What should the height of kitchen units be?

If you’re fitting a new kitchen in your home, the last thing you want is for your worktop to be too low or too high when you’re trying to chop up fruit and veg! So, what should the height of kitchen units be?

If you’re fitting a new kitchen in your home, the last thing you want is for your worktop to be too low or too high when you’re trying to chop up fruit and veg! So, what should the height of kitchen units be?

What should the height of kitchen units be?

There’s no official height that you have to make your kitchen units or worktop. Rather, it’s about finding the most comfortable height for everyone in the home.

Ideally, your kitchen worktop will be level with your wrist bone. That means that someone very tall is likely to appreciate higher units and worktop than someone smaller.

Having said that, there is a standard height that tends to work well for most people.

Generally, base units tend to come to a height of 870mm off the ground. You’d then add 40mm of worktop to bring the total finished height to 910mm.

This will not only be ergonomic for most people, but it will also allow you to fit plinths without cutting them down.

How high should wall cabinets be?

Again, there’s no set height for wall cabinets. However, the standard is to position the bottom of your wall cabinets 470mm from the top of your kitchen worktop.

This means your wall cabinets would be positioned 1320mm off the ground.

Just remember that every homeowner and every kitchen is different – so, there’s no need to follow the industry standard exactly.

For instance, if you’re particularly tall, you might find your wall cabinets block your view of the worktop in this position. Alternatively, if you have a small kitchen, you might find that positioning your cabinets higher up helps to give the illusion of space.

However, beware about lowering your cabinets too close to the worktop. You’ll want to make sure that there’s room for electrical appliances – like kettles and food processors – to sit on the worktop beneath the wall cabinets.

Find a kitchen fitter

If you want to make sure that your kitchen is fitted to a professional standard that you can be proud of, why not hire a kitchen fitter?

They’ll be familiar with all of the industry standards, but will also have experience of working with a variety of kitchens that come in all shapes, sizes and heights!

Got a question and need an expert's advice? Ask a trade today!