We went with no toe kicks except at sink area and love the look have no regrets.

Most people want them. Take your current kitchen and fill in the toe kick space with boxes. See how you like it, functionally. Consider that this area could get beaten up a bit, depending on who/how often it is used.

We have apartments where there is still the old metal sink bases with no toe kick. I hate working at them when I turn the apartments over between tenants. You have to reach further away from your body as you work at the counters. Toe kicks are an ergonomic design.

Preference may be based simply on how tall you are and how long your arms are. I am barely 5’2” with proportional-length arms. I hate the no-toe-kick style as it kills my back to work at the sink/counters.

Hi there! I had the same conundrum so my husband and I (tall and short) tested out the no toe kick option with molding in the old kitchen for a day or so. We felt no difference in comfort. Here’s our unfinished current remodeled kitchen which is almost complete. The furniture molding detail at the bottom of the cabinets is really the icing on the cake. Little details like this - this was a few hundred dollars upgrade - can make a huge impact and make your kitchen customized how you want it.
I’m a big fan of Devol and other European style kitchens with minimal or no backsplash, no upper cabinets, no tick kicks. I have a wall of pantry cabinets for storage.

Thanks. We my husband is tall and I am short - so that was my worry. I was going for the European look - Martin Moore and Devol are favourites. I'll try the suggestion from to try it with blocks of wood. Did you do with toe kicks anywhere - such as at the sink?

Any comments on the durability. I read some do not like the dings from mops.

I think there will be more dings without the toe kick than with it. But if it concerns you, you can always put in metal kick plates.

Yes, we did without toe kicks everywhere. That’s a good point from YK about durability - I may ask our flooring installer to add 3/4” round shoe molding to the base cabinet molding to act as a buffer for vacuum cleaners, mops etc.

I have toe kicks, and even they get scuffed. I cannot imagine what the bases would look like with no toe kicks.

I can definitely see the validity to both viewpoints - it is a bit of form vs function in this detail. The same can be said for countertops, yes marble does show age but is still beautiful - I had it for ten years and loved it and I’m putting honed marble in my new kitchen again - installed this week, can’t wait! But people who are more sensitive to wear and tear should opt for a more practical approach to their design whether it be countertops or toe kicks. Do what feels right for you, it is YOUR kitchen. :). By the way, now I’m curious to when toekicks esp in America started to be a “thing”? Anyone know?

Toe kicks for sink and main food prep area. Other. places it doesn't matter as much but it is best to be uniform.

I am not a pro, but I've had cabinetry both with and without that recessed toe kick area. Personally, I like having the open space for my feet in the areas where I stand and prep or wash up. However, if you like the look of cabinets without that recessed toe area, you can use that "built-in" trim around the base of your cabinets in the places where it might make more sense to have a furniture-type of look. In your example, I would say you might put a recessed area in the white cabinets because they are more of a working space. Then you could keep those base trim pieces on the wood-toned cabinets because those are trying to look like more of a furniture-type of cabinet.

I am average height but have big feet (thanks, Mom!) so without toe kick space I would be reaching out much farther than most. I also spend a lot of time working in the kitchen so for me any design feature that can make that time even a little more comfortable is going to win out over something pretty. But not everybody is in the same boats (pun intended).

I have pretty small feet (women's size 6), and I hate my bathroom cabinet without a toe kick. For me, there's no way I'd do kitchen cabinets without them. I smack my toes against that bathroom cabinet about twice a week. It's pretty, but never again.

I guess Idk why you would not want toe kicks. They have the advantages in a kitchen that are described in the posts here. This is not living room furniture. It’s kitchen cabinetry. You will be cooking, you will be prepping, you will be having others in the kitchen also having to stand at the counter. When I see the OP’s pic of a kitchen without toe kicks, it seems visually off to me and out of place. I don’t see why a person wants this in their kitchen other than to say I am being different. But there’s a price for that.

Another yes for toe kicks. Especially if you have painted cabinets, they’ll be nicked up before you know it. I even kick the toe kicks sometimes when I’m cooking, so I can’t even imagine without. Lol

I have toe kicks on my perimeter cabinets and none on my island. I don't find much difference. But my husband who has big feet never works at the island.

I'm going to throw a wrench in this customization dilemma: toe kicks WITH PULL OUT STORAGE. I've never had a problem with kitchens sans toe kicks, but I'm a shorty and I fell in love with a kitchen that had a step stool hidden in their pull out toe kick. So much easier than running to the closet mid holiday cooking frenzy to get a platter.

I vote for toe kicks. My feet use the space when I'm working at the counter. We don't have them on the ends of our peninsulas and if I'm working there, I'm forever stubbing my feet against the cabinets or I have to turn my feet sideways, which is not comfortable for more than a few short minutes.

