I kneed to make a correction: KNEAD! Thx....

The guideline for the best working height is measured from 6" below your elbow when your arm is down with forearm bent up 90 degrees. That's why we have some lower counter areas in our kitchen...33' - 34" for baking counter (for seeing into mixer), for island (for kneading and chopping), and to each side of the rangetop (for prep and other). Our rangetop is actually lower than standard, too. It's great for the kids and me (I'm 5'4"), and it's still OK for my dh and ds, who are 5'11". The only counters at 36" are the cleanup run, and the breakfast counter.

My dh built 36" vanities for our bathrooms, and I actually feel like they're too high.

Thanks, Rhome -- I had read that about the measurement-thing, and it comes out so low for me ... although I think I read slightly different guidelines than yours. I think I read about chopping height which is supposed to be just 4" below elbow.

Anyone else have counter-height convictions?

I'm 5'1", and would happily have lowered all the counters if there weren't that pesky problem of fitting standard appliances underneath them. I've always kneaded bread, for ten minutes at a stretch, while standing up on my toes. Good for the calf muscles, right?

I am hoping (fingers crossed that it will fit) to have room for a narrow butcher block table, at about 32" high, across from the main prep space, for chopping. Going by the 4-6" below bent elbow rule, I ought to be comfortable with a 28-30" chopping surface, but that's too low, while 2 1/2" below my elbow is about right. I agree with warmfridge that this is something you just have to test for yourself.

In the house we've lived in for the last 36 years, the kitchen peninsula is 30". That thing has been the most used piece of real estate in the house. For years I made all our bread (kids with assorted allergies) and it was the perfect height for kneading. It's just right for rolling out pie crust for Thanksgiving, and seeing into the mixer for birthday cakes (2 last week!). It also gets used for assorted craft and home repair projects. In our new addition to our old house, we're going to make the kitchen island 31" high. The extra inch is for those in the family who wanted it just a little higher. I'm 5'5" and 30" is good for me. I'll be OK with the extra inch too.

I'm just under 6' with 38'' counters and I use a 2'' high cutting board to get a 40'' surface.

The wide range of preferences here, from 30'' to 40'', support warmfridge's suggestion.

30" is too low for me to work dough too. I found my optimal rolling height using Warmfridge's method, but with fabric instead of books. It's 33" (when I'm barefoot, as usual. I'm 5'8"). That also seems to be a good height for kneading for me, as well as for spoon mixing. In the end, however, I found that putting a baking height counter compromised too much else in my kitchen design. There was a eureka moment when I realized it would be more practical to raise my shoulders than lower the counter. I have a pair of too tall clogs that are dangerous to wear out because of tripping hazards. They're now my baking shoes. :)

My perimeter is 36.5" and my island (prep area) is 38". The inch and a half makes a big difference. The island is perfect for me for most prep tasks, and I prefer the other counter for prepping birds. Bonus is that it helps prevent cross contamination.

I'm not big on "better for resale", but you never know when something wildly unexpected could happen. 38" is the highest "normal" height. Every inch higher you go is that much more specific to you. For extra tall people, putting a butcher block on a counter is often a better solution than raising the counter above 40". Alternatively, design a bar height counter that's convenient for cooking tasks but looks like a seating area. For very short people, it's better to lower just a section that can be sold as a baking counter or, with an opening beneath, a universal design or desk counter, and/or have pull out box platforms in the toe kicks, than going much lower than 35".

Mine are 36 inches standard according to my cabinet rep. At 5'8" I would rather have 38 inch counters but I could never go any lower.

I have lower back problems (just had a fusion on my L5S1) and even at 36 inches I notice the strain on my lower back at that level.

I could never use a table height island or lower counters. I remember how difficult it was using an old farm table as an island in my last house that had no island or peninsula and it was very difficult to bend down to it.

It is definitely something I will look at and consider if/when we buy another house.

Computer use is kinda difficult to figure out because a keyboard should be dropped 3-4" below your comfortable writing height but this just isn't possible with portable computers.

So find standing writing height with the book method. Start around 42-45" high and see what works.

I'm 5'5" and DH is 6'3" and we like to cook together. For our new build we are planning on 36" counters, with a 45" bar area at the end of our island. DH will use the bar for his work surface.

STandard height works for me, and I have a table height baking area where my mixer kneads bread. It doesn't complain. I do find it a good height for things but so do my kids so it's covered with kid stuff usually.

But I'm short.

I find I can work at almost any height, but what kills me is if the sink is too much of a stretch, particularly the faucet.

If your current, standard height works for you, don't change it. But do consider adding additional height counters if you have a place for them and just play around to see what works. Don't get too weird if you might have to sell. :)

Most base cabinets include a toe kick, around 4'' high. The ''fixed'' elements are things like sink drain plumbing, dishwasher, range. Plumbing can be reconfigured, dishwashers are often height-adjustable by 2'' plus extra room could be left at the top of the cutout, the range could be replaced by a cooktop.

