“Refinishing” cabinets costs more than buying new. Just painting the existing is 7-9K average in order to get a conversion varnish finish that is as durable as the factory finish.

Refinishing is twice the labor to start, which results in twice the price from an actual professional and not a craigslister paint guy. . If it’s at all possible. Stain penetrates the wood. Getting it out sometimes requires so much sanding that it’s pointless to even try. Just starting over with all new everything allows less restrictions than playing Tetris with the existing boxes.

That design is a big nope. No pogo stick up and down. It needs cabinets to the ceiling, with a more functional design that takes advantage of the space’s positives. There are way too many issues with that layout to even think of moving forward.

I would do nothing to that kitchen until you’ve saved enough money to redo it entirely. Upper cabinets of different heights were a way to cheapen the cost of cabinetry by throwing some shorter ones into the mix. It will always look like that, no refinishing is going to change that. Don’t spend your hard-earned money on things that won’t be a significant improvement.

When you are ready to redo, your new cabinets should be all one height, and they should meet the ceiling. The sink should go more toward one end of the island, not be smack dab in the center, so as to have more of an unbroken expanse of counter, also to avoid a butt-touching situation with the person cooking. You could post your new layout on here for feedback. There are some amazing layout gurus here, very generous with their time and advice, though you have to have an open mind.

i have 10 foot ceilings, i dont want cabinets that run to the ceiling.

im 90% different height cabinets were not a way to cheapen the expense of cabinets, instead of all 36, they add a corner 42, makes sense gives it a different look.

i just wanted to know if i could get away with that a cabinet

heres a pic of someones kitchen with it.

i think im better off with a blank cabinet spot and a nice molding. connecting the two cabinets next to it. you think i should go with a 24" opening above the 24" sink base or go with a 30" opening?

Another NO vote for having cabinet tops at different heights. It never looks good.

NO. Neither the stagger or any of the rest of that expensive mucking about is a good design. Why won't you hire an actual Kitchen Designer?

You didn’t mention your ceiling is 10’, and your OP pic gives no indication of that. Often when people have 10’ ceilings they do stacked cabinets. Those are expensive, so it‘s understandable when people opt instead for all 42” tall cabinets. Regardless, though, the heights would not jog up and down.

Even if you don’t feel YOUR kitchen cabinets were staggered to make them less expensive, it’s still a look that conveys that feeling. It’s also dated. The photo you show makes my point. That island counter, the cooktop with its unfortunate placement on the island, the lack of ventilation, the wall oven (microwave?) at an almost unreachable height, and the roosters, all say circa 1998.

Another reason that photo is not a good example to support jogging cabinets is that the only cabinet that is a different height is the one over the sink. That does not signify they wanted staggered-height cabinets. That just signifies that they realized a person standing at the sink needs more headroom.

Agree with Miller; your drawing is one thing and the picture you posted is something completely different. Your staggering just looks odd. If you have the ceiling height then just go with the taller cabinets all one height.

I’m not buying all new cabinets.

I’m asking if I can get away with staggering the over sink cabinet just like the picture.

Or if I should buy a 30”H cabinet for over sink or maybe just got with a connecting piece of wood. Or shelves or something.

Your goal should be that the tops of your cabinets line up. In addition, a 24" high cabinet won't hold much, and the proportions will look really off with a TEN-FOOT CEILING. Even a 30" H cabinet will not be tall enough. Is the photo in your OP an accurate depiction of the amount of staggering you are planning? And if so, why are you doing it that way?

You said you are changing the layout, yet what you describe is really limiting, and not a change at all. Not sure why the main sink is on the island and the prep sink is on the perimeter, it should be the opposite.

I totally realize this sounds like a lot of criticism, and I am sorry for that. I just feel like you are going to spend money with the expression "throw good money after bad", so I am trying to help you not do that.

The only staggering is the one corner cabinet at 42” cabinet the rest are all 36” all stopping at 96”

Do not add a cabinet over the sink. Leave that space empty. You can add art or a mirror when you are finished.

Are the two sinks already in position?

This will cost more and be a far worse result than starting with a blank slate and creating something that actually works from the beginning.

Following.....

If you are wanting more headroom above the sink I would either do:

• No cabinet
• Shorter cabinet, with the top in line with the surrounding cabinets

I would also eliminate the taller corner cabinets. Your kitchen will look much more cohesive and current with one height.

Also, have you considered removing one of the sinks? I would really try to consider the way you work in your kitchen then consider if two sinks are necessary. Are you adding an additional sink because you see a lot of kitchens with two sinks or because you actually need it function wise?

Last question...Is it necessary to bump out the range like that or is that a design element? If it is a "design element" I would consider having that in-line with everything else, especially since you have an island right there. I can see traffic flow issues with two butts working either at the sink or at the stove.

Hope you find this helpful!

I would not stagger the cabinets (tops or bottoms). The bottoms of my upper cabinets are about 15" above the countertop and I don't have any problem accessing the countertop or sink (remember that the upper cabinets are shallower than the lower ones). I'd recommend not getting a high-arch kitchen faucet, though.

