Everything You Need To Know About Tall Cabinets

tall cabinets in mid century kitchen

Tall Cabinets for Kitchen or Bathroom

Tall cabinets can add a lot of storage and visuall appeal to your kitchen. Some cabinets companies may only offer one or two types of tall cabinets but better companies will have many options to customize your space. 

This post is part of a series were are doing on cabinets types for your kitchen or bath that we feel are part of the 5 Cabinets Every Kitchen Needs.

McManus Kitchen and Bath is a full service remodeling company with an in-house design team and showroom right here in Tallahassee, FL.

If you’re ready to invest in your home and want to work with a company that pays attention to details and provides excellent customer service, schedule a discovery call.

FAQs

  • Q1: What are tall cabinets, and how tall are they typically?

    A1: Tall cabinets, also known as pantry or utility cabinets, are typically 84 to 96 inches tall. They usually reach from the floor to the ceiling or to the height of the upper cabinets. Recommended widths are between 18 and 21 inches for optimal functionality.

    Q2: What are the advantages of installing them in a kitchen?

    A2: Tall cabinets maximize storage space, are space-saving, and provide easy access to stored items. They can be customized with roll-outs, drawers, shelves, and space for appliances, making them versatile and highly functional. They are especially useful in small kitchens and add a high-end feel to any kitchen design.

    Q3: How do tall pantry cabinets compare to pantry closets?

    A3: Tall pantry cabinets are generally better than pantry closets as they are more space-efficient, offer better organizational capacity, and have a high-end, intentional look. They can hold more items and make them easily accessible compared to the smaller, often less functional pantry closets.

    Q4: What types are available for different needs?

    A4: There are various types of tall cabinets, including:

    • Tall Pantry with Rollouts: Offers easy access to items in deeper cabinets.
    • Tall Pantry with Drawers: Combines drawers for heavy items and shelves for food storage.
    • Tall Oven Cabinet: Provides an eye-level oven for convenience.
    • Tall Corner Cabinet: Maximizes corner space efficiently.
    • Tall Pocket Door Cabinet: Features doors that slide back into the cabinet, ideal for storing appliances.
Wood vanity with white countertop mirror and sconce lights
Tall cabinet with pullout
Tall pantry cabinets when you design a kitchen
Tall cabinet with drawers

What Are Tall Cabinets?

They are cabinets that are usually 84 to 96 inches tall. They either reach from floor to ceiling, from floor to the height of the upper cabinets or from the countertop to the ceiling/top of upper cabinets. 

We recommend using tall cabinets that are between 18 and 21 inches wide. Larger than that and the cabinet will require two doors, which isn’t as streamlined. Smaller, and it won’t be as useful for storage. The exception is a tall pantry with a vertical pullout, which is perfect for small spaces. 

Pantry cabinets provide excellent storage and are a great use of space in all types of kitchens and bathroom.  In fact, one 15-inch wide tall cabinet stores as much as a 36-inch upper and 36-inch lower cabinet put together!

Tall cabinets are great for food storage, especially if you don’t have a traditional walk in pantry. You can keep extra dishes or seasonal items in your tall cabinet, or install one without shelving and use it for storing your broom, mop, or vacuum cleaner. They also make great linen storage in bathrooms. 

Another great use for pantry cabinets is for appliances. Microwaves and wall ovens can be built into the cabinets and small appliances can be stored in them with pullouts for easy access. 

Related Post: Custom vs Semi Custom Cabinets

What’s the difference and how to choose

Read more here

When to Use Them

If you have a smaller kitchen, tall cabinets are a genius move for space-saving storage. They take up much less space than closet pantries and they give you more accessible storage. You can fit a lot more in a pantry cabinet than you’d think. They really are the workhorse cabinet of the kitchen.

In the bathroom they are great for linen storage or consider a storage tower for things like hair dryers and medicine storage. 

Putting a tall pantry on either side of your fridge provides a lot of extra storage and gives the fridge a built in look. 

kitchen cabinets remodeling

install a microwave or 3 in 1 oven in a tall cabinet for clutter free counters. 

Should I Install a Pantry Cabinet or a Pantry Closet?

We believe that pantry cabinets are a much better use of space than the small pantry closets that are so common in new builds. Builders prefer pantry closets because they are cheaper to build and install, but pantry cabinets

  • are better looking. They have a more intentional and high-end feel than small pantry closets which always tend to look builder-grade.
  • tend to have better organizational capacity. Because pantry cabinets are more customizable, you can organize them to support what you actually need to store there.
  • take up less space. They’re streamlined and yet very functional.
  • offer more storage. While they look smaller on the outside, the inside packs a punch. They can hold a lot more than you might think, and they do it in a way that makes everything easy to access.

Pantry cabinets are almost always a better option than pantry closets. 

Want Some Inspiration In Your Inbox? 

storage tower

Storage towers, which sit on top of the countertop, are also great for increasing storage. 

Types of Tall Cabinets

When deciding what type of tall cabinet will best fit your space, we recommend semi-custom cabinets from a reputable brand like Decor Cabinetry. If you’re local to Tallahassee, Florida, you can come to our showroom to see them in person. A good cabinet company will offer a variety of options for tall cabinets. Here are some of our favorites.

Tall Pantry with Rollouts

Rollouts are incredibly useful in pantry cabinets. They allow easy access to the items in the back, meaning that you can use a deeper cabinet without sacrificing accessibility. You can get cabinets that have adjustable rollouts as well for complete customizability. 

Tall Pantry with Drawers

Pantry cabinets with drawers inside are practical and helpful. With drawers on the bottom half of the cabinet and shelves on the top half, the cabinet will provide storage for dishes and heavier items in the drawers, and food items on the shelves. Low drawers are more accessible for people with mobility challenges as well.

Tall Oven Cabinet

A tall oven cabinet means no more bending over to use the oven. An eye-level oven offers optimal convenience and ease of use to the chef, and the seamless design looks modern and on-trend. You can even get a double oven for more cooking and baking capacity. Depending on the layout of your kitchen, it might optimize the flow to have the oven on the wall and the range on the kitchen island, meaning more people can use the space at the same time without bumping into each other.

Tall Corner Cabinet

Corner cabinets in kitchens are notoriously tricky. Generally, people use blind corners or lazy susans to make the most of the space. We love Bellmont’s tall corner cabinets for their ability to use every inch of available space and for their clever, seamless design.

Tall Pocket Door Cabinet

On tall cabinets, pocket doors open and then slide back into a space between the cabinet and the wall (or the adjacent cabinets). This means that you can completely open the cabinet without having doors sticking out and getting in your way. Pocket doors are a great option if you use your tall cabinet for appliances like a mixer, microwave, or coffeemaker. You can slide the doors back, use the appliance, and hide it when you’re done.

Tall Linen Cabinets

Tall linen cabinets are great for all kinds of storage in the bathroom. They are less deep than kitchen tall cabineets so you can use them with or without rollouts. 

Tall cabinet for closet storage

Tall cabinets also make great closet storage

Next Steps

Are you ready to install a tall cabinet in your kitchen? Whether you want a completely remodeled space or want to optimize the kitchen you have without major changes, we can help you.

Our team has more than 20 years of experience that we can leverage for you to make your kitchen more efficient, more beautiful, and more customized to your needs.

Serving Tallahassee neighborhoods like Midtown and Betton Hills, we’re here to help you. Contact us today to get started.