Keep in mind that if you go with no toe kicks, then you will have to build a no-toe kick look for your DW as well -- they're designed to have a toe kick. If you don't, it will look "off".

Something else to consider -- we have an HVAC register under the cabinets on one side, I would not like the look of a register sitting in front of the cabinets. The toe kick hides it nicely.

Second Seregiel! Yes! Toe-kick drawers!!!

See this thread: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2691330/toe-kick-drawers#n=27

@Buehl Good point about the HVAC registers! My first time building a house, I remember the builder mentioning to me that he liked to put the HVAC registers in the toekick under the kitchen sink. Apparently, his wife had requested it when he built their house and they loved it. During a cold midwestern winter, that would certainly make the dishwashing chores more pleasant!

My kitchen isn't even done yet, and the side panels already have scuff marks (I blame kids). I can't imagine what the fronts would look like if they didn't have extra space. Plus, I can't say I like the look. My furniture has legs, not trim, so I think having toe kicks looks more like furniture than having molding to the floor. OTOH, I like the look of side panels without cutouts for the toe kick, because it looks more 'finished' to me.

I thought Euro style was more about full inset cabinets, and maybe having "legs," rather than avoiding toe kicks altogether?

I'm seconding a toe kick heater if you live in a cold climate. It's heaven on earth to have that thing blowing on me in the winter in NY!

The heater is nice. I have a heat vent under my sink in the toe kick. I live in central Canada and our winters are brisk (-15 to -25 Celsius). Thanks to everyone for their input on the toe kick. I did not ask for no toe kicks - it was a suggestion from the designer. I can see there is no need for a toe kick with the tall cabinets but based on all the comments need to add them to the work areas. I agree the European cabinets all have them so toe kicks would not take away from the look. I like things to look to nice but as commented above...it is a kitchen and needs to be functional.

My designer may have been influenced by Tom Howley kitchens.

I like having decorative accents on the toe kicks, like this:

Toe Kick Trim Detail with Arched Valance · More Info

Dill Project · More Info

This gives a "furniture" look as well as providing a space for your feet while you're working.

I can tell you if you actully use your kitchen those pretty toe kicks will need some work very soon that space takes a beating all the time , when you mop the floor or vacuum thet get hit , if you wear shoes in the house thet hit that spot. IMO as far as Europen look I would say 50/50 for toe kicks and if by European more traditional design that is also 50/50 . We spend a lot of time in Europe and most of our friends have very contemporary kitchens that get used a lot except in Paris where our friends never cook.

I vote for toe kicks as well, especially at the sink and other work areas in the kitchen. Also, if you grew up with toe kicks, then live in a house without toe kicks, you'll have some hard time adjusting.

My floors were just installed and I had them add a shoe molding to help protect from vacuums, etc. I know most would prefer toe kicks, but for those who don’t (like me) - here’s a pic of the furniture detail plus shoe molding:

I lived without toe kicks in my kitchen for several months and was relieved when I finally installed them. Crumbs and dust inevitably accumulate under anything that cannot be easily cleaned.

If you prefer the extra "toe" space, you can recess them farther than the typical distance. Mine are 4" tall and recessed 4". DH and I never actually "kick" them, but they keep the under-cabinet area from becoming a dust-bunny-crumb graveyard.

look closely at urchinsushi's latest pic -- there's that suddenly prominent HVAC register! woot? also curious to know how things were handled under the dishwasher.

Yes, the register is noticeable - but it’s necessary since it’s a renovation and not new construction. Doesn’t bother me at all, but the long 4” crevasses underneath base cabinets do bother me which is why I don’t have toekicks. By the way the trim stops at the dishwasher as seen in the first pic I posted before my floor was installed. I do like the couple of pics earlier of the inset cabinets with the legs or open trim - that seems to be a good compromise between form and function.

Toe kick for me. For some reason, our house accumulates dust rather easily, and I would not want to have to constantly clean under that low of a cabinet. In our house, cabinets are either floating with ample space underneath or all the way to floor with toe kick. In our kitchen, they are all the way down to floor with toe kick.

I detest toe kicks. I grew up in a home with no toe kicks. My dad had built the cabinets himself. I just hate the way that they collect grime and dirt underneath and are so much harder to clean IMHO.

I'm going with no toe-kicks. I stood at my kitchen island which doesn't have one and it was fine. I then stood at my sink cabinet which does have a toe-kick and if I position my feet such that just the toes extend into the toe-kick, I feel like I'm falling backwards. Also, I'm done with having to get down on my hands and knees to clean the toe-kick part of the cabinet.

I still like them. LOL, I wear size 14 shoes. With feet this size the toe kick is almost a necissity.