Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Wall cabinets 77cm above worktop - is this too much (with photo)?

70 replies

jellybean30 · 05/12/2021 08:14

Our new kitchen is being built and I'm having a panic about the distance between the wall units and the worktop. It's 77cm.

The wall units are only on the left side and the top of them align with the fridge freezer. The FF has a little cabinet on top of it. See photo. The cabinet is 40cm tall.

Is 77cm too big a gap? We're both tall and I don't mind using a step to access the higher shelves within the wall cabinets. I just don't want the kitchen to look odd. The ceiling is very high so that's not an issue.

Help!

Wall cabinets 77cm above worktop - is this too much (with photo)?
OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 05/12/2021 08:17

That seems mad. There is only a 50 cm gap with ours. Any higher and the cupboards would look daft and be unusable.

CrumbsThatsQuick · 05/12/2021 08:19

can't really tell from the angle of your picture ir it look odd. what is the normal distance?

billysboy · 05/12/2021 08:21

issue is acces to the cabinets and whats in them , imagine standing in front of a cupboard that height
For someone 5 '11 the bottom of the cupboard is around eye level with the bottom of the wall unit so anything in the cupboard will be above eye level

In a big open space it may not look odd but you need it to work for you

Newnormal99 · 05/12/2021 08:21

Mine are 59 (and mine are the shallower wall units)

That's a really nice gap to make it feel spacious - I didn't want cabinets coming right down.

I think 77 is too high.

JustWonderingIfYou · 05/12/2021 08:22

Sorry I think that will look awful. They will start over 5ft from the ground? They'll be over a lot of peoples head.

That whole corner looks a bit pokey, do you need the wall cupboard on the cooker wall?

ItsSnowJokes · 05/12/2021 08:22

Why don't you get the extra tall wall units and then they can be lower?

Original poster
jellybean30 · 05/12/2021 08:33

It's being fitted so it's a bit late now to get different units. The alternative is to not have the top cabinet in the FF, or make it a smaller cabinet, and have the wall cabinets lower down. If the whole cabinet were removed, the distance would become 37cm - too small. So maybe make it a half cabinet? So 57cm gap.

All this would be very expensive so I want to make sure it's the right thing to do!

OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 05/12/2021 08:35

If they are going up then I think I would be tempted to put a shelf underneath sort of set in a bit for things you need to reach easily- tea caddy, mugs etc.

billysboy · 05/12/2021 08:41

they dont have to line up with the tall unit at the top

ItsSnowJokes · 05/12/2021 08:42

Are you planning on staying for a very long time? So you will probably be replacing the kitchen whole you still live there? If so do it how you want. If not and you will be selling in 5-10 years then you probably need to make them lower.

ItsSnowJokes · 05/12/2021 08:42

*while

purplesequins · 05/12/2021 08:49

we have that and it's fine (family of tall people)
the bottom of the top cabinet is eye height for me (with 5.9 the smallest in the family). I can reach all 3 shelves.

I like that it makes the worktop feel light and airy.

Original poster
jellybean30 · 05/12/2021 08:49

We're staying here forever Grin can't face moving again!

It's not that I think this design is great for us and am just worried about selling. I'm concerned about the aesthetics and utility of the design, now that it's up. I wish IKEA had told me it was problematic during the design stage!

OP posts:
Original poster
jellybean30 · 05/12/2021 08:50

@purplesequins what's the distance between your cabinets and worktop?

OP posts:
Userevermore · 05/12/2021 08:53

As pp says you could put something there such as a shelf or maybe a utensil hanging thing to make it look less of a gap

purplesequins · 05/12/2021 08:53

75cm

tickingthebox73 · 05/12/2021 08:55

You have basically bought the wrong size wall units....

They often come in a "short" and "tall" versions. You need the tall versions to give a 50cm gap and line up with the top of the tall cupboard.

77cm gap is too big. 50cm is normal.

If you are stuck with these units I'd go 50cm gap and make them shorter than the tall cupboard. But you really need to get the taller wall units for it to look right.

LizzieSiddal · 05/12/2021 08:57

It does look better lined up to the FF, as it’s quite a tight corner. So if the height suits you then go for it and as others have said but a shelf along there so there ain’t such a huge gap between worktop and wall unit.

purplesequins · 05/12/2021 08:58

I also like that I can use the kitchen machine with all attachments without pulling it forward.

we are considering replacing the knifeblock with magnets on the stainless steel splashback.

saleorbouy · 05/12/2021 09:01

We raised the gap from the worktop to the wall cabinets as we wanted to balance the kitchen height with the overall room height.
IKEA has 1000mm cabinets that might help balance the overall design for you.
I suppose you need to balance aesthetics with function. Why don't you and your DH measure your normal reach and max reach to find an appropriate height.
Has the height in your design been set to mirror the top of the tall cabinet by the door?

museumum · 05/12/2021 09:05

Are the units fixed to the wall? If not but you can’t exchange them move then Dian and get some nice boxes to go on top for rarely used items.
If they’re already up then as a PP said I think you need a shelf or so under the units - for mugs or mason jars / spices etc.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 05/12/2021 09:07

ticking is correct, cabinets usually come in two heights, you have the taller height one for that end cabinet larder cabinet and you should therefore have the taller wall units to match in at the top.

Mine is an Ikea kitchen so looking at their website, the tall cabinets are either 200cm or 220cm.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 05/12/2021 09:08

The normal gap for a worktop to a wall cabinet is 50cm.

Userevermore · 05/12/2021 09:10

Easiest and cheapest if you are happy with the cupboards is to put a shelf there

Bluntness100 · 05/12/2021 09:12

Mine is like this, the cabinets line up with the fridge freezer, in real life it looks fantastic and makes the work tops much more usable as you’ve space underneath. The image makes it look like it’s massive, but it’s really not.

Defintely go for it. It makes your kitchen look more spacious too, with everything not so crammed.

Our fitters recommended it, and actually they demonstrated both, they were great guys, and lining up was defintely they way to go.

I think the image is misleading people.