"No need to lift any appliances, right?"

• There will be a gap between the top of the dishwasher and the underside of the countertop -- expected to be around 34" from the floor -- to which the dishwasher is attached using a bracket.
• There will be a gap between the top of the wine cooler and the underside of the countertop.
• There will be a gap between the refrigerator double-drawers -- usually around 34" high -- and the underside of the countertop.

Keep in mind that you want an appropriate distance between the counterop and upper cabinets. Is it 18” ? I’m not sure, but look into it. Dont just raise the lowers without also considering the uppers.

Who will be doing the bulk of the prep, cooking, cleanup in that kitchen? With this last house built, my SIL wanted to give a nod to her 6'8" husband and his equally tall brothers. I'm not sure why other than she loves him - he doesn't cook and rarely helps clean up.

My SIL is not a serious cook either. We do the food for her parties and social functions, or she'll have food professionally catered.

None of us can work comfortably in that kitchen. Younger sister took the appetizer ingredients down to the bare bones kitchenette on her boat tied to their dock one day to assemble them, she had such neck and shoulder aches prepping foods at those higher counters.

Bathrooms are the same way. I can see myself from the nose up in their powder room and guest bath. Sometimes I'd like to be able to see what i'm doing when I'm brushing my teeth or applying lip gloss but at 5'2", anything lower than my nose is out of view with the height of the mirrors over vanities.

I have no idea why the designer didn't discourage her. Resale for that house would be a hard sell indeed with all the custom but high cabinetry.

morz8, you didn't say how high those counters were. I have a 5' friend and she lowered her counters to about 34" and it seems like a lot when I'm there. So I shouldn't be surprise by raising only 2" that that might throw some people off. The kitchen I took out had a 4 inch plywood platform that the 48" wolf range was sitting on to get it even with the counters at 40". It felt high for a couple months after I moved in. Then I just forgot.

mdccruise, that's why I brought up that I had all "panel-ready" appliances. I assume I can add the 2 inches to the door panels, no?. Just get taller panels and do a shark nose bevel to avoid handles and justify the added height. I've seen refrigerators have really tall doors that when they open reveal an open shelf above the actual refrigerator at the same time.

CHANGE the window. Otherwise ? No I wouldn't do it, except perhaps on an island with no appliances. Counter runs right into the window,

See the light at the pot and the cook wall - flanked with same other side. We accounted for it WITH new windows at the time of the kitchen plan........but using standard 36" height.

Interior Design Work · More Info

lake home · More Info

I am only 5’7 but at my prep area I have 40 inches of 2 inch high boos cutting blocks and find it so much better for prepping. I have a small 30 inch area for kids and rolling as well in my kitchen. I think height zones are a great compromise but if form comes first and you desire a uniformed look I would rather have all 38 than all 36 high counters.

I am 6’1” and had mine raised in my new build. We built a platform under all the cabinet and appliance areas using 2x4 s topped with plywood( resulting in a 4” raise). We couldn’t use the cabinet kick plates so we cut beadboard and used that but you could also rip boards to fit. I did not initially have the uppers raised, but eventually did do that on the micro ace

Microwave and hood vent cabinets for extra clearance. Never regretted it a second.

A big “ripple” effect will occur with a height change like this. If you plan to sell that also could have impacts. I lowered an island height in our personal home because I am short. Only effected one appliance cabinet area for microwave drawer. Made my prep area much easier for me. Buyer was tall but wife was short. No problem. Lol.

As a taller person, 38” sounds pretty good— but—- everyone above is correct. It creates a huge domino effect and will make everything more complicated, prone to error (builders/installers are used to standard stuff), and more expensive. Then there is resale. Just lower the window. You could even enlarge it if desired while you’re at it. You didn’t ask— but what’s going on in cubby hole to the left of the man? Part beige wall and part wood trim? That wall seems inconsistent with the rest of the design.

We raised our counters 1-1/2" in our last kitchen (no island) and while the height was nice (we are tall) it was a pain to seat the appliances, we had to build a platform for our rang and the standard appliance toe kick that came with the dishwasher was too short. Since ours were not custom cabinets, the toe kick was an unwieldly 5" tall. And it puts the wall cabinets a little further out of reach, and affects the crown molding arrangement. I regret this design choice... In my humble opinion, it makes sense to raise ONLY an appliance-free island unless you have custom cabinets and a good cabinet maker.

I have also considered a bit higher counters but the issues that arise are not IMO worth doing. I do however almost always do 20-21" between counter and bottom of all wal cabinets since I hate my head right at the spot where the wall cabinets start

Just get a large thick butcherblock to prep on top of and leave the design as standard height. You will not have to completely redesign everything, including the uppers. This is not a "just a minor thing" type of change. It's major. With major negative repercussions unless it is being designed by a very experienced kitchen designer.

We are tall people and when we remodeled our kitchen, we stayed with 36" standard countertops. We raised the island up to 37" which is wonderful, as it is my primary workspace. Resale was our biggest concern. We won't be in this house forever.

"that's why I brought up that I had all "panel-ready" appliances. I assume I can add the 2 inches to the door panels, no?"

