I would not decrease that distance below 17 or 18 inches.

Becky, have you considered using one cabinet that rests on your counter, and eliminating the rest of your uppers? I have two tall pantries, one stacked cabinet that will sit on the counter, and no other uppers planned. I could only use the bottom shelf completely anyway.

I hate uppers and I'm 5'5. I'm doing what eam suggested. A hutch cabinet extended to countertop. No other uppers

If you have sufficient counterspace consider putting them on the counter.

On one wall over the counter I have them at 16". On the other wall they are at 18" because it needs to be higher per the installation instructions for the gas stove. I would check:

• your stove installation instructions
• the height of anything that you want to store under the cabinet
• your local code (especially if you are contemplating selling the house in the future)

If you have a kitchen aid mixer make sure there is enough clearance when the head tilts up. I'm reducing my molding on my uppers to get more clearance.

I agree with using one or two cabinets that rests on the counter. It makes a huge difference. Also look at using drawers for your most often used items, and upper cabinets for those items used less often. We have our coffee mugs in the drawer below the coffee maker and stored our plates, bowls, etc. in in the cabinet that rested on the counter. Because the cabinet was deeper than a regular upper, most of my plates, bowls, etc resided in the space between the countertop and the bottom of most uppers.

Ours are all 16.5" and the KA mixer without the bowl lift works fine. We also have 28.5" deep counters. The cabs are 12" deep. I'd do a full scale cardboard mockup and find what will work for you that way. Knowing before ordering is worth the effort. We did the whole space that way and made small changes that were critical. Appliance stores or bikes shops have the cardboard.

I like keeping my counters clear, but I did measure the KA and coffee maker and found they would fit under a cab 16" above the counter. They would have to be pulled out for use, but they have to anyway with standard 18" above the counter cabs.

I realized I seldom use most of what is stored in my upper cabs. It's mostly extra sets of dishes and glasses my mother accumulated during the years she entertained frequently. I won't be bringing these things to a future home, and will probably only need one upper cab and maybe not even that.

You might consider downsizing things you don't use and finding space other than upper cabs for storage of what you need to keep.

My neighbor has her upper cabinets 13" above her countertop, but she also has some open counter space without any uppers. The uppers are 13.75" deep including the door. They only look a tiny bit low to me, since I'm barely 5'0. As far as functionality, it really depends on whether you need room for big mixing bowls on the counter or just a cutting board.

Nightowl's suggestion of lower countertops is a good one. I would do the countertops 2 inches lower than usual, at 34", although it might not be possible to do that everywhere, like over the dishwasher. Regardless of the counter height, I would do your uppers 15" or 16" above the counter. The shallower the cabinets are, the lower they can be without blocking too much of the counter.

I would check with local building codes for anything that would be either side of your range. Where I'm located, it is code to have 18" spacing (height) to any combustible within 18" of the range, and 30" min. to any combustible above the (electric) range.