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rikerk

Perfect height for baking center counter

rikerk
14 years ago

I would like to install a small area for baking & am wondering what the ideal height would be. I would like it lower than my normal counter height. I am 5ft3. Also what do you feel is important in the baking center area.

Comments (13)

  • trailrunner
    14 years ago

    It depends on what you are baking...rolling pie dough or kneading bread. If you stand in front of a box and measure how high it is from the floor when you are doing these activities...pretend...then you will have an idea what height will work for you. Are you planning on this as your "forever" or at least very long term home? Since you are short like me , I am 5'2" then this will be way short for many folks in the future as well as others in your own home who like to pursure baking endeavors. All this needs to come into play. My counters are normal height for this reason. I have a teak platform that is plenty big enough and I stand on it when I work to raise me about 2". Makes all the difference and the counters are then perfect for all the other "non-height challenged" people in my family that bake and cook.

    As to what you want to put there for supplies , again it depends on what you are making. Pastry board or marble, pans for bread, mixer/s, spoons and cups and spices...you can see that you need to look at what you plan to do. You also have to decide how much space you will have for this area. Do you need a fridge drawer or extra sink and how many outlets. Places for cookbooks and other items. It is so individual. There are several folks that have great setups and they will post pics I am sure. Good Luck and make lists and make sketches. c

  • plllog
    14 years ago

    To find my ideal rolling height, I took a stack of fabric to my table and piled it up, rolling it on each level until I found one that feels good. Any higher feels bad again. So I know my ideal height is 33". I'm 5'8".

    Like Trailrunner, I didn't end up with a baking counter. I prefer a high counter for shaping loaves, and ordinary height for kneading. I figured that I could stand on a box a few times a month, which is the most I'll actually be rolling. (BTW, C., I'm thrilled to know you actually do stand on a box, and that it works!)

  • drjoann
    14 years ago

    I am 5'2" and would like my island (non-eat-at) to be at baking height. However, trailrunner and plllog make good points about others using the island who may not be as "height challenged" as I am.

    My cabinets are going to be custom built. Could I ask the cabinet maker to build a pullout platform into the toekick so I could gain 2" or is that an unworkable idea?

    Thanks - Jo Ann

  • timber.j
    14 years ago

    One "rule" I have heard is about 6 inches below your bent elbow is a good working height.

    I am 5 ft. tall, and find table height to be a good height for me for rolling, kneading dough, etc. We made the end of our island close to the prep area 30" and I am very happy with it-good for me, and for the younger kids, too. It is nice to be able to keep the baking mess in the kitchen now and not have to spread out to the table, too!

  • plllog
    14 years ago

    Jo Ann, The big trick is not to trip off the box and break an ankle ;)

    A lot depends on how you like to work, and what else the island is for. I should have mentioned that my island is my higher work surface (38"), but it's also deeper than my 24" perimeter. The box for me is for if I want to roll on the island. I think my too tall clogs might actually be a better way to go for me. ;-)

    Is your island a big area? lots of cabinets? Prep sink? All that stuff? Or is it relatively small?

    Mine is only about 5'x3'. A great prep height for taller people like me (and I have an alternate prep area at normal height elsewhere). Similarly, a smaller island that's a good baking height for you might be useful, if there are other tasks you want to do at that height. A large island, that takes the place of a whole wall or similar, for architectural reasons, as well as the other people considerations Trailrunner mentioned, is probably better off at a standard height.

    Before I decided on the box/clogs thing, I came up with all kinds of convertible notions. For instance, a pullout rolling table with marble surface, complete with legs, with a cabinet underneath and a drawer above. No problem for the cabinetmaker, but I couldn't figure out how to keep the flour from getting into the cabinet.

    A baking/chopping center, with rolling height marble, and a fitted piece of butcher block that fits on top to counter height. Butcher block is heavy, though, so moving it might be too much of a pain if the rolling area is big enough for shortbread cookies or gingerbread, which don't like a lot of rerolling, and cut better with more rolled at once, than small batches.

    A baking cart that fits into a niche and pulls to center floor (for easy cleanup).

    There were more. Clogs, or a box, seem easier.

  • celticmoon
    14 years ago

    Robin Murrell (whose thinking I like a lot) sez the main counters should be six inches below the elbow joint. And the secondary counter should be 4 inches lower than that.

    Which for some shorter people works out pretty close to table height.

    Grandma was pretty sharp re: ergonomics.

