Kitchen Wall Cabinets, So Many Options
When it comes to kitchen wall cabinets, things can get confusing quick. While base cabinets have a lot of different innard options, they’re generally all the same height and depth, and usually sit on the floor. Wall cabinets on the other hand come in a variety of heights and depths, and can be hung so that they’re top aligned, bottom aligned, staggered, helter-skelter… See what I mean? Height: Kitchen wall cabinets come in several heights. Options depend on which manufacturer you’re dealing with, but most regular kitchen wall cabinets are 30, 36, or 42 inches high. In addition, they’re almost always 12 inches deep. Your ceiling height will help decide how tall your cabinets can be, There should be at least 18 inches of clearance between the top surface of the counter and the bottom edge of the kitchen wall cabinets. If you’ve only got 8 foot ceilings, you CAN squeeze 42 inch wall cabinets in, but you’d have no room for any kind of top molding. In addition, the wall cabinets would be right up against the ceiling, so the ceiling better be square and flat or things will look funny. Depth: In addition to varying heights, kitchen wall cabinets can come in a few different depths, like 15 or 18 inches. These deeper wall cabinets can be handy, provided you can actually reach the backs of the cabinets. If you can’t, then the extra space ends up being a sort of forgtten realm where seldom used groceries go to expire. Special Kitchen Wall Cabinets: Refrigerator wall cabinets come even deeper than other wall cabinets, measuring up to 24 inches deep in fact. When you have these in a design, remember that they’ve got to attach to something. It’s easy when using design software to forget this, since the program doesn’t mind anomolies in gravity. Generally a refrigerator panel is involved, or you could screw this to a wall if one happens to be handy. Remember again though that deeper wall cabinets are hard to reach into, and the rear of the cabinet might be a waste of space. For people who want this wall cabinet flush (or close to it) with the front of the fridge, consider getting a 12 inch deep kitchen wall cabinet and bumping it out. Fasten it to a wall or fridge panel the same way you would a deeper one. It may take some finagling. Microwave cabinets, are handy, and sometimes come in the form of micriwave shelves. A lot of people like these over their stoves, but remember that kitchen wall cabinets need to be 30 inches or so above hot surfaces. I know, a lot of designers break the rule, but keep it in mind anyway. Written by:
Craig
No Comments »
No comments yet.
Leave a comment
Other Design Articles
-
Kitchen Island Dimensions
Kitchen island dimensions can be tricky. It’s easy for an island to get out of hand in relation to the space where it will be installed. Catch mistakes with kitchen island dimensions early in the design process. More than once customer have contacted me about kitchen designs, and declared that they wanted an island. Once [...]
Kitchen Island Cabinets
Kitchen islands are a necessity in some kitchens. Kitchen Islands add both storage and counter space to a food preparation area. In some homes, kitchen islands have even replaced the kitchen table. There are so many options to consider when designing a kitchen island, but keeping a few key points in mind will make the [...]
Kitchen Island Design
Most kitchen designers these days try to incorporate a kitchen island into their designs, and with good reason. Islands are ideal for adding counter and storage space to kitchens, serving as gathering places, food preparation stations, and clean up areas. While some islands do one of these tasks very well, the best kitchen islands are [...]
Kitchen Base Cabinets Explained
Kitchen base cabinets are rather like their wall mounted bretheren, in that they come in widths of 3” increments. Base cabinets generally come in only one height though, and that’s 34 1/2”. A depth of 24” is also standard, though there is a bit of fudging on base cabinet depths. What you can get depends [...]
Kitchen Island Cabinets Design
Kitchen island. Just the sound of the phrase conjures up images of bliss, a homemaker’s oasis. “Where are you going, Honey?” “I’m traveling to the island.” “Have a nice time, Dear. Don’t forget to write.” Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? You can take a dream vacation to your very own island every time you prepare a [...]
Small Kitchen Design Ideas
Not all of you are blessed with gigantic kitchens. Space in your kitchen for preparing meals is scarce. So rather than waste square footage with poor design, these are several things you can do during a remodel or new design that will free up some valuable real estate in the kitchen and make meal prep [...]
Shelf Cabinets are Versatile
Sometimes you just need a shelf. Cabinet manufacturers are happy to oblige with shelf cabinets in the same wood and finish as the rest of the kitchen cabinets they’ll make for you. Some are made for walls, some for the floor. You can get them to go on a straight run, or for corners. Rather [...]
Corner Sinks in a Kitchen
As a novice kitchen designer (and NOT certified by any organization at all) I struggle with the concept of the corner sink. Mostly because it’s a pain to line up in kitchen design software, and because seems like a waste of space. Either a regular sink base gets spun 45 degrees (and thus a bunch [...]