You say that you are changing the layout but want to avoid purchasing new cabinets as much as possible. I think you need to tell us what is there now and what you are trying to achieve by changing things

I vote for no staggering of the cabinets. Line them up it looks much cleaner.

@Joe - “zero listening”? What?? The OP is not clear, and we are trying to figure out what she wants. The subject title says “Staggered Upper Kitchen Cabinets”, and the OP asks whether there is too much staggering going on. Her photo shows a plan that has almost every cabinet at a different height. But later she says she only has 1 cabinet at a different height of 42”.

Then she mentions a 30” cabinet or all 36” cabinets and a 10’ ceiling, none of which is reflected in her OP pic. She also said she is changing the layout. But is she? Are the sinks there now, or are they being moved? Do all her concerns stem from the prep sink in that location? Then why have it there at all? The mixed messages about staggered cabinet heights, whether the layout is changing or not, why the OP photo looks like every cabinet is staggered, what is going to be new and what won’t — all add up to I cannot follow. But Joe, your criticism is for the people trying to untangle this and help the OP avoid going down a rabbit hole? And for that matter, JOE, why haven’t you provided advice for the OP? Quick to troll, not quick to help.

This is a sunk costs fallacy issue at heart. People can’t bring themselves to start with a clean slate because they carry mental baggage about “wasting perfectly good cabinets” that just do not work in the space, and which severely box in the thinking of a layout that would be more beneficial. The a priori limitations on the design created by trying to reuse components usually creates a poor design. The very clear illustration of that is shown above.

The dollar bottom line is that starting a design with those limitations creates higher end costs than clearing the deck and starting over. Refinishing cabinets is never cost effective. You can buy new for that cost. It is too labor intensive to pay for what would take a year DIY. Buying new cabinets to match old ones is never cost effective because of the difference in appearance that aging causes. That color difference won’t bevacceptable once delivered, and more expensive to solve problems have been created by the sunk costs fallacy.

People tend to not believe that they are making a error to go this route. They hold on to the belief that something with no utility to the current needs has to be retained rather than discarded. But they are making a mistake that could be avoided. It doesnt have to take personal experience to teach this.

This is one reason to work with an experienced professional. They do thousands of jobs, and pretty quickly make many interesting and costly mistakes up front at the beginning of their careers. The ones still around after 15-20 years certainly haven’t made all of their design mistakes, but they’ve already learned enough from the big ones to help you avoid them.

This is the appeal of the Kon Mari craze. It frees people from the sunk costs fallacy. It does not matter what something cost you if it is not useful to you and getting used frequently. It is better to pass an unusable item along to someone who will find joy in its use. I’d suggest donating to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, and starting over with a good design pro. It is a win/win.

i am refinishing the cabinets for 3500, new cabinets would be 30-40k what are you talking about.

the bump out is a design element done by a kitchen designer, they designed the kitchen with newcabinets, but im just reusing mine, so i have to show you in my program how things work and no everythings not lined up perfect. i just was tryign to show a staggered sink cab and corner cabinet they are the only ones above the rest. but i will just leave the corner one staggered and do a molding over sink.

I'd just leave a blank space above the sink.

You are both way underestimating quality labor costs for redoing, and way over estimating replacement costs. You’ve been sold a bill of goods by someone.

$3400K won’t buy a craigslist drooler slapdash no prep paint job. A factory quality conversion varnish with the proper prep would start at more than double that price. Refinishing means sanding down to bare wood and starting over. It is never cost effective except for historical properties with original cabinets where cost is not in the equation.

You are a victim of you don’t know what you don’t know about multiple things.

We remodeled our kitchen with locally-built custom cabinets, quartz countertops, new flooring, and new appliances for $26K. It's a 10' x 11' U-shape.

Almost every one of our old cabinets got reused. They are now living a second life in our laundry room, family room, and garage; one neighbor's laundry room; another neighbor's garage. Even though they were not very functional in our kitchen, I felt better about reusing them.

@M Miller, maybe it's my super human computing skills but it was clear to me in the original post that OP didn't want to gut her kitchen, or save for years or be asked whether or not she should have a prep sink. She asked a question about the staggering and no one has really addressed it. That's zero listening, 100% pontification. She's an adult. She clearly came here with an idea ... her idea, her kitchen but the consensus (typical of Houzz) was no, I know better and if you didn't get that that's what I was pointing out, can't help ya!

To be honest, the staggering cabinets are not as desirable. I would keep the cabinets lined up. Keep us posted. I would like to see what you decide to do! :)

@Joe the question of whether the staggering has been addressed multiple times and it seems to me that the consensus is that it shouldn't be done. That said it is quite hard to tell what exactly is going on in this kitchen. The rendering depicts several places where the cabinets would have staggering heights yet the poster seems to think there's only one place that would have staggered heights. I asked to know what is going on in the kitchen to begin with since that would probably clarify what is actually being suggested but haven't received a response....