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2littlefishies

Help Decide TODAY which Version of Stacked Cabs

2LittleFishies
11 years ago

OK they are not really stacked but give the look of it.

Cab maker planned to do an upper cabinet separated by a rail so there would be a door below for main cab and door above for small glass front cab.

Here is our plan with the separate top door--

The main cabinet is 26" and the top is 10" although actually higher inside the top cabinet. I don't want main cab to look too "squatty" but it doesn't in the plan pictures.

I see some people do not do a separate door for the top and just use all one door- sometimes with glass at top panel instead of being solid.

Wondering which I should do? We have 8' ceilings so I thought we might gain a couple of inches of cabinet by doing one door instead of 2 separate doors.

I believe then we wouldn't need the 2" rail in between.

Here is the 2 doors...: (or are these actually stacked?)

katieob's old kitchen (anyone know if her ceilings were 8 feet???)

Here is all one door but top section can still look separate

beekeeper- (she has higher ceilings)

without glass, but same idea- you can do bottom solid and top glass

katieob's new kitchen (LOVE!)

Thoughts??? I have to let cab maker tonight if I'm changing to one door or not! lol

Comments (23)

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    With 8' ceilings, I would not do two doors. To maximize space, I would choose one door paneled to look like two.

    Katie's old kitchen had stacked, inset uppers. I think I remember her ceilings being taller than 8', but don't know for sure. By my math though (3' counters, hood 30" off range, 18" MA ps26 hood, upper cab above plus thick crown), I would say they were taller than 8'. Maybe only 8.5'.

    Good luck with whatever you decide!

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    I just saw a comment on an old thread about Katie's ceilings being higher than 9'.

  • suzanne_sl
    11 years ago

    I vote for a single door with glass in the upper section. The problem with 2 doors is losing that inch or so of space necessary to make the separation. With 8' ceilings, you need every inch you can find.

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago

    I would also do one door with 8' ceilings. In my current kitchen we actually have 8' ceilings and single tall uppers that go all the way to the ceiling with one door, and it works great!

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I love the look of Katieob's new kitchen cabs : ) I wonder what that ceiling height is?

  • senator13
    11 years ago

    I prefer the utility of just one door myself. Although the look of two is neat, I just don't think I would get up there to open the top one. Our celling starts at 8 ft.

    From Gardenweb photos

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I just thought of something. We had electric run to the top uppers so we can light those with pucks. If we do one door can we still use wood shelves and will the top shelf (or whatever separates the 2 sections) block all the light? I wouldn't want it to "seep" into the lowers.

    We don't want any glass shelves and decided not to light the 2 main uppers that are glass that surround the hood to save some money. However the top sections were mostly for display so we lit them. Wondering if this will work with one door configuration?

  • blfenton
    11 years ago

    We have 8' ceilings and have 4-true stacked cabinets with separate doors and the others are straight cabinets.

    The stacked cabinets are glass on the top, lit with puck lights and the top cabinet is to show some of my pottery.

    I also have 5 cabinets that are all one door and then I have 2 cabinets that have all glass doors.

    They are arranged pretty much symmetrically through out the kitchen.

    I'm 5'7" and have trouble reaching the top shelf anyway and so in the full cabinets it is where the seldom used stuff is put. I see nothing wrong (obviously) with making stacked cabinets and a glass door on the top to show something off.

    I really like the arrangement that you have designed on the oven wall. However, I find the arrangement on your range wall/area very choppy and busy looking. Perhaps consider allowing your vent hood and corbels to be the center of attention and do non-glass, non-stacked cabinets there and use them to frame the vent hood and corbels. (Kind of like beekeepers non-close doors) Just a thought.

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    thanks blfenton! Do you have pics of your cabs?

    Your suggestion then is around the hood not to do any glass at all? Just checking. What do you mean by bee's non-close doors?

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    I don't know the height of Katie's new kitchen, but her Liebherr is about 80" tall.

    I agree with Miss Blfenton about the hood area looking busy. And, I think by "non-close", she's referring to a proximity of Bee's cabs from her hood. The breathing space between them lets each shine.

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Does bee have a finished thread or pics you can show me?.. I have the sneak peak and the hood isn't there.

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    Here you go.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bee

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks breezy!
    Nothing to do with the hood but bee has 4 shelves and katieob has 3 so maybe katieob has lower ceiling?

