Kitchen design dilemma - taller cabinets or bigger gap between countertop and cabinets?

[GruffaIo]

We're putting in a new kitchen. It's an old cottage and the kitchen extension space is small so storage is at a premium. Floor to ceiling is 226cm. We're planning for standard base units of 90cm (87cm plus 3cm countertop). There are recessed lights and we need about 2cm to guarantee any wall units can comfortably clear them when opening.

The dilemma is whether to put in 90cm wall units, which would leave 44cm between the countertop and the base of the wall units, or put in 72cm wall units, which would leave more space between the countertop and the base of the wall units plus a gap at the top. We'd probably fill that as I hate the way sticky dust seems to collect up there. In such a small kitchen this seems really wasteful. The additional storage of the 90cm wall units would really help but I'm concerned that the countertop workspace might feel too cramped.

Research online suggests that the gap between the countertop and the base of the wall units is usually recommended to be between 46cm and 50cm (depending where you check). Would we really notice 44cm? Has anyone installed tall cabinets before in a similar situation? Did you regret it? Or did you regret installing the shorter cabinets?

Hello, sorry a bit late to this post. Great suggestions here. PS Gruffalo what software did you use to sketch the kitchen? Thanks

@londondee Originally, I just did it on excel - setting up my own scale and using two different worksheets for top and bottom units.

When I started the process, DIY Kitchens' beta-testing for its kitchen planner had closed. It reopened when I was close to ordering so I used that, which is what you see on this thread. I found the kitchen planner quick and easy to use, but it did sometimes add / suggest extra end pieces, etc. that I didn't need for my particular build. You can edit the cart when you're done planning so I just carefully checked against what I needed.

I've kept my excel diagrams as they're really useful for scale for installation purposes. Our kitchen is scheduled to arrive for installation in about 2/3 weeks time.

Go for the lower height and use plinth on the top to fill the gaps

would it look ok to put my cupboards same height as the cooker extractor. I know the cupboards would been up to the ceiling and the gap from countertop would be a much bigger gab but I think it all would look much nicer them being all the same height. I’m just not sure and I know I would only be able to reach the first shelf but I don’t mind as long as it looks nice. I will put things on the top shelf’s that I don’t use much.