We are currently building a custom home with 10’ kitchen ceilings. Initially, we had similarly tall cabinets at close to 5’ in height. I requested a design change to have shorter stacked cabinets because I did not care for the look or function of the taller ones.

Yeah we are confused on what to do. Will 57” upper cabinet just look way to big? It’s not a small kitchen.

Our kitchen does not yet have the cabinets installed. It is an open room. I don’t think I would want to open such a tall cabinet door, but that may not bother you. It is less expensive to have taller cabinets than stacked cabinets.

We have a shed roof on our vacation house measuring 13’ at its highest. The kitchen ceiling is about 11’ high. Upper cabinets are a little over 38”. I think anything much over that would look top heavy and very difficult to reach. If you have a large kitchen, do you have space for added storage elsewhere?

I have 10' ceilings in my kitchen. Cabinets going to the ceiling would look weird and unbalanced. Sometimes, too much is just that, too much.

Are you sure you want an 11' island?

We know no matter what we wouldn’t use the top of the cabinets anyways really. Even if we did a 42” upper and 18” cabinet up top. To Marks point it’s cheaper for the cabinet maker to make one large box instead of 42” and 18” upper. Essentially this was our old house and the kitchen had 42” and 18” so it would be combing those two one cabinet.

Any thoughts about lowering the kitchen ceiling to 9'? It would make the cabinetry so much easier, and also make the kitchen less towering.

I just did a kitchen with 10' ceiling, but we did coffered and cabinets go to 9'. I love the look and the tall ceiling.

Do you find that above photo towering? That’s a 10ft ceiling. I know bring it down to 9ft would make it easier from a cabinet selection. We just didn’t want to bring it down to 9ft or have any bulkhead.

It will be very difficult to find a slab of any kind to fit your 11 ft island.

i would seriously think about cutting the length by a ft or a little more.

did your kd discuss this with you? My kd did not discuss this with me. My island was 10’1” and made it hard to find a big enough slab. Even jumbo slabs of quartz didn’t work. And not all quartz comes in jumbo slabs.

Sophie W always said that cabinets that are too tall are prone to warping. She also helped me determine the height of my cabinets. KD and I started out with 42” and 18”. Sophie talked me into changing to 39”, 18”, and 9“ crown and trim. She referred to this as a more “human scale”.

Sorry the island is 10ft not 11ft, this is the current design as of right now for the back wall of the kitchen.

If you are open to suggestions, ask the kitchen forum experts for advice On your design. I’m no expert but I did notice you have 20” between counter and cabinet. 18” is recommended.

We have 9' ceilings with 48" uppers plus space for crown. While I like them another 11" might make them a bit much. I apologize for the goofy pics. I don't have many that show the full height of the uppers.

@iloveredSee agreed it is being changed to 18”.

@aziline 48” don’t look over powering to me! I am also 6ft 5. But to your point another 11” is something I have not seen either and it may be to much.

@ILoveRed - I know that 18” to uppers is what’s typically recommended, but is there a clear reason why 20” doesn’t work? I chose to have 20” even knowing the customary default as I prefer the look and it fit with my 10’ ceilings. My under cabinet lights are extremely slim and barely visible so the extra height is not really an issue there. But I’ve never truly compared the difference - what am I missing by having them higher than normal?

@Brooklyn & @osman_: A backsplash height of 20” is perfectly fine. 18” is a guideline, based on the average height of the population, not a rule. I happen to have 39” high countertops and an 18” backsplash, which means the bottom of my uppers is actually 3” higher than normal.

osman - thanks! I almost did stacked but am glad I didn't. If I had 10' ceilings I'm pretty sure I would have.

As an aside, I know storage is wonderful, but it amazes me how much stuff we must acquire to need so much of it. Good suggestions here, and I’m sure your kitchen will be great!

Brooklyn: If you are under 5 feet tall like me, those extra 2" make a huge difference. I can barely reach my 2nd shelf. I have things stored in the third shelf and in the cupboards above that I haven't touched in years. I know designers say to think vertical, but, as you get older, climbing isn't practical. Osman: I think the best choice might be a tall box but two doors.

Forgot to mention that I am planning to take everything out of top cupboards and put frosted doors with led lights behind so they will be of some use. Kitchen is dark since I added an addition behind it.