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    I'm thinking you are correct. Bee's are 9' IIRC. Rough math makes me think Katie's new kitchen is lower ceilinged.

    Btw...I still suck. I haven't replied to your emails as email on the old iPad is difficult as the email app doesn't work for me anymore. Replying is cumbersome.

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Maybe that's why Katie didn't do stacked this time.

    No worries about the spice drawer email. Those are pretty much planned and I think I'm okay : ) Thanks!

  • blfenton
    11 years ago

    Sorry that should be Bee's non-GLASS doors. Sorry for the confusion. Time for my mid-afternoon coffee. So you see she has kept the glass doors in one spot around the window and then non-glass doors , with a little breathing space (breezy is correct) around the range.

    Do you have to have cupboards above the vent hood? Are they earmarked for anything? I'm just wondering if instead of doing them, just continue the vent hood up by duplicating the framing pattern that you have below the molding and put it above the molding as well. And then cabinets, such as Bee's on either side. Just a thought.

    You should, while I am just wildly expressing my opinion, know that I do prefer a cleaner look. Oh and no pics because I am techno-challenged. However I did buy myself a digital camera (easy to use - photography isn't the issue) and I'm taking a course on how to download and post those suckers - so watch out come the end of November.

  • francoise47
    11 years ago

    Rough math makes me think that katieob's new kitchen ceilings are 8.5 feet.

  • a2gemini
    11 years ago

    Fishies -we have 8 foot ceilings and I could not imagine splitting it into 2 - I think it would make it look squatty. (OK - made up word but spellcheck didn't argue)
    Also, it is a long reach to open the top - I would vote for one door with inset glass at the top.
    And can't wait to see that gorgeous yellow kitchen come to fruition (we are at 99%!)

  • katieob
    11 years ago

    Hi friends,

    Pretty sure the new kitchen is 8.5 and the last kitchen was 9, possibly 9.5.
    I can get clarification from my husband in a little while.
    I first set out to do the same stacked cabinet look in the new kitchen, but the new ceiling heights were causing them to look "scrunched". I'm really happy with the single cabinet solution. Looks more "on purpose" where the stacked would have looked forced.

    Sorry I haven't been a very good contributor lately- all of a sudden life got crazy with summer, preschool, kindergarten, etc.
    I hope to be more active on GW as things settle down. I've missed it. We finished our banquette area, so I hope to post photos soon.

    Fishies- is this helpful? Let me know any info you need to help you make decisions. It's so tough, I know!

    Cheers,
    Katie

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    blfenton- The 4 cupboards above the hood I believe are not usable but cab maker said you do need access to the hood in case there are issues or something like that. However, they wouldn't have to really be doors as long as there is access I assume. Your idea is a good thought.

    PS- I'll be waiting for November ; )

    ***********OH, can someone speak to the lighting issue I mentioned at Sep 10, 12 at 17:28?? I would want to make sure the top shelf would stop any light from bleeding into the main cabinet.

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    a2gemini- I used "squatty" in the OP so it MUST be a word! : ) However, in the diagram from my cab maker it seems proportionate right?

    katieob- Yes very helpful! Good to hear you are happy with your one door solution. Can you address lighting issue I asked about on Sep 10, 12 at 17:28? I think yours have light all the way down although now that I think about it...

    The cabs with glass only at the top shouldn't be an issue b/c the bottoms will have solid doors (unless light will sneak through the cracks?) And the ones with all glass, I assume the electrician can just run lighting around the face frame of the whole cabinet being the electric is already there. I'll have to check. I'm not 100% on how the construction of the cabinet work and if that top shelf is truly separate or not really...

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I planned to put bead board in the backs of the 2 lower glass cabinets around hood (and it's also in the open shelving of baking area). Do you think with having one door and following katie's new kitchen look that it would still work to do bead board in the main are and plain above it?

  • 2LittleFishies
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    We decided to do the single cabinet with the doors having glass panel at the top. NOW the issue is we planned lights for those glass tops but now that they aren't stacked I don't want the light to bleed down into the lowers.
    Cab guy says he can do a deck shelf where the rail on the door separates solid part from glass. Basically a non-movable shelf so the light will be contained in the top part where the glass is. What have yOu done with lighting?

    The all glass cabs around hood would now have to have lights around the frame of the whole door (we were originally only lighting the top cab- not the rest of the glass at bottom.)

    Any suggestions appreciated!