I'm also 5'3"...No problem reaching into the oven.

I currently keep our 3 step stepstool in the pantry while it awaits the narrow cabinet beside the fridge that it will live in.

I'm 5'3" as well and I love my W-S 2-step step stool (they also make a taller, 3-step version). It's slim, lightweight, extremely easy to open and close, and it looks cool, too! The only downside is that it's too tall to store in a "normal" height cabinet, so my DH had to pop the rubber feet off, cut down the legs, and then pop the feet back in/on. I can reach the top shelf of all my cabs while standing on it (ok, maybe not all the way in the back of my over-the-fridge cab!).

I do have a slightly taller step stool stored in another room just feet away from the kitchen if I really needed it. I do need to stand on a ladder or counters to clean the range hood chimney where it meets the vaulted ceiling, and I need the ladder to reach the tops of the upper cabs themselves (for cleaning or placing decorative items up top).

The link for the step stool is below. FYI, they've gone up a bit in price since I purchased mine (Jan '07?).

Here is a link that might be useful: Ultraslim step stool

I'm 5'1" a use a sturdy, easy to fold and store step-stool I bought from a hardware store for under $15.00. I can't remember the brand. I removed the paper sticker and it's not imprinted on the stool.

I store the step-stool in a kick plate drawer I had built in during our remodel.

Jodi-

Gailrolfe, (5-2 here), I thought any extra under-counter inches would be a great place for a vertical pullout to store one, but it turned out we didn't have any. A nifty kickspace drawer was possible even though, as a result of being both vertically and window-challenged, it ended up being only 3-1/2 inches tall to drop the counter; but I decided I'd be using my stool too often to want to pick it up from and return it there (it's a lot heavier than Jodi's nifty little unit).

So I decided to just hang it on my broom closet door at roughly the same height it carries at--something I recommend if you use it fairly often. The closet's just steps from most places I need it anyway.

I just climb on whatever is available. We have a step stool in the laundry room which is right off the kitchen but I'm usually too impatient to go get it. Yep... I admit... I've been known to just lift my leg and climb up onto the counter... or I drag a kitchen over... or just ask someone to reach it for me. I'm 5' even. Better flexible for a not young girl!

Geez, I wonder if I'll ever post a question on here that does not result in lots of great help. Thanks so much to everyone. But I have a few questions.

rhome, I have thought of doing something similar for a stool. Will you have a door on the narrow cabinet or just have a finished open slot where you can easily reach in and grab the stool?

cat mom, thanks for the WS link. I think I had seen that stool before but I couldn't remember where. I like it a lot and may end up getting it but of course first I'll see if I can find something similar for a little less! I do like how slim it is.

jodi in so calif, I'm hoping you might be able to help me in that last quest as I am also in SoCal (Pasadena area) and I'm wondering what hardware store you found that little stool in...maybe I could go there and find something similar? It's hard to tell in the pic how high it is?

rosie, although my broom closet is going to be too far away to make hanging the stool there very convenient, I had thought of hanging it close by in the laundry room if I can't find room for a narrow slot...I like the suggestion to hang it at the carrying height...I can see how that would increase one's proclivity to actually hang it up when done as well as get it down when needed.

remodelfla, you made me laugh! I am so often tempted to just jump up on the counter but usually there's prepped food there and someone in the kitchen watching who probably doesn't want my barefeet close to the salad-to-be! And these days, I'd probably have to step on a drawer to get a lift up and I'm not sure the drawer would survive. But good for you for remaining flexible enough to do that! The bigger challenge for me would be what to step on to jump up to the cab above the fridge where I keep all the snack items--purposefully so that getting down a snack is really a bit of an effort but when it does happen, I don't think the fridge shelves would support me!

Rhome was the only one who commented on the 30" wall oven door size...any other feedback on that item?

Pizza peels are good for reaching things way in back of the oven if that's ever a problem. :-)

I am not sure we could do a door on the stepstool area (and broom area on the other end)...the cabinets will only be 5" wide. Like you mentioned, I think it'll be quick and easy to grab that way...but neater with a door. I think we'll probably wait until we have it awhile before we'd consider adding doors.

