Kitchen Cabinet toe kicks

[GreenGA]

This is will be the first of many questions about a new kitchen we were commissioned to design, make, build and install...  The HO wants as much storage as possible (the kitchen being about 17x17, but actually about 13x17, when all is said and done).

First up, Toe Kicks.

Since we will be building the cabinets, we were thinking of raising the toe kick from 4" to 5", and then installing a shallow drawer behind the toe kick for those items that are flat; trays, some lids, linens, and whatever else the HO would like to hide/store. Obviously, we would lose 1" in the height of the base cabinet interior dimension...

So, the question to those much more experienced than us in kitchen design, would the human eye notice the additional 1" in height of the toe kick, or is there something we are not thinking of/planning for?

We've already done this in other projects; although those projects were cabinets in which the base trim would cover the toe kick "area".  We installed those behind the base trim with a push and release locking mechanism.  The results were much appreciated.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Coming up in the next thread, microwave placement/storage.

 

[tjbnwi]

I dont change the kick height when I do kick storage.

Tom

 

[Rollin22Petes]

I also do not raise toe kicks for storage it can be done in a standard 4'' toe kick. One thing to consider is appliance's are designed for a 4'' toe kick so the bottom rail of your base cabinet wouldn't line up with the appliance's.

 

[tiralie]

So, the question to those much more experienced than us in kitchen design, would the human eye notice the additional 1" in height of the toe kick, or is there something we are not thinking of/planning for?

If the appliances line up at 5" then the most people won't notice or care. If the base of the appliances break the base cabinet line even the a casual observer will notice.
I have installed 6" kick plates, but all the appliances were manufactured to allow for that height.
Tim

 

[GreenGA]

Never being one afraid to say I'm wrong...

D'oh!

I completely forgot about lining up the appliances...  That said, as I type these words, the only appliances in the section of cabinets where we were thinking of placing the toe kicks, is the refrigerator; plus a tall cabinet to house the double oven and warming drawer...

Perhaps as tjbnwi and Rollin22Petes suggest, we should leave the toe kicks at 4".  Then again, since we are building the cabinets and gutting the kitchen back to the studs, we could always raise the up appliances by the additional inch with plywood.  We're already planning to raise the cabinets up the thickness of the new cork flooring, so an additional inch under the appliances to level everything out would not be an issue.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts, please keep'm coming.

 

[bertv]

My toe kicks are 8 inches high (20 cm) and all drawers, except for the bit under the dishwasher and a corner. As my counter height is 40 1/2 inches (101,5 cm) there are no issues with space for the DW.

The drawers kind of compensate for the lack of upper cabinets (I dislike those, prefer open shelves) and offer a lot of storage. They slide out when I kick ’m and are soft closing.

 

[greg mann]

My toe kicks are 8 inches high (20 cm) and all drawers, except for the bit under the dishwasher and a corner. As my counter height is 40 1/2 inches (101,5 cm) there are no issues with space for the DW.

The drawers kind of compensate for the lack of upper cabinets (I dislike those, prefer open shelves) and offer a lot of storage. They slide out when I kick ’m and are soft closing.

I think there's a stealth gloat in this post.  [poke] The Dutch are the tallest folks in the developed world.

 

[tiralie]

Then again, since we are building the cabinets and gutting the kitchen back to the studs, we could always raise the up appliances by the additional inch with plywood.

With the addition of being able to level some appliances are set to a specific toe kick height and depth. Unless you can install a toe kick board in front of them to hide the build up it will look weird. Also, make sure you are not going to interfere with a soffit if you raise a fridge higher than it is designed to go.

Tim

 

[GreenGA]

Then again, since we are building the cabinets and gutting the kitchen back to the studs, we could always raise the up appliances by the additional inch with plywood.

With the addition of being able to level some appliances are set to a specific toe kick height and depth. Unless you can install a toe kick board in front of them to hide the build up it will look weird. Also, make sure you are not going to interfere with a soffit if you raise a fridge higher than it is designed to go.

Tim

If we raise everything else, we had planned on that toe kick board in front of the appliances.  As for the fridge and a soffit. We're good to go there.  The fridge is a 42" counter-depth Jenn-Aire over which we will place either cabinets, or just a false cabinet front; I need to read the manufacturer's specs on the fridge to know what we can and cannot do.

 

[mwahaha]

If the appliances are going to be stainless steel, then it wouldn't be hard to have new lower panels made to hide the extra height, you could even just glue some new stainless sheet to the existing lower panel depending on the design.

I'm curious though, how would the drawers function if you did this in an old house with out of level floors?

 

[GreenGA]

I'm curious though, how would the drawers function if you did this in an old house with out of level floors?

Interesting question...

We already know the floors are not exactly level.  In fact, there is a hump in the floor the HO has lived with for a few decades.  I had one of my guys go into their crawlspace to see if he could determine the cause of the hump, but nothing was obvious.  [unsure]

What we'll probably do is when the kitchen is gutted back to the studs and subfloor, we'll fix the hump in the floor, then run a laser beam around the room to identify the floor's highest point and go from there; typical cabinet installation practices...  If the floor is not too bad, we can shim the new subfloor to bring everything close.

If it's too far gone, then before we build up the subfloor, we'll probably pour a leveling compound and go from there.

In case it's not obvious, the builder of this home took SO many shortcuts during construction and now the HO is forced to pay again.  [mad]