So, in theory, one could have a kitchen with an unusual counter height, that could be designed to be reconfigurable to a standard counter height at resale time.

Might be worth considering if one's preferred counter height is well outside of the ''standard'' range.

For background, we're tall: me 5'11"; DH 6'3"; 14 y.o. DD 5'10" and going; 12 y.o. DS 5'6+" (and the ortho told us he thinks he'll end up over 6'5"!)

Anyway, we did custom cabs and raised all the counters (kitchens, 4 baths) to 39". The raised eating bar at our island is a few inches higher. (These measurements include the 3cm granite counters. I've never measured the actual cabinet boxes.) Our experience is that we like this MUCH better. It's more comfortable for us (my back used to get sore sometimes in the old kitchen if I was prepping/cooking/cleaning for a big holiday meal.) My 5'3" aunt commented that she really liked the height, and my kids' friends (shorter than them) do fine with the high vessel sink in the powder room.

On the other hand, my 5'4" mom finds that the depth of the kitchen sink coupled with the high counters makes it difficult for her to wash dishes there. (So she's off the hook for that when she visits!) And there are times when I'm pulling a stubborn cork from a wine bottle when I think that a slightly lower surface would give me more leverage. I guess it's a tradeoff, but again for us it works great. Plus, we have an extra 3" of drawer space below our counters.

I think I need a pair of clogs!

I have been living in a 50's ranch for 11 years and all the countertops are 37 1/4 inches. It's great. We are redoing the kitchen, tear-out is in January and all the countertops will be just under 38" with the granite.

I also took out most of the upper cabinets on the peninsula and the 20' back wall. The lowers are 30" deep. So its all shelves that roll out, drawers that roll out, garbage and disposal that roll out, and lots of great storage. I think it will be like having this beautiful table for a prep area tha'ts 19 feet long.

This is the kind of design that what happens when you live 11 years with 3 feet of counter space, 12" deep upper cabinets that when the doors are opened always smack you in the head, and rolling out dough on your cooktop because that's the only flat space you have in a kitchen made of burgundy tiles.

The range wall is just above the traditional 36", and that's fine. But the other "wall" is really a large island, backed by an existing freestanding brick wall that we were shortening and keeping (it used to stick up behind the countertop). The countertop had to go over the top of the bricks, so the courses of brick sort of controlled the height. We knocked off two courses and that got us an eventual 37-1/2" finished counter height. It has been perfect for us (5'8" and 5'10").

We were at my sister-in-law's place over Thanksgiving and I found her counters to be freakishly short -- like bathroomish, 30" short. Or at least the island was. Hers is a manufactured home, so maybe that is standard in that type of construction?

Thanks for all the experience, y'all. Very interesting! And obvsiouly entirely non-standardized. No way to really get too much insight from others' experiences except I guess to go through with the fabric/book test. Don't know why I'm so resistant to grappling with all these design questions; I am really one who just wants someone else to tell me 'the answer'. Yet clearly even if there were someone out there to do so, there is no such answer to be told. sigh.

You can pay an architect your whole year's pay to have him tell you exactly how it will be. There's just no guarantee that you'll like the result. :)

By torturing you and making you think through all your design options we're making you know yourself, your needs and your kitchen. It'll work ever so much better if it's customized exactly to you. It'll fit you so much better!!

BTW, I forgot to mention with the fabric, I was rolling it with my rolling pin. :)

Rolling fabric -- great idea! I'll add a rolling pin to the testing- lineup.

I have three levels of counter in my kitchen. I am 5'3 and DH is not quite 6 feet!

I have the main/prep area that is at what is considered the standard 36" level. It is about 50% of the countertop area in my kitchen. That's comfortable for both of us and a large butcher block chopping block can raise an area for DH by another several inches. There is a prep sink in this area that is good sized but only 6" deep so that we aren't having to lean over to pick up the produce and etc that sits on the floor of the sink.

I also have the cooktop on an island that is 1.5" lower. This allows me to more easily see into the pots and skillets and I believe reduces the chances of burning myself.

The main clean area is 1.5" higher than standard. It has our main sink and allows for us to wash dishes without bending over very much at all. It also lets us have a higher height ctop for when it's needed.

I LOVE our heights!

I'm 5'4". My table is 31. counters are 36. Counters are too high to knead dough. Table is just right. In fact, my counters aren't good for mixing with a spoon in a bowl, either. They're just too tall. Even 34 might have been better. I didn't give it a thought when my new cabs were installed. Obviously my 1950 cabinets were lower. Wish I would have known that a year ago.