Here are an elevation and rendering of what the area's supposed to look like (soon I hope):

I'm 5'4" and have no trouble reaching into my 30" double ovens. However, my body type is one with disproportinately long arms and legs, so my comfortable reaching difference may be longer than yours.

What will probably make the biggest difference in your comfort level will be to mount the double ovens as low as you can. Most double oven cabinets have a drawer under the ovens, but often you can choose how tall that drawer is. For example, with our company we could choose whether we wanted a 6", 9" or 12" drawer under the ovens and chose the 12". If you were to choose the 6', your ovens would be 6" lower, and it would be easier to reach into the upper oven.

We have a stool from the container store - just as slim as the one from W-S.

It's stored in a compartment 3" wide to the right of the trash pullout. It would have been a filler but we just made the overlay door larger to cover the gap and now we have storage for the step stool and a LARGE piece of heavy marble I use for candy making as well as our heavy duty cutting board. The stepstool always faces away from the underside of the marble slab.

You can just see it to the right of the trash in this picture:

Gailrolfe, I bought the step-stool at Ace Hardware. I just went to their site and found the name, height and price.

EZ Foldz Folding Step Stool - 9" - $13.99.

Jodi-

Here is a link that might be useful: Ace Hardware EZ Foldz Step Stool

Well, rhome and loves2cook, I think a vertical slot is the way to go if I can find the right spot for it...I like your wider door, loves2cook, that's a neat way to do it but I also like the open "just grab and use" idea so I think for the next few days I'll try to "pretend" each option and see what I prefer. And thanks jodi for the Ace link...definitely going to measure my stool to see if 9" would be enough. I have a feeling I may need more than that, though. But the price sure is good. Will also check out the one loves2cook mentioned at the Container Store--one of my favorite places!

Alku05, your comments are very timely as on another thread I've been contemplating whether to put a WD below the double ovens. I was already leaning towards not doing that but when I think that it could actually mean lowering the ovens a bit more that's an even better reason to not put the WD there.

Thanks, all.

Here's my stepstool and it's storage spot. Don't mind the unfinished kitchen. It will be done any day now. At least that's what I keep telling myself!

{{!gwi}}
a href="http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p229/jdayo/?action=view¤t=P9020003.jpg"; target="_blank">{{!gwi}}

gailrolfe, I've been searching for the perfect stepstool as well. I haven't found a thing in any of the stores I've checked but I think I've found a winner in jdayo's...more info please! What's the brand/where did you purchase?

Linda

I'm vertically challenged. (Used to be 5'1'', now I'm only 5'.) I planned for my kitchen not to have any cabinets I couldn't reach. (Yes, it was a brilliant move, and I'm no longer frustrated!) No uppers, thank you very much, and No Stepstools. It was a revolutionary concept, and one I'm very happy with! As for the oven, I picked a side opening oven, a 27 inch Gaggenau, which I absolutely Love.

clair de luna, I love the idea but don't know if I could fit everything into all lowers...do you keep your dishes and your food in lower cabs? I did look at the Gagg and haven't completely eliminated it but the price and the budget may not come to agreement on that one...do you have any pics of your no-uppers-kitchen?

sorriso - It's made by Rubbermaid. I think I paid about $18 at a local hardware store. I also saw it on Amazon.com. When open, the top step is almost 18" high. It fits in a storage space that is 7" wide. I'm only 5'0" and it gets me as high as I want to go.

I was at Bed Bath & Beyond last night and they hae the ez fold for $14.99 minus the 20% coupon and they also had one that has two steps and folds to 2". I think that one was 20.00.

gailrolfe, I actually have a cabinet pantry, and keep my dishes in a cabinet that goes from the ground up in one section of the kitchen, along with drawers in another. I made sure I could reach the highest shelves by installing pull-out shelving so I'd be able to access it from the side, once pulled out. As long as the shelves slide out, or are no deeper than 12 inches, I can manage just fine. Look at pictures on My Page.

Claire, saw your kitchen pics...wow. Very pretty. I love the little rack for skillets in your drawer--much better than stacking them. And the baking drawer as well...great idea that helps me a lot! Thanks.