99.5" kitchen ceiling - what height wall cabinets (36" vs 42")

last year

Hi! We are redoing our kitchen and getting rid of the current soffits (yesss), which will leave a ceiling height of 99.5". We will be doing a (slim?) shaker style (either white or light green cabs) with white countertops in a L-shape, with only base cabinets on the "peninsula".

My question is: should we do a 18" (or 19") backsplash with 42" wall cabinets, leaving space for a ~3" crown? Or would a 20" backsplash with 36" wall cabinets, but that would leave 7.5" for crown molding (which obviously changes the look of the space). I worry that any higher of a backsplash height will make it hard to reach even the bottom shelves of the upper cabinets

Of note, our kitchen itself is not very big (only 11'x13') but it leads into a 10'x10' breakfast area with a high vaulted ceiling and skylight. Thanks so much!

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Comments (4)

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Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
I like cabinets as close to the ceiling as possible and I also like the space from counter to bottom of upper cabinets to be higher than the standard 18" So I often make the uppers 20" from the counter then you would only need minimal trim at the top so 20" backsplash 42" cabinets and the rest in a simple trim to match the cabinets
Holly
Original Author
last year
Thank you! This was my goal vision (20” backsplash height with 42” upper cabs) because I think having a lot of space for molding with 36” cabs is going to overpower our space. But I keep hearing about how ceilings are never level and don’t want to run into a scenario where the top trim is 1” in some places and 1.5” elsewhere. 😬
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I think you'll get opinions all over the place. It really depends on your kitchen-- the size, the layout, the style, the light. We have a quite small kitchen and did the 39" cabinets with minimal molding. Since space is at a premium for us, we needed to get every inch of storage possible, so 36" cabinets with extra crown molding would certainly not accomplish that. We have cherry cabinets and a dark floor. We absolutely do not find our 39" cabinets cave-like or too towering. If anything, the taller cabinets make the room look bigger, the ceiling higher, than our previous 30" cabinets. I am not clear if Stacieann63's not liking her cabinets would be any different with 36" cabinets and a bigger crown - her dislike could be more to do with the cherry color, or that she is comparing it to her previous 10' ceiling kitchen. For us, aesthetically, a thick built-up 6" crown would weigh everything down in our small kitchen, and also would not go with our simple Shaker cabinet style and mid-century clean-lined home. We did choose Alaska White granite countertops which are quite light to balance the dark cherry. Regarding the comment about the space between the counter and the upper cabinets - the standard distance is 18"; undercabinet lighting typically takes up 2" of that 18". Though the newer LED strips are so small that the 2" allowance for lighting should probably be more like 1" for LED light strips (if you are thinking about undercabinet lighting at this point!). You could also have some of the cabinets with glass fronts if you are worried about taller cabinets looking heavy. A friend of mine did that with just three cabinets in her cherry kitchen, and it really makes everything look lighter. We considered doing that too, but DH didn't want that, and ours still looks great with all cherry doors. I would never choose shorter cabinets with bigger crown molding, but that's my taste, our home's storage needs, and our home's decor. Your decision should be based on those factors too.
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M Miller
last year
last modified: last year
I would do the standard 18" distance between the counters and bottom of upper cabinets. The problem with the 20" distance that Patricia Colwelll advised above is that it makes the upper cabinets too high for anyone that is shorter than 5'6". It makes the 2nd shelf completely inaccessible, and the 1st shelf harder to reach. No reason whatsoever to raise the distance to 20". As to the upper cabinets, I would do 42" upper cabinets and the molding will fill in the remaining space.

It is unlikely that your ceiling is even - no one's is. So the 3-1/2" space for the molding will vary across the ceiling. Your crown molding will disguise that if it is in 3 pieces. The middle piece of the 3-piece crown molding is scribed so that it follows the uneven ceiling, but because it’s the middle piece, the rest of the crown molding disguises the uneveness of the scribed middle piece. When talking to contractors, make sure they know about this - if they do not, they do not have the skill set to install your kitchen, and you should move on to the next contractor. For a good contractor, scribing the molding is Cabinets 101.

One of our Kitchens Forum members Buehl described it better than me, so I am copying and pasting her explanation:

"A 3-piece crown molding consists of top & bottom molding all the same size throughout the kitchen. In the middle is flat "filler" piece that varies in height, depending on the ceiling height. By varying this filler piece's height, you accommodate the different ceiling heights w/o affecting the crown itself...this way the difference isn't noticeable. If you vary the top crown piece's height, it will be much more noticeable.

In this pic the "Stock-S" piece is the "filler" piece...simply a flat piece of the same wood as the cabinets and finished the same as the cabinets. It is scribed to the ceiling and varies in its height in line with the variation in the ceiling."
emilyam819
last year
I’d also do the 18 backsplash and 42 cabinets. (If you are used to a smaller backsplash area, the 18 is going to feel very high until you get used to it).

99.5" kitchen ceiling - what height wall cabinets (36" vs 42")

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Patricia Colwell Consulting

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99.5" kitchen ceiling - what height wall cabinets (36" vs 42")

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Patricia Colwell Consulting

HollyOriginal Author

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M Miller

emilyam819

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Holly
Original Author