An Old House for Tall People 7

My girlfriend and I bought a house and I’m going to be taking you all on a tour of it in an upcoming post. But first, I’d like to show you the old apartment while pointing out some useful and not so useful features for tall people.

The apartment is the ground floor of an updated old house (1906 if I recall correctly). As was fairly common back then, the house has 9′ ceilings throughout. Just about anyone can appreciate open spaces, but for tall people in particular it feels less cramped. Contrarily though, old houses tend to have low basement ceilings and this house is no exception, making the basement off limits for me. So my girlfriend got to use the finished portion of the basement essentially as an extra large walk in closet.

An extension was added on the back of the house, enlarging the kitchen, which is clearly the highlight of the house. Custom cherry cabinets were installed that go right up to the ceiling. This is a brilliant use of space, and though tall people will like it most, not so tall people can still get at it with a stool. I don’t understand why cupboards so often end a foot short of the ceiling…

The main counter tops are at an unfortunate 36 inches. However, the island has been raised up to 39 inches. Given the variation in the nature of kitchen tasks, plus the variety of heights of people that use a given kitchen, it only makes sense to have multiple counter top heights. Though 39 inches is far better for me than 36, it was still really short, hence my use of a kneeling chair or a raised cutting board.

The sink is one of those deep ones, which is a major pain in the tall back. Luckily the faucet is fairly high and close to the front edge of the sink, so at least you can get a glass of water without hunching. The fridge is the freezer on bottom french door style, so the most frequently used items are at a higher height and thus reasonably accessible for tall people.

Though the french doors on the back of the house let in a lot of light, my vision line is at the top of the door where there is no window. The crescent window above the door is a great addition for tall people as it allows us to see the sky.

The doorway leading to the kitchen has a brick archway that seems like it was built to fit me. Not once did I ever hit my head.

That’s it for the kitchen. Other than that, the only other tall specific aspects of the house that warrant mention are the shelving and windows throughout that make fine use of the 9′ ceilings.

The apartment was truly a score. Rent was reasonable, it was central, and all the tall friendly features made it comfortable. Though it was a bit sad leaving for the last time, our new old house has its perks too. Best of all, we own it, so we are free to modify it as we see fit. Subscribe or check back soon for a tour of the new place and some hints on the modifications come!