  • trailrunner
    14 years ago

    plllog: hey...as long as it isn't a "soapbox" I am OK....but you know I have a hard time resisting that LOL !

    As usual there are terrific ideas , I know several folks have great pics of their centers so maybe they will see this and post them . The pullout toe kick sounds really good but I move around so much that I would have a hard time deciding where I would want it. I really wanted a pull out cart that slid under the island , on wheels, when not in use. I know I had seen something like it in a Martha Stewart kitchen or a place very high end similar to that. The Napa folks had a work table that had a lower side on it that I loved loved but it was way too much for me to spend. You might look at their site to get ideas as they have some nice work tables.

    celtic that sounds good but for me would probably be pretty low and the rest of the family would have a fit. I'll have to get out the tape measure and see what that would be. c

  • drjoann
    14 years ago

    My questions are about the kitchen that is going into my new home, so everything is very flexible.

    My island is 5'x3'. I only plan on using it for prep work/baking and as a handy place to land groceries when I unload the car. I have 19 linear feet of other counter space free of sinks, cooktops, etc. so there is plenty of other prep/landing space.

    My current plan is to lower the island so it will be baking height. From other posts I've read on the topic, it may turn out to be more comfortable for me for chopping, as well. DH bought me a beautiful bamboo cutting board, but I have never used it because it sits up on little legs and I can just feel that it is too high for me. Upon reflection, perhaps the reason I'm ok with chopping on flat boards on standard height counters is because I almost always wear Crocs in the kitchen. I know that is a fashion faux pas, but they really save my feet and knees on the tile floor I currently have.

    Anyway, I could keep the island at standard height for a future user (this is our "forever house", but there is always a future user) and just accommodate my height challenge with about a 2 - 2 1/2 foot deep pullout from the toekick which might be about 2" high. Obviously, it would have to have some kind of locking mechanism so that it couldn't roll around as I worked.

    When I lived in NJ & kneaded a lot of bread, I would just grab my, then, toddler's Little Tykes step stool so I could get more leverage as I manipulated the dough. I think I'm at a point where I can "upgrade" from that solution. ;^)

    BTW - does anyone remember who had the toekick that stored a step ladder? I would like one of those so it is easy to just pull that out when I needed to reach an upper shelf.

    Thanks - Jo Ann

  • country_smile
    14 years ago

    I'm 5'7" and my baking center height is 30" (and 39" in length). It's the height I was used to working at my table in my old kitchen. I wanted it for rolling out dough but since have found it a great height when using my mixer, hand mixing large batches of dough, and other kitchen chores. My youngest loves to use that counter when helping out and if I have grandchildren in the future, it will also be nice for them to use.

    Since you'll have 19 linear feet of other counter space, I don't think it should be a problem for a "future user" that one area of the counter is a few inches lower. Future users come in all sizes too - it's possible that it will be a plus for them. If it is your forever house and you live there for the next 20 years or so, by the time you sell your home the new owner may be interested in remodeling the kitchen regardless of whether or not you have a lowered baking center. You said it's YOUR forever house - shouldn't it be designed to how YOU will use the kitchen? If you ENJOY using the lowered baking center for 20 years, do you think you're going to regret making it lower when you're ready to sell the house?

    Do you really want to have to pull something out to stand on to be able to work at a comfortable height? I know, I know - it probably won't be much of a bother, but I'd rather just walk up to the counter and work.

    Good luck in this decision and in other aspects of planning your kitchen and house!

  • plllog
    14 years ago

    Jo Ann, with your set up I can't see any reason not to do your lower island. Well, not if your husband hates it. But having the island be the lowered section, considering the size it is, gives you a good workspace to accommodate your preferred chopping and baking height, without mucking with the perimeter counters. And there's plenty enough space there for taller people to work.

    Don't worry about future owners. Again, it's just the island. If (heaven forfend) you end up selling to super tall people right after you finish the kitchen because so life event moves you out, they can just remove the top and build up the height. I did this with my master bath sink. It was laughably low. It was an easy fix. The hard part was finding the right accent tiles to put around the outside so I wouldn't have to use stone. I don't think people would lowball you over the low island.

    Rikerk, do you need more info?

  • country_smile
    14 years ago

    ...the information about the height and use of the baking center is for Rikerk;

    the questions about whether or not to install a lowered baking center is in response to Jo Ann's comments. (I see that plllog also added a comment on not worrying about future owners)

  • rikerk
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks you for all of the wonderful advice.

    Kim

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