@C. If you felt comfortable with a 39" countertop mockup but feel you will be using a cutting board frequently in the sink, then at your height of 5'10", I think you could easily go up to 40" for your projected countertop height to raise the sink cutting board a little more. One inch looks like a lot on paper, but in reality it is a very small distance. Also remember that you may put anti-fatigue mats near the counters to relatively lower the counters based on your position standing on thick mats, and then make sure no mats are present at the sink in order to maximize the sink's height to you. As mentioned earlier, if you have a large kitchen, you may want to incorporate several different heights of countertops for different tasks. If you did that, then you could put the stretch of countertop that contains the sink higher than anything else. Most people don't have a large enough kitchen to make this plan feasible.
Remember that cabinetry installers could end up raising the countertops up to 1/2" with the shimming process to level everything, so count that into your cabinetry calculations. Yes, I have an apron-front workstation sink and actually haven't used the cutting board in it due to the relative ease of putting the cutting board on the countertop and the fact that the cutting board takes up too much room in my 42" wide sink next to the 18" wide strainer I leave in the sink at all times.
One thing we may not have discussed is that raising the countertops to the heights that we are talking about can incur exorbitant upcharges with some cabinetry suppliers. If you are facing resistance with the increased height, continue to shop around for a supplier who will charge reasonable fees to give you those few extra inches on the cabinetry height.
Given what you have told us about your severe back pain and your height of 5'10", I do feel that an apron-front sink would suit your purposes well. Since writing my previous comment to you, I have paid attention to how much I feel that my apron-front sink contributes to the ergonomics of my sink setup, and I really do feel that it is major. An apron allows you to stand right up next to it and to wash dishes almost right up next to your body, and that keeps you from leaning forward which is a primary cause of back pain in the kitchen. I also adjust my Brizo articulating faucets frequently to adapt to different tasks, and the articulating faucets are wonderful additions to the workstation sink.
@C. If you felt comfortable with a 39" countertop mockup but feel you will be using a cutting board frequently in the sink, then at your height of 5'10", I think you could easily go up to 40" for your projected countertop height to raise the sink cutting board a little more. One inch looks like a lot on paper, but in reality it is a very small distance. Also remember that you may put anti-fatigue mats near the counters to relatively lower the counters based on your position standing on thick mats, and then make sure no mats are present at the sink in order to maximize the sink's height to you. As mentioned earlier, if you have a large kitchen, you may want to incorporate several different heights of countertops for different tasks. If you did that, then you could put the stretch of countertop that contains the sink higher than anything else. Most people don't have a large enough kitchen to make this plan feasible.
Remember that cabinetry installers could end up raising the countertops up to 1/2" with the shimming process to level everything, so count that into your cabinetry calculations. Yes, I have an apron-front workstation sink and actually haven't used the cutting board in it due to the relative ease of putting the cutting board on the countertop and the fact that the cutting board takes up too much room in my 42" wide sink next to the 18" wide strainer I leave in the sink at all times.
One thing we may not have discussed is that raising the countertops to the heights that we are talking about can incur exorbitant upcharges with some cabinetry suppliers. If you are facing resistance with the increased height, continue to shop around for a supplier who will charge reasonable fees to give you those few extra inches on the cabinetry height.
Given what you have told us about your severe back pain and your height of 5'10", I do feel that an apron-front sink would suit your purposes well. Since writing my previous comment to you, I have paid attention to how much I feel that my apron-front sink contributes to the ergonomics of my sink setup, and I really do feel that it is major. An apron allows you to stand right up next to it and to wash dishes almost right up next to your body, and that keeps you from leaning forward which is a primary cause of back pain in the kitchen. I also adjust my Brizo articulating faucets frequently to adapt to different tasks, and the articulating faucets are wonderful additions to the workstation sink.