Cabinets hung too high. 24" from countertops. What would you do?

Question

I just had a duplex renovated for an airbnb / midterm rental and everything looks great except for the kitchen cabinets. My contractor installed them too high. My wife and I were not aware of the standard placement of cabinets before the install took place. We honestly had so much going on at the time. We had just had our first child while the project was going so when our contractor told us where the cabinets would go, we assumed it'd be good. It doesn't look bad per se (maybe I'm biased being taller) but they are not in the ideal location.

Some time has gone by now and we've got the place furnished. Our photographer made a comment about the cabinet height and now we are really wondering if we should fix this. Since the cabinets and backsplash is installed, we are not sure what to do. Buy a step stool and forget about it, or hire someone to lower them? I guess I'm wondering from the group here if you all think it looks bad or have had a similar dilemma and what did you do.

JD Martin · Answer

What on earth made them do that? If you're working with standard cabinets, lowers end up 36" tall, uppers go to 54" on bottom and 84" on top (30 inch cabinets) which puts the top of the cabinet at 7 feet. Obviously a quarter/half inch here and there depending on floor slope, etc because it's more important for cabinets to *look* right than to be *exactly* right especially when you are conforming to older homes that may have settled.

I can't tell the height of that tile but it looks like 2-3" tile. I'd have the contractor knock out the top 2 tiles and reset the cabinets. There's only 6 of them. Why did they use an 18" cabinet over the fridge? The fridge cabinet gets a 12" so you can fit a 70" tall fridge underneath it. That cabinet should have been a 12x30 shorty like the one where your microwave is.

When you say some time has gone by, how much time? I'd have them lower everything the right way. If they saw cut easily the top 2 tiles (or 1, whatever the height of the tiles are) to get as close to 54" from the floor as possible, and remove the cabinet over the fridge and take down the microwave, they can move the entire upper cabinets as a unit into the proper location. They'll probably have to recut the microwave outlet assuming it's inside the cabinet.

I would not leave a stepstool for the new tenants in a brand new kitchen. I'm 5'10" and wouldn't have a problem here but my wife is 6 inches shorter than me and would definitely struggle with these, as would most women.

Kevin Bazazzadeh · Answer

Hey @Michael Robinson they are definitely high, but it isn't terrible. I would talk to your contractor about making it right. I just had a rental renovated and the contractor put them high. I made him take them down and put them at the correct height.

As a contractor, they should know things like this and there really is no excuse. On the flip side, there are a lot of contractors that will just do stuff that they don't think about, especially the more budget-friendly guys. We have to keep tabs on all contractors, but especially these guys.

*Added photo of said cabinets - he told me some people like them that way lol.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Your contractor had no choice given the little cabinet over the fridge. He really did the best possible! Who ordered cabinets by the way?

We order from a cabinet firm, they site measure and propose the best layout, which requires experience. Then you get a plan and elevations for all trades (plumber, electrician and carpenter) to work with.

I think for STR it's okay. But selling is another question. If you want to buy a matching shorter cabinet for over the fridge, you have to order it now.

We are all about doing it the right way the first time and that sometimes means hard decisions and rip something up again..

Franco Vallejos · Answer

I have a few airbnbs. Guests never use the upper shelves. Put what they need on the bottom ones and the stuff they may use up higher. Don’t change them. Not necessary.

Ned J. · Answer

Well you wont be able to lower the one over the refrigerator very much, so if you lower them, you are probably looking at getting another cabinet. Going to have to remount the microwave also. At least the tile is a style that you could remove one upper row and not the entire thing.

Unless you said something to me, I would not have had the issue jump out at me on the pix.

Matt Stewart · Answer

Personally I would leave them exactly as they are for now.  You can always revisit it if you start to get feedback that it's a real problem.

I stay in a lot of airbnb's.  I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen cabinets.  And even if they were high enough that I noticed, it wouldn't be something that would affect my satisfaction with a short term stay.

Scott Mac · Answer

That nice big fridge looks like it's 1" from the wall.

Might be a good idea to double check the manual and make sure it does not need to be 4 inches from the wall (many do).

If it needs to come out further, the cabinets over the fridge may be unusable, and be able to be re-located over the toilet in a bathroom (if the sides are white), or in a garage.

Then you could just lower the cabinets.

But in reality, the (heavy duty) step stool (for heavy people) might be the cheapest thing.

Good Luck!

Bill J Fay · Answer

Nice job on your reno! It looks very clean and wouldn't be an issue for myself as a 6ft+ individual. With that being said, here are a few things to consider:

1) Assuming the standard 36in base cabinet + 24in backsplash = the bottom of the upper cabinet starts at 5ft (60in). The wingspan of an average human is 63-68 inches, meaning the average renter would only be allowed to reach 3-8 inches, or the bottom shelf in the cabinet.

2) Because your intent is to make this a short-term rental, the same renter isn't going to be using the kitchen day in and day out. Although, it could cause some negative feedback from some of your renters.

3) If you ever wanted to rent this property out as a long-term rental or sell, it could cause issues in the future.

Tough call because its already completed. If the contractor is off the hook, you can try renting it and see what the feedback is. Ideally, you should get the contractor to come back, cut 2 rows of tile, and install the cabinets between 15-18in off the countertop.

Cabinets hung too high. 24" from countertops. What would you do?

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