• The dishwasher tub must be attached to the underside of the countertop so just increasing the size of the door won't solve the problem. You'd also have to put a block of wood to fill the gap between the tub and the countertop. Lengthening the door panel will block the controls which are on the top of the door.
• Wine cooler: maybe, or make the door panels the correct size and use a filler panel to cover the gap. I'd check the spec sheet.
• Double-drawer refrigerator: That would make the drawers appear to be different sizes which might look weird. Some of these refrigerators have control panels on the top of the upper door which would be blocked by the longer panel. I'd check the spec sheet. I'd consider making the door panels the correct size and using a filler panel to cover the gap.

-- amateur

"The dishwasher tub must be attached to the underside of the countertop so just increasing the size of the door won't solve the problem."

Modern dishwashers connect through their sides into the sides of cabinets/panels. Connections to the countertop are obsolete and old-school.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC: "Connections to the countertop are obsolete and old-school."

Bosch, Whirlpool, and LG dishwasher installation manuals all show attachment to the countertop as the default. LG provides screws for countertop attachment but owners must provide the wood screws for side attachment.

Unless you're very tall people and you plan to have this be your forever home, I'd leave it the standard 36" in height.

Looks like at the rental I'm staying in they got the counters to 37" by doing a 4.5" toe kick, 1.5" counter and maybe some room above the drawers? Looks a little wonky. Rough slate floors, who's idea was that?

@rainyseason Its a 6'4" alcove under the staircase. I didn't photoshop in the railing because it will be replaced with an all glass rail. See my many other posts concerning that bar/storage/Harry potter bedroom under the stairs. :P

Bend the tabs for an approved cabinet side mount to avoid drilling into stone tops. Page 8.

I raised the counters in my former house to 39". The DW sat on a little platform, which was hidden by a tall toe kick. The surrounding cabinets were taller, not just a higher toe kick. Picture below kind of shows it. We did that kitchen in 2008, and I never even thought about how the toe kick looked, just that I liked that the DW was higher.

Now I'm doing a remodel in a different house. Just yesterday my KD and I met with the cabinet maker to finalize the design, and I'm raising just the island to 38". (Perimeter stays standard height because I have a range.) He asked about raising the DW (on island, paneled) vs having a trim piece on top, and I voted to raise it again. NOTE: In this case, I'll have a taller toe kick under all the island cabinets. I'm not concerned because it faces an aisle so no one will see it.

If I opted to keep the DW lower, I could have had taller cabinets / deeper drawers, and kept a consistent toe kick across the bottom. Neither the cabinet maker nor my KD liked the thought of a raised DW with a tall toe kick next to cabinets with a standard toe kick. So here are the choices as I see them: 1) raise DW and all toe kicks; 2) keep DW low with trim at top, keep all toe kicks standard, get taller cabinets/deeper drawers; 3) have a staggered toe kick with taller under a raised DW, standard under the surrounding cabinets.

old house DW, 39" counters:

Chicagoans, that's helpful. This is the dishwasher in my terrible rental house. They chose to do a 4.5" toe kick with a quarter round and didn't bother with the dishwasher. Is there a standard depth to a toe kick? These are 2 inches.

Do it if you're going to stay there a really long time, and ALL the people who cook or help are tall. Because 38" counters are really awful for shorter people. I'm 5'6"--not really tall or short for a woman, and our old 37 1/2"-high counters were really uncomfortable for extended prep work. I frequently set mixing bowls in the sink to get a comfortable height for stirring.

Personally, I would change the window--I would shrink it a bit to make it start a few inches higher. Because window glass that close to the sink is going to have water spots all.the.time.

You're doing custom cabinets and can have them any height you want. Don't pad under the appliances; just have extra framing above them. Don't waste space on a toekick. Take advantage of the full height. If your cabinet maker is like mine, they won't charge extra for materials because they aren't having to chop up an extra sheet of plywood for it.

(Of course there are advantages to lifting a dishwasher...but if you don't, it'll be at the same height as everyone else's.)

I don't think it will affect resale. I would hate your tall kitchen but if I were house hunting, I wouldn't notice 2" until it was too late for me. 😁

Agree with fori - its easy to make cabs taller. we just put framing over dw. i would only do this if you’re tall - it’s a bit high for me, amazing for my husband. we have one wall at 38” and cooktop wall 36” so we can both be happy. i’d be surprised if anyone notices difference for resale - even with different heights in same room it’s fairly inconspicuous.

Paul, you asked what height my SILs kitchen counter surfaces are. I don't know precisely, I've never walked in with a tape measure - will try to one day when she isn't there. They are the 'elephant in the room' with us all, but none of us have wanted to embarrass her or make her angry. What we do is complain a lot when she is not within hearing. My best guess would be 2" taller than my own 36" so about 38". They may be 39". I can't wipe off the island without traveling all the way around it, and even then I cannot reach center without a little jump.

The cabinets are custom and gorgeous. No expense was spared. The piece for the two side by side built in ovens looks like fine furniture with deep soft close drawers beneath them - her cabinet maker was really that good.

When the food is ready and the partying begins, we take tylenol and try to enjoy the luxurious surroundings, but we all really hate working in that beautiful kitchen.

It was suggested that I might make some cabinets be on the floor like this. This drawer and pull-out will get damage by mops and roomba, no? Is this a thing?

Would there be any reason not to have a toe kick?

Neither the cabinet maker nor my KD liked the thought of a raised DW with a tall toe kick next to cabinets with a standard toe kick.

Meanwhile I'm over here fantasizing about a completely raised dishwasher - reaching all the way down kills my back at the end of a long day!