Don't do low profile recessed lights.

I've thought of that but then I would have NO kitchen lighting except undercabinet lights. There is no electrical line to the center of the kitchen ceiling for a fixture. Currently it has a very dropped ceiling (it was considered a design feature back in the day) and a florescent fixture behind plastic panels. I'm not a fan of an exposed channel to bring a wire to a fixture. Any other ideas on lighting the kitchen?

15-1/2" is waaay too low. Functionality-wise, you won't be able to fit things like your coffee maker and mixer underneath. Where will you put those? Aesthetically, it will make your entire kitchen look cramped. If your ceiling is "very dropped" as you said, can you pull that out, and make the ceiling less dropped? Also, perhaps get a good licensed electrician to look at your kitchen to see whether it can be wired properly for lighting. You will regret 15-1/2" space, I guaranty it.

Your biggest mistake is thinking you need 41" for uppers. And I don't think you are thinking about the light rail correctly. You are talking about the rail that is attached to the bottom of the upper cabinets in order to hide the undercabinet lighting, correct? Standard distance from counters to bottom of upper cabinets is 18", which includes the light rail.

Use something other than Ikea that has more that just 2 heights of uppers.

I'm getting an estimate for non-Ikea 36 inch uppers which will be a good height, however more expensive and not the nice glossy grey-torquoise of the Kallarp doors I love. If only I could cut down the Ikea doors just a bit I'd have custom boxes made for the Ikea doors. Unfortunately the finish on the Kallarp isn't found anywhere else.

Shannon_WI I'm not worried about appliance usage or storage as I don't own a coffee maker and the mixer is always stored away. I have a huge counter top with no uppers that will be used for most prep. The current ceiling is very dropped and the contractor has already looked at what we can do to raise it - that is where I get the 2-3 inch drop for electrical work and lighting. There is no other way to run an electrical line through the concrete ceiling. I am, however, afraid you may be right that the 15 1/2 inches is too low but I really don't want to spend a fortune on cabinets I don't really like just over a couple of inches. I hope someone can help me think way outside the box to make something work. I find the 18 inch rule to actually have the cabinets hung too high (currently mine are at 17 inches and I think they are a bit high) What is the lowest you recommend I go?

I hope someone can help me think way outside the box to make something work.

I suggested you look at raising the ceiling a bit more. I suggested you speak to a licensed electrician to see what lighting options may be available. I suggested you consider a different cabinet height than 41" (though I think you meant 39"). I told you that you are not accounting for the light rail correctly from your description, though I am wondering if what you meant was the crown molding not the light rail, but who knows. Cpartist suggested you look at different lighting. GreenDesigns suggested you look at another cabinet company. You've rejected or ignored all of our advice. What the heck more suggestions do you want, and it looks like you won't accept any anyway.

Shannon_WI and all I am so sorry I offended you and everyone. I do appreciate the time you put in trying to help people and am not actually rejecting them. Please accept my apologies.

Your apology is very gracious and is accepted. I apologize that I was harsh. However, I don’t have more suggestions for you than what has been said already in this thread.

In my last kitchen there was just 16" from countertop to bottom of cabinets. It wasn't horrible, but it was annoying because the blender had to live in a cabinet and small things like the toaster and coffee grinder had to be pulled forward (clear of the cabinets) to refill/use them.

So when I replaced them I went with shorter uppers and I really like it. I always had an island here, and I've always done most prepwork at the island so I can't comment on if there is a massive difference in how it feels to work at these spaces with knife and cutting board ... but its nicer to make coffee and use the blender now. Sandk's suggestion of track lights is a good one, since I imagine you can't very well raise a cement ceiling!

Sandk

As you have a large prep area with no uppers, what would be happening on the counter below your uppers day to day? If the answer is not very much, or only things that would not be awkward to do with the lower uppers, then it would be a shame not to get the cabinets you love.

Could you mock up the lower uppers with a bit of cardboard and try it out to see how it feels before you commit?