Mine is 14" deep, full overlay, and fits everything I want to store. Dinner plates, pasta bowls, cereal bowls, both sized of drinking glasses, mugs, etc.

I think you'd be more than fine with 15".

Hi Alexx- glad u like it, mine is 15 1/4 deep. I feel that is plenty. I think 18" might be too much. Might not be enough counter in front of it, to acheive the look.Unless you are going for a total hutch seperate furniture look, where this peice is by itself- and not paired with another -like mine, than in that case, I think 18" would be okay.

Forgot to add, that mine is 29 1/2 wide- so almost 30", which I think is needed to have glass wide enough for 2 doors, to visually see the glasses, mugs,etc. Are you doing just one of these cabinets by itself, or 2 like mine??

I wish I had room for two but right now,it's just one as the anchor end of a galley kitchen. We're opening up a wall and adding a wall of pantries but I think i'll miss the glass doors that I currently have and, love the look of these types of cabs--just don't want to give up practical storage space (at 18") but if 15 is enough and the counter showings nice then I'm good wi 15.

Michelle16--totally unrelated but what is the overhang on both your regular counters as well as the island where you have the turquoise chairs?

Breezy girl--also a beautiful cabinet. How wide is it? We're your cabinets custom or semi custom?

Thanks you both

Michelle16, I have a layout posted a couples pages into the forum "kitchen advice please transitional shaker kitchen for family". Would love your comments! I have proposed a wall of pantries. I wonder how those would look grey like yours.

We have an 18" x18" which is perfect for large serving bowls.

Here's another photo-taken after we dumped stuff in there and before we organized!

Thanks, Alexx. My cab is 24" wide by 14" deep.

Hi Alexx- the overhang on the island is i beleive 15". The counters are standard for inset which If i remember correctly is 1 inch. I think with an overlay door, you do more of an overhang to accommodate the cabinet door sticking out. I will measure, to make sure. Are you doing inset as well??

@michelle16: I think we are doing frameless overlay (not inset). I wonder what the minimum overhang is to still work for sitting???
@ breezygirl: thanks for the measurements--I'm thinking 24 or 27 wide; will need to think about how deep based on items and the counterspace needed.
@1929spanish: THANK YOU for your photos, that helps me compare the counterspace difference to breezygirl.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

@michelle16: I think we are doing frameless overlay (not inset). I wonder what the minimum overhang is to still work for sitting???
@ breezygirl: thanks for the measurements--I'm thinking 24 or 27 wide; will need to think about how deep based on items and the counterspace needed.
@1929spanish: THANK YOU for your photos, that helps me compare the counterspace difference to breezygirl.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Here's what Buehl writes about counter overhang for seating:

"The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) recommends a minimum seating overhang (clear space) of:
Table-height seating (30" high): 18" overhang
Counter-height seating (36" high): 15" overhang
Bar-height seating (42" high): 12" overhang

From personal experience, I think these are excellent recommendations. I have sat at 12" overhangs at counter-height and found them too shallow. We have 15" and it's OK, but my DH would have liked 18". We have friends w/a 12" counter-height overhang and I find it uncomfortable to sit at for any length of time. I have to sit sideways or "straddle" the peninsula or sit far from the counter edge. None of those is comfortable. My DH won't sit at it at all b/c he finds it much too uncomfortable. (I'm 5'10" & my DH is 6'5".)"

-----------------------------------------------

My overhang is 17", and I find that to be almost perfect. Like Buehl, I'm not comfortable with 12". As an tall-ish adult, I can sit for extended periods of time at our counter stools with ease.

I am 5'3" but with long legs for someone my height ... We have 15" counter height overhang and I find it very comfortable. My knees are nowhere near the back and do not hit the corbels either. Anything over 10" (I think) needs support under the granite, whether that be corbels, or other type of support. We do use backless stools however, which may make a difference. Our KD (or our granite guy?) tried to convince us to use less, but I insisted on 15" overhang based on the excellent information I received here.

I am admiring all of the glass cabs in this thread, BUT I am wondering why most of you have opted out of interior lighting and glass shelves....

My cabinet is about function - dish storage, not display. The photo you see was taken while we were waiting for two additional shelves and had stuff crammed in there.

We happen to have dishes we like to show, but cabinets weren't lighted in the 20's, and we didn't think it was necessary to light them now. That whole wall plus the two small cabinets on either side of the sink are glass.

I plan to use glass that is textured and obscures the contents of the cab. The cabinet that will serve as a bar will have retractable "pocket" doors and a mirrored back. Glass shelves are appropriate for this application because solid shelves would not allow the light to illuminate the cab from top to bottom.

Wy didn't I do lighting and glass shelves in my hutch?

I was my own GC on a whole house reno, dealing with some difficult subs, have two young children and a DH who works long hours and travels very often, and was helping my Dad through prostate cancer surgery and radiation. I was a bit overwhelmed. When I changed the layout of the rooms in the main part of the house, including moving the kitchen, halfway through the reno, I was just happy to have a dish hutch in the new kitchen space!

The lighting plan for the house was a major thorn in my side. I didn't know what to put where and struggled for some time with it. Learning how to light a large cabinet with shelves seemed just too much for my stuffed and stressed out brain. I knew it was expensive and complicated to do so. I was already over budget on so many items and decided that lighting the cab wasn't a priority.

Like 1929Spanish, I knew this cab would be functional for storage not for pretty display. Besides, I'm not sure how all the dishes and glass would look lit. I don't think I'd like it much. Why highlight my boring stuff? My kitchen isn't about sparkly, shiny, glam areas everywhere you look.

Sorry for the long explanation! HTH!