I have no idea why you would recess the sink areaa t all. As for the cabinets I think you have to be careful the trim and fascia are in proprotion to the cabinets. IMO 18” from counter to bottom of upper is the absolute min. and I like 22” much better . I think you should do a 36” and an 18” upper cabinet combo. BTW all your base cabinets should be drawers

I have 10’ ceilings and I originally had different proportions in my stacked cabinets. I felt my proportions were somehow unbalanced and off.

I had my kd change them to these proportions with the help/advice of Sophie and one of the other KDs on the kitchen forum.

My cabinets start 18" off my counter. My uppers are 42" and 18" with a 6" crown.. My ceilings are also 10'.

I completely disagree with Patricia that the space between the counter and uppers should be 22". That may be fine if you're 6' tall but I'm 5'3" and if they were higher, I would have trouble even reaching the first shelf.

I dunno...when one has 10-foot (or higher ceilings) and wants to know what to do with upper cabinets, the first thing that comes to my mind is: how tall are you?

Second thing that comes to mind is: just how much stuff do you want to store in the kitchen?

Why in world would anyone pay for operable upper cabinets beyond 42" tall, unless the individual is seven feet tall or can safely use a tall step ladder and enjoys frequent climbs?

Sure it looks good, but how much do you want to pay for looks?

Often, it may be much more economical and much more functional to simply have a drop soffit (perhaps designed with some interesting up-lighting) and stick to cabinets which are usable day in, day out.

Of course, I could be wrong. It's happened...

I think that unless one is dealing with a very large, older home, a 10' ceiling is way too high for a kitchen - for most rooms, in fact.

I have 8 ft ceilings and 36" cabinets and I must get a small step stool to reach things on the top shelf- even the middle shelf is a reach; I'm about 5'4" tall.

I cannot fathom why anyone would pay to store anything in such an inaccessible place as above 42" cabinets. It's down right dangerous getting anything down from that high up while on a ladder.

In the end, kitchen cabinets must function as a place to store the dishes/pots/pan/ingredients one needs in a kitchen. They are not a showroom of some sort.

Good points! I have 10-foot ceilings and very much like the increased spatial qualities, plus the fact that in hot south, central Texas it makes cooler living more enjoyable.

But high ceilings pose special design challenges for kitchens, as Anglophilia has noted. As a result, it may often be a better design solution to think creatively a little longer and a little more outside the box than simply loading the upper cabinets to the ceiling where Shaq O'Neil would have a hard time safely reaching on a frequent basis.

This may or may not be a good suggestion, and apologies if you've already considered (and subsequently rejected) the idea, but....

Delete all of the uppers! Bye-bye squatty kitchen, hello windows! :-D

[I'm weird, though.... Obviously.... lol]

We are a tall family. Our new build has 10' ceilings which seem to have ended up even higher according to measurement. I have double stacked upper cabinets. The space between my lower and upper cabinets is approx 19" I just measured it yesterday. I love the light and airy feeling a higher ceiling provides. I also won't be accessing the double stack portion of my cabinets on a daily basis but am happy to have them to store non daily items and to not have empty tops of cabinets. I do not think my cabinets look our of proportion.

Why in world would anyone pay for operable upper cabinets beyond 42" tall, unless the individual is seven feet tall or can safely use a tall step ladder and enjoys frequent climbs?

My uppers are mostly glass and will house vases and other decorative items I would prefer not being handled. I have lights in those uppers and at night, I can light them and enjoy looking up at my colorful glassware and other items.

Sure it looks good, but how much do you want to pay for looks?

I know I went back and forth with the idea of dropping the ceiling in the kitchen to 9' but decided to keep it more "grand" so it followed the lines of the living room. Luckily I found a great Mennonite place that didn't charge me an arm and a leg for the glass cabinets above.

If I had to go with the builder's choice, (Shiloh), I would have dropped the ceiling gotten rid of the glass uppers.

And like Virgil mentions, it feels cooler having the higher ceilings.

In the end, kitchen cabinets must function as a place to store the dishes/pots/pan/ingredients one needs in a kitchen. They are not a showroom of some sort.

I'm lucky that I have ample room so most of my used stuff is actually stored in drawers. Including my everyday dishes.

On the top shelf in my cabinets, I store those serving pieces I use 1 or 2x a year. And yes, I have a 4 step stool.

I bring these points up to show that each of us is different and we should do what works for us.

Well...as CPs pictures clearly show a kitchen can be practical and a showroom. And all without a soffit.

instead of a lecture on what we should and shouldn’t do, how about trying to help the OP with her specific question. Why must every post turn into an opportunity to school the rest of us ignorant folks?

it gets really tiresome.

Your kitchen is beautiful CP.

Just use a 42 inch, 18 inch upper and crown the remainder with a normal 18 inch back splash.

Sure it looks good, but how much do you want to pay for looks?

I've been in many many homes where I thought someone should have paid a bit more for looks (or found a better designer / architect as better looks doesn't always cost more). Aesthetics (furniture, buildings, landscaping, street and streetscape design, urban planning) can have a huge affect on our mental/emotional well being, especially when its a place we spend time every day. We use to know this but began to forget it. Fortunately we're very slowly beginning to pay attention to it again.

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OP, as others above said, if you use your kitchen rather than simply have one as a showpiece then pay attention to function first and only then to form but without negatively impacting function. A good kitchen is a workspace. It should function well above all else. Make sure the things you use (or will use) most are easy to access and put away if they don't stay out.

Personally I prefer more space between counter and uppers, shallower uppers, or no uppers. I want open space between my eyes and the counter space. Not all counter space gets used this way though so in those instances 18" (with good lighting underneath) is likely sufficient. My wife is shorter than I and wants some specific items in uppers that she can easily reach. Our new kitchen has some 18" and some 22".

I've been in a couple of kitchens with no uppers and quite like them. All that was typically in uppers was in drawers or for a few items (glasses, etc.) lined up neatly on shelves. These kitchens do indeed feel much more open and that's a great feeling.

Our highest cabinets are used for things that are rarely used and we've found that what goes up there then gets used even less as it's a pain to find the step ladder to get stuff down. A scullery or pantry can have a track ladder that makes this massively easier or can have an easy place to store a safe step stool.

Thank you everyone! The kitchen has been framed at 10' tall and the window header heights are set. I am looking into ceiling treatments today to see what patterns will 'bring down' the feeling of this tall space.

I do like kitchens with no uppers but the architect did not design any sort of pantry in my kitchen- which I should have caught- because I like to garden and preserve my food. So I think I need quite a few of the uppers I have. I'm going to redesign today and post the outcomes. I'll try a few options 1) with uppers split at the heights Ilovered, janmoyer and other suggested (thank you very much!!), 2) pushing back the uppers by the window (decreasing their width) to reduce the 'visual weight' of the uppers, and 3) having a single upper that is reduced in overall height. BTW- I do have a location for a handy 4 step ladder that is conveniently located in the kitchen.

I have quite a bit of kitchen gear including china sets and pieces that are not used often but have sentimental value so I will be keeping them. The idea was to have items that were rarely used in these uppers- and to light up the glass ones- as several of you suggested. I've already received quotes for the stacked uppers- so I am aware of the increased cost.

Thank you very much and I'll post some options later today!

Hello,

Can someone tell me where the kitchen design tool that produced the drawings above can be found? Is it available on this website somewhere?

Thanks in advance.

Yes you go to a kitchen designer and work closely with them and they will produce drawings like that.