Choose the distance from the countertop to the wall cabinets in the kitchen

Undoubtedly, furniture in the kitchen is necessary, since you also need to determine the dishes somewhere, lay down the food supply, and install a sink for something. And all this requires a lot of space. Therefore, we usually get a complete set of furniture for the kitchen - from the desktop to the pencil case, from the shelves above the countertop to the full hanging cabinets. When installing a kitchen, questions naturally arise about the height to which hanging cabinets and shelves should be hung and what it depends on.

Standards exist in order to avoid any unpleasant excesses regarding safety (fire, personal, public and so on). In addition, the standards are designed to take into account the ease of use of products and possible measures to ensure a normal service life.

Each furniture purchased from a reliable manufacturer is accompanied by instructions for its assembly, and it necessarily indicates certain nuances with which the buyer may have problems. These nuances include the rules and regulations for the installation of wall cabinets and shelves for kitchen furniture and furniture for other purposes, the set of which includes these elements.

Standard numbers did not arise, of course, from scratch. Everything was calculated not at random, but by the practice of operating the corresponding types of furniture. Let's see what considerations the specified standard distances are based on:

• normal installation and operation of household appliances, usually located on one or more lower cabinets, were taken into account;
• a number of factors were taken into account that adversely affect the material of the lower generatrix of the wall of the hanging cabinets, including the generation of heat and steam from the sink, household utensils, or household appliances standing on the countertop of the floor cabinet, cabinet, and desktop;
• the average growth of women was taken into account, that is, those tireless workers of domestic life on whom, in general, the whole kitchen is held in order to make it convenient and comfortable in the kitchen;
• the height of the ceilings of typical housing construction was also involved in the standardization of the dimensions of the manufacture and placement of kitchen sets.

People can still adhere to the standard. at the recommended minimum height of 450 mm from the countertop to the bottom edge of the wall cabinet. Going below this strip is more expensive for yourself: either the juicer does not fit, the food processor does not have enough space, or even worse - the cover of the upper cabinet door is cracked by steam coming from the kettle. Everything is clear here.

But the upper limit is sometimes maliciously violated. The fact is that often in the kitchen the pots are not controlled by the average woman, but by a man with gastronomic abilities and unlimited love for the kitchen. Perhaps a woman, but with growth suitable for volleyball. Neither cook will like kitchen furniture, since it simply does not fit them in height - they hung cabinets too low.

Therefore, when planning the places of attachment of wall cabinets in place, some physical features of the person who will be involved in the kitchen most often should be taken into account. Moreover, human growth is especially important. The following points can be considered as still important factors:

• dimensions of the wall cabinets themselves;
• sizes of household appliances used;
• ceiling height of the room.

To calculate the height of the hung cabinets, not only the height of these products is important, but also their depth. The greater the depth, the lower the height of their mounting on the wall.

In connection with the growth of a person, you can give such recommendations on the optimal height for hanging shelves or cabinets:

• with growth up to 1.60-1.65 m, the height of the cabinet is from 1.70 to 1.75 m from the floor;
• if the growth is in the range of 1.65-1.75 m, then the height of the cabinet mounting is 1.80 m;
• growth of more than 1.75 m - cabinet at a height of 2.0 m.

In connection with the latest figures recommended for use when hanging shelves or cabinets of a kitchen set with adjustment for the height of a person, the following indicators of distances from the surface of the table to the lower edge of the hinged furniture elements are obtained:

• the standard shortest distance for a woman of average height (up to 1.6 m) is 450 mm;
• standard maximum (recommended) distance - 600 mm;
• the recommended distance for a person from 1.60 to 1.65 m tall is 800–850 mm;
• the recommended distance for growth from 1.65 to 1.75 m is 900 mm;
• the recommended distance for a person from 1.80 m and above is 1100–1150 mm.

For some, the above calculation methods for determining the hanging height of the upper cabinets in the kitchen may seem complicated (although this is absolutely not so), so you can use other, simpler methods.

The basis is taken the growth of the mistress of the house.15–20 cm is added to this growth - this will be the height of the shelf or wall cabinet. By the way the results of this method are almost the same as previous calculations. You can check.

The results of this method will differ slightly from the first. But they are still optimal, since match the standard. Here, the basis is also taken the growth of a person who will mainly be the boss in the kitchen. The height of the wall cabinet should extend along the line of his eyes. For a woman of average height, this line will just be at a distance of 60 cm from the top of the countertop of the desktop (maximum standard distance).

In cases where the kitchen set consists of two levels of upper cabinets, then you need to focus on their overall dimensions. But if standard cabinets in one level have dimensions in height of 600–700 mm, then two-level cabinets in total usually amount to 800–900 mm.

In conclusion, some tips for those who are first engaged in the arrangement of kitchen furniture, including hanging wall cabinets.

• Hanging cabinets alone is a doable but risky business. Find a partner that you will always need. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the cabinets will hang perfectly evenly and securely.
• Do not hang overboard cabinets over the stove; they won’t last long: water vapor, oil and soot will do their dirty work. In addition, this is prohibited due to fire hazard. An electric hood should be arranged above the stove. Standards for the distance of its hinge are: at least 600 mm from the surface of the electric stove and 700 mm from gas burners.
• Try not to cover the walls with shelves or cabinets up to the ceiling - this visually reduces the size of the kitchen.
• Wall cabinets should be carefully adjusted to each other - there should be no gaps between them, and along the bottom component they should be a single straight line. For this, their bonding to each other is allowed.
• For apartments with ceilings 3 meters high, you can order custom hanging cabinets, the height of which can be from 900 to 1200 mm. In such a tall kitchen, they will visually look very good, and due to their capacity, you can slightly free up the kitchen area from unnecessary furniture (for example, a pencil case, which does not always fit both in size and in appearance to the surrounding interior). True, in order to get something from the upper shelves of the wall cabinets you have to use a stepladder or a stool. But these are trifles.
• When filling the wall cabinet with all sorts of things, do not forget about the limits of its carrying capacity. Perhaps he can withstand a load of at least 50 kg, if this weight is evenly distributed over the shelves, but his attachment to such weights may not be calculated. By the way, read the instructions about the load and try to fasten with the recommended methods and materials.

See below for how to hang a kitchen cabinet.