's completed. :)

Hi musicgalnd - Love your kitchen, specifically the glass tops. The hardwood floors complement the overall kitchen decor pretty well too!!! :)

The kitchen is 16'x15' and the island is 8'x4.5'. KD said that there will be about 4' walking space on all the 3 sides. Thoughts?

My thought is that at 25 inches for the counters on each side (50 total), and 54 inches for the island, that leaves you 76" from the 15', or 38 inches per side. Which is a lot closer to 3' than 4' and too tight, especially with chairs on one side. But perhaps I'm not looking at it correctly.

Thanks PD! It looks like your layout incorporates some glass uppers too? I went with glass uppers because the original 1948 cabinets were similar to this layout but they didn't have glass uppers and it sometimes felt like a wall of cabinets closing in on us. I know being smothered by cabinets was one of your concerns if you take them all to the ceiling, but I think glass would help break up that "closed in" feeling?

We did a 6' wide pantry in our entry (since kitchen is so small) and did the glass uppers on it too. The entry is about 16'x11' and the glass uppers help soften the look of the pantry up a bit so it's not such a massive wall of cabinets.

You'll have to keep us posted on which way you decide to go - staggered heights/widths or to the ceiling... either will look great!

Add me to the list voting "to the ceiling." I really dislike the staggered look and have always wondered what the point of staggering them is. I'm a bit relieved that so many others here (obviously with very good taste) agree!

Hi All,

We are going back to our KD next week. All the pieces are beginning to come together, thanks to you all!!!

We will have him change the layout to ceiling height, preferably glass tops. and then take it from there. Cabinet Color and Cabinet height is confirmed! Now on to Granite....Phew. The process seems to be so painful but I am sure when its done, i'll be happy:)

@musicgalnd - i'll surely share the pics when my kitchen is done. btw - what stain is on your hardwood floors?

@freeoscar - per the measurements, there will be 4' of free space on all 3 sides on the island.

Thanks you all!

Due to three kids, a dog, and a never-remembers-to-take-his-boots-off farmer husband.... we opted for laminate. I figured we may get pretty hardwood after the kids have graduated, but then my husband reminded me we'll have grand kids running around eventually too (hopefully!) So who knows, we may have the laminate forever. Here's a link to the brand we installed, it has some red/orange undertones, but the color tied in with our walnut island top and it had an extra thick backing pad which helps quiet the creaky old house floors.

Laminate Flooring

I like the contrast of the dark flooring against the off-white cabinets, but the dark floor sure does show crumbs and dog hair (especially if you have a yellow lab!) If we ever upgrade to wood, I'd probably go with a little lighter color.

Hopefully this info helps!

If the look of uppers to the ceiling is overwhelming, I'd skip the uppers that flank the window and just have uppers to the ceiling on the range wall. Perhaps you could swap out your kitchen window for a nice large one to let in more light.

Off Topic:

have you read the Gardenweb post about "ice water stone fire" by Marcolo? It's worth a read to understand why a prep sink might be a good idea in this layout.

Also, you might check your dimensions between barstool backs and the projection of your fridge handles. I believe the recommended distance between the two is 60". I suspect you'll have less than 48" when the stools and appliances are in; you won't be able to easily access the fridge if someone is sitting at the island.

do you really need room for six to sit at the island? Island seating like this might be more conversational and resolve some aisle issues if the stools are offset from the fridge and the dishwasher:

Indian Grove Kitchen · More Info

I'm totally in the minority here--I love the look of staggered cabinets. My mom tried to convince me to go the ceiling on all my cabinets so I'd "have more storage".

1. Storage at that height is useless to me--I can't even reach it from a step stool--I'd literally have to stand on the countertop to use that storage or bring in the 6' ladder from the garage
2. I didn't need more storage--I know that sounds odd, but there really was enough storage that I didn't need to add another shelf or two on every cabinet
3. I love the look of the staggered cabinets with crown molding. I find it very attractive and it appeals to me visually

Do what you love. I look at my 10 year old kitchen and don't think it looks dated (not did the real estate agents who've walked through the house as part of our "getting ready to sell" process). Every woman who walks into the house loves my kitchen. (I've heard women talking about it later when they're not even at my house)

There are lots of beautiful kitchens out there. Pick the look that makes your heart sing.

