Custom cabinet height for a gas fireplace?

[John4415]

I’m finally starting a custom build for myself. Going to build cabinets on the left and right of my gas fireplace. The top frame of the FP is 32.5” the bottom of the mantel is 38”. My ? is are there any standards for height of the cabinets? 
38” would make the cabinet flush with the bottom of mantel but is that too high visually? Oh and ceiling height is 8’

Any ideas are greatly appreciated

Most member list tools. I’ve been collecting festool since I joined the festool owners group.

 

[Ptk16]

Standard base cabinets are 34.5" so that a 1.5" counter brings it to 36", but if you are custom making something the height is really up to you. The visual appearance is really personal preference. Are you planning on having them off to the sides of the fireplace bump out or on the face?

 

[jeh]

The height is up to you. I recommend you getting a book or two focusing on built-ins and/or cabinetry. They may give you some ideas you have not thought of. One concern is the height of the countertop in reference to the mantle. If the depth of your cabinetry is close to or exceeds the depth of the fireplace and the height is similar to the mantle height you probably want to adjust the cabinetry only because the it could look odd if the vertical center of countertop is close to (slightly above or below) the vertical center of the mantle. With a standard base cabinet height I don't think it will matter as the mantle is probably close to 48".

Even though they are different materials and thickness if they are close but not centered it might look visually weird. I'd encourage you to get some blue painters tape and possibly some large cardboard scraps. You can use these create a mockup to see what it will look like. You don't need to make the cardboard into boxes, but instead use it to create a facade. You can do the same with tape.

Follow up with some completed photos and don't hesitate to ask follow ups. There are a lot of craftsmen here who will have insight on your design.

 

[John4415]

Thanks for the replies.

Tile is in. The fireplace bump out is 5’-10”.  The area to the left and right is 3’-8”.
I’m going to build the cabinets full width and have the cabinet stiles in front of the tile.
Now that I have the tile installed I will definitely use cardboard as a temporary height as a visual aid. I left the top tile long so if I decided to have the cabinets lower than the mantel I could wrap the tile.

 

[BarneyD]

Hi John,

Some real good advice above. A couple of years ago I built this. But the actual designing part was easy (for me) because it was dictated by my bride. And she's always correct. All I had to do was execute the mechanics. Maybe some food for thought?

[attachimg=1]

 

[tiralie]

Tile is in. The fireplace bump out is 5’-10”.  The area to the left and right is 3’-8”.

How deep is the bump out 21.5"?

 

[peter halle]

While you are designing everything I would urge you to check out the building codes in your area for details about combustibles and clearances as it directly effects you.

Peter

 

[jeh]

Hi John,

Some real good advice above. A couple of years ago I built this. But the actual designing part was easy (for me) because it was dictated by my bride. And she's always correct. All I had to do was execute the mechanics. Maybe some food for thought?

[attachimg=1]

Great balanced design. I like the fireplace and the wall above having a small setback from the left and right side cabinets. Molding looks nice as well. Just the right amount of detail without taking away from the rest of the design.

 

[tiralie]

While you are designing everything I would urge you to check out the building codes in your area for details about combustibles and clearances as it directly effects you.

Agreed. Do not ignore (not saying you are) the specs that came with the unit for combustibles clearance. 
Tim

 

[John4415]

Tile is in. The fireplace bump out is 5’-10”.  The area to the left and right is 3’-8”.

How deep is the bump out 21.5"?

Tim
The depth to the face of the tile is 20.5”. It is a shallow slimline fireplace. The unit itself is 16” deep. I framed out the area with 2.5” metal studs insulated with roxul.

Everything is up to combustible clearances.

The tv and mantel are lower than usual because I didn’t want the tv to high while enjoying tv from my breakfast counter.

I did install a tv mount to lower it while enjoying a movie or watching soon to be baseball season.

 

[John4415]

So I decided to build a new sink base for laundry room to practice cabinets for FP
Feeling comfortable with my Festool tools.
While eating for glue to dry decided todo some soup.
French onion is so good with Hennessy as a base flavor.