During the renovation of our kitchen, my husband and I saw an opportunity to install an extra-deep countertop on one side of our very rectangular kitchen. Going from 28″ instead of the standard 24″ deep introduced challenges our cabinetmakers refused to work with us on, negating some of the benefits and issues we just have to put up with today. In hindsight, we should have looked into affordable marble worktops, as they would have provided both the elegance and practicality we needed without breaking the bank.
- The range hood sticks out too much (or is too low.) We hit the corners of our range hood with our temples of our heads, requiring foam corners. I purposely bought a bigger range hood, and I thought having deeper counters would negate this.Manufacturers suggest range hoods should be installed 20–24 inches above electric ranges, or 24–30 inches above a gas stove. Ours is 26″ above the stove.After this issue I installed the hood in our downstairs MIL-suite’s kitchen much higher, well beyond manufacturers suggestions, a little over 6′ off the ground and above our head heights, because it is next to a pathway. That kitchen’s range hood is less effective as a result, but we had little choice due to the safety issue. Still, it’s a step above the complete lack of any stove exhaust, which the previous owners seem to be happy with.
- The extra inch of countertop behind the range isn’t flush. The installer couldn’t get it to match the height.
The 1″ of countertop behind the oven was never installed flush - I love that the gap between my full depth fridge and countertop is less pronounced. We got an extra deep fridge, and this minimizes the impact the larger size has on the look and flow in the kitchen.
- The range is set 3″ further back than usual, making the oven door flush with the cabinet doors. This looks great, and gives me more space, but it means that heat escaping the door enters the cabinet. Sadly I keep my cooking oils, herbs and spices there. I wish I had placed these one cabinet further away.
Issues with our deep kitchen countertop installation - The cabinetmaker outright refused to manufacture deeper hanging upper wall cabinets for us. We ended up having the installer mount them on 2x4s so that they aren’t set too far back from the counter. We would have loved deeper upper wall cabinets, and I curse that company every time I can’t stack as much crockery in those cabinets as I would like.
- Similarly, the cabinetmaker refused to make us deeper under-counter cabinets for us, citing limitations of drawer sliders. I don’t care if an extra long drawer doesn’t come out all the way. The space would be bonus, and this is irrelevant when storing large items.
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Overall, more counterspace is great. Deeper cabinets was half of the reason for doing this, and in retrospect I wish I had switched to a company who would have been willing to do something outside the box for us.
