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

[jellybean30]

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!

@Bluntness100 what's your gap please?

I would definitely still align the top with the FF. I would just cut the cupboard above the FF in half so that the height is brought down by 20cm. That way, the gap reduces to 57cm.

I'm 5 10 and my husband is over 6 ft. We can reach the wall cabinet as it currently is, but it's not super effortless.

I agree it looks good with a greater height imo. definitely lighter and less cramped.

Are you going to spend the next ten years kicking yourselves? You say you don't mind using a step to access the cupboards, but that's no way to plan a kitchen. The tail is wagging the dog here. If you can't take the expense of swapping to tall cupboards, change the cupboard on top of the fridge freezer so everything can be put to a more usable height. But you need to establish the useable height and find a way of achieving it, rather than making everything line up with a very tall unit.

@purplesequins is there any way I could see a photo of your kitchen please? Possibly with a person or person height thing in it? I'm really frazzled by this whole thing and can't think straight - our units are up but the doors aren't so it's hard to imagine what it'll be like when finished.

Why did you go to IKEA?? You needed a more bespoke kitchen. You have limited yourselves a great deal. Get the bigger gap and out a shelf in underneath. I don’t think if will be great. Or buy a few new units. They are hardly expensive!

photo of the tidiest part

left is the cooker with cooker hood above.

What is your ceiling height, and how tall are your wall cabinets?

Modern houses often have a ceiling height of 2400mm

Wall cabinets 900mm high can be run (almost) to the ceiling and look fine (but you will not be able to reach the top shelf*)

This means the bottom of the wall cabinets is 1500mm above the floor

About 600mm above the worktop

Which is fine if you are average height or above. And you can put a modern boiler in one.

IMO less gap makes the worktop space look cramped

*You can get pull-down units that go inside the cabinet and bring the top two shelves towards you. Don't put anything on the top shelf heavy enough to hurt you if it falls on your head.

Just measured and ours are 54. It's a nice sized gap and any more and I wouldn't be able to reach the bottom shelf (we're not a particularly tall family)

P.s.

I previously had a house where the ceilings were 3600mm, and used the same 900mm wall units, but there was a huge space above, which accumulated knickknacks and grime. A row of additional doors, or a panel decorated to match the walls, would also have filled the gap. I believe that the tops of wall units, and tall units, should match.

Hi @PigletJohn the ceiling height is 240-250cm. The wall units are 60cm. The tall FF is currently 220cm, and I'm considering reducing the top cabinet down from 40cm to 20cm. Then still align with the top of the unit. The gap would reduce to 60cm. What do you think?

It's right to line up the top of all your units imo.
However the gap between the wall hung units and the worktop is typically around 60cm. So you will have a very big gap which wastes storage space.
You can either use taller cupboards, or you can put in a shelf under your wall hanging cupboards. Ikea do lots of hanging storage options so that could be an option if you like things on display.

I'm afraid I don't like the look of 600mm wall units and the gap above them.

Have you actually ordered or bought your stuff yet?

Ours is more like 45/47 - it's fairly ancient but I'm 5.3 and wouldn't want it that higher as it would rule out easy access (for me) to too many of the shelves!

There's a 60cm between mine, and that's high enough. I'm 6'3, and wouldn't want them any higher! I can just about reach the back of the top shelf in my wall cupboards without going on tippy toes. I think 77cm is a bit much.

@PigletJohn no gap above. Cut down the cabinet above the FF so that it's 20cm shorter. Then still align the top of the wall units.

I'd still go for 900mm wall units and run them close to the ceiling, all tops aligned. Your preference may differ. Have you bought them yet?

Hmm a 20cm tall cabinet above the fridge would be basically a large slot. You wouldn’t be able to keep much in it. Maybe a few large platters or trays. Anything small would get lost at the back.

Is it too late to swap the wall cabinets for longer ones? Or, could you use the existing cabinets, move them down and add top boxes on top of them, same as the fridge (but less deep obv) ?

I have unfortunately. IKEA carcasses and (very expensive) custom fronts. So a bit late to get new ones

OK, then consider a shelf underneath them for mugs, spices, elves.

I think you will rescue it if you put something beneath them along the wall but below the cupboards. You could have a little mug rack made, or a spice rack.

But they are essentially the wrong size and anything you do will be a compromise.

You need longer cabinets.

This isn't what you asked, but aren't you going to keep smacking your head on the extractor fan? It looks very low. I keep smacking my head on mine and I can't wait to refit the kitchen (previous owners were short!)

Extractor fan height in the photo is not real. It'll be ok.

Do posters not like the idea of cutting the cupboard above the FF, aligning the top, and therefore having the wall units 57cm above the worktop?

Too late to consider taller wall units, and I don't particularly want them anyway, as they seem a bit oppressive.

Extractor fan height in the photo is not real. It'll be ok.

Phew!