Size your cabinets to the cook
Enter the height of whoever uses the kitchen most. Everything else follows from it.
How this calculator works
- Elbow height = 0.62 × standing height. An anthropometric ratio that holds well across adult populations.
- Counter = elbow − 12 cm, rounded to the nearest centimetre and clamped to 82–96 cm so the result stays buildable with standard carcass sizes.
- Base carcass = counter − plinth − counter thickness, with a 50 cm floor so the figure never goes absurd.
- Wall unit bottom = counter + your chosen gap. Top = bottom + wall unit height.
- Comfortable reach = 1.15 × user height. If the top shelf sits above that, the tool says so and suggests what to store there.
- Hob clearance = 65 cm at an 88 cm counter, rising half a centimetre for every centimetre the counter goes up, clamped to 60–75 cm.
| User height | Elbow height | Counter height | Comfortable reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) | 93 cm | 82 cm | 173 cm |
| 158 cm (5 ft 2 in) | 98 cm | 86 cm | 182 cm |
| 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 102 cm | 90 cm | 190 cm |
| 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | 107 cm | 95 cm | 199 cm |
| 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 112 cm | 96 cm | 207 cm |
Counter heights are clamped at 96 cm. Above that, carcass and appliance standards stop cooperating and the fix is a raised plinth on one run rather than a taller carcass throughout.
Design and build under one accountable roof
Worked example — the default 165 cm cook
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Elbow height | 0.62 × 165 | 102.3 cm |
| Counter height | 102.3 − 12, rounded | 90 cm |
| Base carcass | 90 − 10 plinth − 4 counter | 76 cm |
| Wall unit bottom | 90 + 55 | 145 cm |
| Wall unit top | 145 + 70 | 215 cm |
| Comfortable reach | 1.15 × 165 | 190 cm |
| Reach verdict | 205 vs 190 | Top shelf is 15 cm above comfortable reach |
The reach check uses the top shelf, 10 cm below the carcass top edge. It is normal for the last shelf to sit above reach — that is where the seldom-used pressure cooker lives.
Two runs at two heights
The best kitchens we build are not at one height throughout. The wash and prep run goes at elbow minus 12 cm as calculated here, and the hob run goes 5 cm lower. The reason is simple: you work on a counter and you work in a pan, so the effective working surface at the hob is the base of the vessel, which sits 100–150 mm above the counter. Dropping the hob run keeps your wrists in the same relationship to both.
The same logic applies vertically to storage. The zone between 60 cm and 150 cm from the floor is where 80% of daily use should live — that is the base drawers and the lowest wall shelf. Below 60 cm belongs to heavy, infrequent items on full-extension drawers, because a hinged shutter at that height means squatting and reaching blind. Above the reach limit the tool calculates belongs to the things you take out twice a year. Designing the storage to those three bands, rather than filling every carcass identically, is what separates a kitchen that works from one that merely fits.
It costs nothing extra to do at design stage — it is two carcass heights instead of one — and it is impossible to retrofit once the counter slab is cut. If two people of very different heights share the kitchen, the same trick works: prep run to the taller user, hob and sink to the shorter one.
Every constant on this page comes from Greenbox site records — measured drawings, signed BOQs and completion certificates from projects delivered between 2023 and 2026 — rounded to the figures an estimator would actually write down. We publish them so the arithmetic can be audited rather than trusted. Treat the output as a planning figure: accurate enough to brief a landlord, a bank or a family, and not accurate enough to sign a contract against.
What this tool does not cover
- Appliance constraints. A built-in oven, dishwasher or washing machine has a fixed carcass opening and may force the base height.
- Slab thickness on site. A 20 mm quartz slab on a plywood sub-top behaves like 30 mm — confirm the build-up with your fabricator.
- Existing tiling or flooring levels, which in a renovation can eat 15–25 mm before the plinth even starts.
- Wheelchair or seated-use kitchens, which need a different set of clearances entirely.
- Corner units, carousels and the dead corner — layout questions the kitchen layout planner covers.
- Cost. Priced separately in the modular kitchen cost calculator.
Selected work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard kitchen counter height in India?+
850 mm is the usual default, which suits a cook of around 158 cm. It is a convention, not a rule. A 165 cm cook is better served by 900 mm and a 175 cm cook by 950 mm, and changing it costs nothing at drawing stage.
How high should wall cabinets be above the counter?+
550 mm is the standard gap — enough to use a mixer grinder under the units without the lid hitting. 500 mm is the minimum and only works if nothing tall is used on that run. Above 600 mm the wall units start to look detached from the base run.
What is the standard depth of kitchen cabinets?+
600 mm for base and tall units, 320–350 mm for wall units. Base units deeper than 600 mm put the back of the counter out of reach; wall units deeper than 350 mm start to hit your head when you work at the counter.
How much clearance is needed between hob and chimney?+
650 to 750 mm from the hob surface to the underside of the chimney. Below 650 mm the chimney gets hot and the flame is disturbed; above 750 mm suction falls off sharply. Check the chimney manufacturer's figure, which overrides this.
Should both kitchen runs be the same height?+
Not necessarily. Setting the hob run 50 mm lower than the prep run keeps your wrists level whether you are chopping on the counter or stirring in a pan. It is free at design stage and cannot be done afterwards.