Is there such a thing as a tall person kitchen?!

[CheriLittlebottom]

Ok, this is going to sound weird. I'm my defence I've been Corona'd for the last five days (not seriously) and there's been a lot of laying in bed musing idly.

Can you get kitchens in an extra tall fitting?! I'm quite tall, 5'11", and kitchen benches always feel about two or three inches too short to me. Washing up gives me backache because the bottom of the sink is too far away, so I'm bent over awkwardly the whole time. I'm guessing the standard bench height / under counter cupboard height is designed to fit shorter, average height women (because kitchens are for womaning in, obvs) which is why they don't work for me.

We will hopefully be knocking through / extending and creating a new kitchen diner from scratch in a few years. Can you get kitchens made taller? Or is it just one standard height and lump it? I guess a totally bespoke kitchen would be made however you want it but assuming you don't have bespoke kitchen money, is it possible? Or am I doomed to endure a minor worktop height annoyance forever?

I'd quite like the extra two inches cupboard space too.

Any other tall people have a kitchen that fits?!

Luckily DH and I are pretty much the same height so won't have to worry on that score.

Shorties on the thread have just reminded me of seeing my quite tiny MIL flip things out of her top cupboards with a BBQ fork. Ingenious and hilarious to watch!

I have a reaching step in my kitchen 😁

I did mention a step, blue, but she likes the challenge. Adds an exciting element of risk to getting a box of tea bags down, I suppose!

You definitely can.

I have one.

I am less than five foot tall.

I can't even reach the bloody bottom shelf.

Dp thought it was hilarious until he realised just how much higher everything was in our new kitchen (having moved house) than our old one and now doesn't find it so amusing that he has to climb the stepladder to put the shopping away too .

Whoever lived here before us was easily around the six foot range

You can. My ex was nearly 6ft 7, a foot taller than me. He got his cooker built in so it was normal height really, but it suited him as he didn't have to squash down too much to get things in or out. The work tops were a few inches higher but I could reach them so it was all very subtle.
He had a higher toilet and sinks and all in his house. The tall bathroom was very expensive if I remember correctly.

I'd love to be able to adjust the height of my kitchen, I'm a short arse and the kitchen is designed in such a way that I can only just reach the contents of the bottom shelf of the top cupboards.
Top tip for littlies put things in baskets as then you only need to be able to reach the front to pull things out even if it is with a pair of tongs 😂

My elderly parents had a high loo because of bad knees. That has to be all one piece, but kitchens can be multiple pieces- as pp said, the easiest is longer legs, taller kkckboards (with drawers for less used items). A future user could shorten the legs and trim the kick boards..

I’m 5’10”. The legs on my cabinets are at the highest height. Although, I don’t have wall cupboards as I have a walk in pantry.

I’m 6’ & have regular height units afaik - don’t have any back issues (but then I don’t bake, & don’t do much elaborate cooking either)

Our standard dishwasher only just fits under the worktop so I don’t think the legs under the units can be any higher than normal.

Sink is a regular inset one. A Belfast type would definitely be too low for me.

My brother is 6’6, SIL is 5’6, I think their kitchen was designed for her

IKEA kitchen units raised on a base. The 'normal' space between base and wall units. Also have built in dishwasher installed. Heaven to work in the kitchen. Remember to factor in the height of your worktop.

I'm 5'2 and I lived in a house once with a taller than average kitchen. The landlord and his wife had lived there and had it done to their height. She was 6ft, he was 6'4.
It was a disaster for me.
Even my current kitchen (renting) which I'd say is average height feels a little high.

Keep the one you've got and just dig a trench by all the work surfaces.

You're welcome

*i am spending too much time indoors at the moment.

Yes. My mums had hers lowered so can be done both ways

Yeah and it would annoy me and put me off buying the house if you wanted to sell in the future

Yes. We have one. Last owners made everything high. I’m 5’2” and need a step for the kitchen, the utility and the wardrobes. It’s a nightmare.

Yes you can, we bought a house that had a “tall” kitchen. I hated it at 5ft 3! Was bloody glad we moved within 3 years. It was a beautiful expensive bespoke one. Too lovely to replace but bloody horrible for me to use.
DH on the other hand loved it at 6ft 3.

In our current house we compromised and it suits us both well.

On judging by the number of short people on here who have ended up with the last owners' tall kitchen I'll take my chances!

It's a 15-20 year house for us so will definitely be putting in a kitchen that suits me, now that I know I can.

I think Nobilia might do them (Or Nolte, can't remember which I'm afraid).

I saw an interesting thing in one catalogue about different heights- idealy the hob should be lower as your working height is the top of pan level, your general worktop should be intermediate height and your sink should be higher as the work area is down in the sink.

You'd need a carefully thought out layout to make that look sensible but the concept was interesting.

@Bluewavescrashing Lol

I would also suggest Ikea.
There is extra storage space in their carcasses compared to standard units, their standard size plinth is only 8cm tall. They sell a drawer front that is 20cm high. I am sure that a good fitter could create a frame for fitting drawers into the plinth thus raising your worktop height an extra 12cm more than standard.

I want to visit a tall person kitchen! It would be like visiting the land of the giants as I'm 4’ 10”

My top cupboards go all the way to the ceiling and I can reach fuck all. Cant see in tall pots on the hob either! I do all cooking prep at the kitchen table as the worktops are just too high. It'd be an unusable kitchen for pretty much anyone else if I had it at my height though.

You can also use a thicker worktop than normal to add an extra 5cm or so.

Yes DIY kitchens come in two heights.

Yes! We got our kitchen from Next 125 for this reason. I’m 6’0 tall and we got the extra height worktop as we are all tall. I love it, plus it’s that little bit of extra storage!

I didn't think of this until after the kitchen was installed, but fortunately it worked out ok. I recall a shorter kitchen in a childhood home though!

watchpoints for taller people and those who don't want to bend too much:

• no butler sink, instant backache
• consider a wall mount xpelair type extractor, not a fugly muck trap of a hood extractor. The latter are great head bashers and also really noisy unless you spend big bucks.
• check that the worktop extends a little beyond the units so when you clear up crumbs, you can catch them rather than having them drop straight on the floor. (we didn't spot this one)
• there are a couple of big free standing fridges on the market, we had a custom cupboard made to lift a version of this one up so no bending, there's a drawer beneath it for rarely used stuff. As there are so few around, the space will also fit an integrated fridge if this one conks out and we can't replace it. (don't go integrated if there's a choice, less space/more money/heavier door)

www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/k3130/liebherr-k3130-comfort-freestanding-fridge

(this one does have a design-by-dickhead in the split salad drawers, but we knew about that. BTW our is less flash and was cheaper but well worth it)

• you can have the oven set at pretty much whatever height you want, we did catch that one and so it is perfect for both of us. The fitter can just cut filler panels as needed.