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

Undoubtedly, furniture in the kitchen is necessary, since the dishes must be determined somewhere, and the stock of food must be folded, and the sink must be installed on something. And all this requires quite a lot of space. Therefore, we usually purchase a complete set of kitchen furniture - from a work table to a pencil case, from shelves above the worktop to full-fledged wall cabinets. When installing a kitchen, questions naturally arise about the height to which wall cabinets and shelves should be hung and what it depends on.

Standards exist 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 their normal service life.

Each furniture purchased from a reliable manufacturer is accompanied by instructions for its assembly, and it must indicate 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 both kitchen furniture and furniture for other purposes, which include these elements.

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

• the normal installation and operation of household appliances, usually located on one or more lower cabinets, was taken into account;
• a number of factors were taken into account that negatively affect the material of the lower generatrix of the wall of the hanging cabinets, including the release of heat and steam from the sink, household items or household appliances standing on the tabletop of the floor cabinet, cabinet, desktop;
• the average growth of women was taken into account, that is, those tireless domestic workers on whom, in general, the whole kitchen is held - so that it would be convenient and comfortable for them in the kitchen;
• the height of the ceilings in a typical residential building was also involved in the issues of standardizing the dimensions of the manufacture and placement of kitchen sets.

People can still stick to the standard along the recommended bottom height of 450 mm from the table top to the bottom edge of the wall cabinet. Going below this lane is more expensive for yourself: either the juicer will not fit, then there is not enough space for the food processor, or even worse - the cover of the upper cabinet door cracked from the steam coming from the kettle. Everything is clear here.

But the upper limit is sometimes maliciously violated. The fact is that quite often it is not the average woman who is wielding pots in the kitchen, but a man with gastronomic abilities and boundless love for the kitchen. Perhaps a woman, but with a height suitable for volleyball. Neither chef will like the kitchen furniture, since it simply does not suit them in height - they hung the cabinets too low.

Therefore, when planning the places for attaching wall cabinets in place, you should take into account some of the physical characteristics of the person who will be doing the kitchen most often. In this case, the growth of a person is especially important. The following points can also be considered important factors:

• the dimensions of the wall cabinets themselves;
• the size of the household appliances used;
• the height of the ceilings of the room.

To calculate the height of hanging cabinets, not only the height of these products is important, but also their depth. The deeper the depth, the lower the height of their attachment to the wall.

Due to the height of a person, you can give the following recommendations for the optimal hanging height of 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 height is within 1.65-1.75 m, then the height of the cabinet attachment is 1.80 m;
• growth over 1.75 m - cabinet at a height of 2.0 m.

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

• the standard minimum 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 with a height of 1.60 to 1.65 m 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 with a height of 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 the case), so you can use other, simpler methods.

The growth of the mistress of the house is taken as a basis.To this height is added 15–20 cm - this will be the height of the fixing of the shelf or wall cabinet. By the way, the results of this method practically coincide with the previous calculations... You can check.

The results of this method will differ slightly from the first. But they are still optimal, since coincide with the standard ones. Here, the growth of a person is also taken as a basis, which will mainly be the boss in the kitchen. The height of the wall cabinet should be in line with its eyes. For a woman of average height, this line will just be at a distance of 60 cm from the top of the worktop (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 ones in total are usually 800-900 mm.

In conclusion, a few 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 yourself a partner who will always be needed. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the cabinets will hang perfectly evenly and securely.
• Do not hang wall cabinets over the stove, they will not last long: water vapor, oil and soot will do their "dirty" job. In addition, it is prohibited to do this due to the fire hazard. An electric hood must be installed above the hob. The norms for the distance of its hinge are as follows: at least 600 mm from the surface of the electric stove and 700 mm - from gas burners.
• Try not to cover the walls up to the ceiling with shelves or cabinets - 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 lower component they should form a single straight line. For this, they are allowed to be fastened together.
• For apartments with 3 meters high ceilings, you can order non-standard wall cabinets, the height of which can be from 900 to 1200 mm. In such a high kitchen, they will visually look very good, and due to their capacity, you can slightly free the kitchen area from unnecessary furniture (for example, a pencil case, which does not always fit both in size and appearance to the surrounding interior). True, in order to get something from the upper shelves of the wall cabinets, you will have to use a stepladder or stool. But these are little things.
• When filling the wall cabinet with all sorts of things, do not forget about the limits of its carrying capacity. Perhaps it can withstand a load of at least 50 kg itself, if this weight is evenly distributed over the shelves, but its fastening for such weights may not be calculated. By the way, read the loading instructions in the instructions and try to fasten the fasteners using the recommended methods and materials.

How to hang a kitchen cabinet, see below.