"The kitchen is 16'x15' and the island is 8'x4.5'. KD said that there will be about 4' walking space on all the 3 sides. Thoughts?"

Well....

Are those aisle measurements ("about 4' of walking space") measured counter edge-to-counter edge or to/from whatever is sticking out into the aisle the farthest? Or is your KD measuring cabinet-to-cabinet? I'm asking b/c the majority of KD-made designs I've seen posted on this forum are incorrectly measuring cabinet-to-cabinet. If your KD is doing the same, then your aisles are 3" narrower than you think they are. Recommendations:

• A minimum of 42" for a one-person work aisle - that means only one person ever works on the aisle
• A minimum of 48" for an aisle where two or more people will be working on the aisle.
• For seating: With cabinets, counters, or appliances behind the seats, you need more like 54". If it's also a busy aisle, then 60".

"Working on the aisle" means prepping, cooking, cleaning up, getting a snack, etc.

Do you have at least a 15" overhang on the island? If not, then you need more space on the aisle - about the same amount that is missing from the overhang.

Regarding your Kitchen's measurements: I don't know which measurement is the width, so...

If your Kitchen is 16' wide, then:

• 16' = 192"
• Each perimeter is 25.5", so 2 x 25.5" = 51"
  -- Cabinet boxes are 24" deep, counter overhang in front of the boxes is 1.5"
  -- The door adds another 1" to the overall cabinet depth, but the counter overhang is 1.5" to cover the doors/drawer fronts and knobs/pulls.
• Your island is 4.5' = 54"
• So...192" - 51" - 54" = 87"
• 87" / 2 = 43.5"
• It's highly unlikely that you have 48-inch aisles on both sides.

If your Kitchen is 15' wide, then it's even worse.

• 15' = 180"
• Each perimeter is 25.5", so 2 x 25.5" = 51"
• Your island is 4.5' = 54"
• So...180" - 51" - 54" = 75"
• 75" / 2 = 37.5"
• It's even less likely that you have 48-inch aisles on both sides.

Just b/c your KD says, "there will be about 4' walking space", doesn't mean you actually have 48-inch aisles. Her "out" is that she's saying "about" - and that can mean anything from 36" to 54" - I'm guessing she's (1) measuring cabinet-to-cabinet and (2) not being totally upfront about the exact aisles (for whatever reason).

BTW...even if those are pantry cabinets behind the seats and no counters, you only gain about 1/2" b/c the doors are approx 1" (if you don't count the knobs/pulls - if you do count the knobs/pulls then there's no real difference)

Note that Musicgalnd's 46-inch aisle behind the seats works b/c she has no cabinets, counters, or appliances behind her seating - just a wall. No one will be trying to work behind or access an appliance or cabinet behind the seats.

44" is enough room to walk behind seats when there's just a wall. (If it's also a busy aisle, 48" to 54" is better.)

Oh, and the seating....the guidelines recommend:

• A minimum of 24" of linear space per seat
• A minimum of 15" of clear leg/knee space for the seating overhang - that's after accounting for cabinets and the decorative doors/panels on the backs of the panels.

So, what I see on your layout does not work:

• 4 seats x 24" = 96" = 8'
• Adding in 15" for the diagonal and end seat: 96" + 15" = 111" = 9.25'
  -- Two seats cannotshare the same leg/knee space
  -- The seat on the end & the diagonal seat need 15" for their leg room (maybe more b/c of the diagonal, but let's assume 15")
• Your island is only 8' long - 15" too short!

Do you really need 6 seats? How big is your family? When you sit down for a meal with your family, don't you use a Dining Room space? Table seating is much more conducive to family bonding than counter seating.

My recommendation is to eliminate the seat on the diagonal and one of the seats on the long side. That leaves you with four seats - three along the long side and one on the end. Now, 8' is fine for your seating!

interesting - I never thought of staggered cabinets as dated, just more of a preference. what time period do they date to?

i think staggered may have been more popular 10 years ago?