unless there's some ductwork or something in there--and with that small of a soffit, i can't imagine there would be--just pull down the whole thing and then add the cabinetry you want.

you're actually lucky that soffit isn't really connected to anything, so pulling it down doesn't mean you're automatically going to have to pull down the other soffit in the room.

bubbye, soffit!

Ditto what edlakin said.

BTW, I previously saw stretch-Dad in your ID name, then when you said DH, I thought maybe same sex couple, but seeing your photo, and rereading your ID name carefully, I see there is no Dad there! Oops! :>)
Gonna blame either the paint splatters on my glasses, or the fumes!

Ditto also - removing soffits will give you more storage space and opportunity to add crown molding.

If possible, I would remove the soffits.

However, if you cannot remove them, then I would put cabinets in front of them. Either:

* put in cabinets that are deep enough to go from the outside of the refrigerator & pantry to the soffit OR

* put in two cabinets, the ones at the top (in front of the soffit) would be only 12" or so deep and the ones below would be 24" deep and down to the top of the refrigerator & pantry cabinet.

On the ends, simply put a finished panel to hide it...probably a panel the entire height to make it look like one piece rather than two different pieces. You'll have to do it anyway on the refrigerator end to enclose it. Just repeat it on the pantry end as well...it'll probably be approx 3/4".

As to the rest of the kitchen, you could clad the soffit in matching wood panels or veneer--if they wouldn't stick out too far...it depends on the depth of the soffit compared to the soffit. You could then put in crown molding above all the cabinetry in the kitchen at the ceiling.

Will you be DIYing it? If so, and there's nothing in the soffit, you might be able to take it down yourself and re-frame & drywall it. But, most likely there's at least plumbing inside soffits...that's usually the reason you have a soffit in the first place.

I removed the soffits in my current kitchen. They were just an empty shell--no plumbing or wiring. Framing wasn't necessary. All I had to do was fill in with drywall.

A quick peak using a big bit on a drill will tell you if there is anything up there to worry about :) (I've done that many times...if it's full, patch the hole and move on to step 2).

Do a search here for "soffits" or dang what else do people call them???? I know there are a couple of threads that point to specific kitchens in the FKB that have left the soffits in, and completely disquised them to match the cabinets. They look FABULOUS!

I'm known as the soffit police by my contractors and their subs....I took two out, and one was a major support beam for a four unit town home :oP So any of them can come out :) But that one looks to be a really easy one!

I think "furring" is another term.

Bulkhead?

We just took out the soffits in my kitchen. We are not DIY so actually the contractor did this- but to check that it was doable, he drilled a little hole at the ends (like maybe 4 inches round) and then took a flashlight to shine in. luckily there was nothing there, except at one point a pipe that he was able to see and able to deal with. I thought that was a pretty simple way to tell if it will be doable.

We were able to remove soffits in our remodel which had little in them. However, the new house we built has duct work and plumbing in the soffits in several places, so you would not be able to remove them.

Anne

The soffits/dropped ceiling were removed from our old kitchen. Luckily, there wasn't anything "in" the soffits such as plumbing or ductwork. I am very pleased with the outcome. Not only does it make our new kitchen feel SO much larger, it's SO much more visually appealing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Before, after demo, and mid-remodel

We planned to take the soffits down in our kitchen, but when we started it turned out that all kinds of electrical and plumbing stuff was in them. Our house is about 110 years old and it would have been a huge deal to move the plumbing and the electrical work. We ended up ordering panels that match our cabinets for the soffits. They are not installed, yet, but hopefully it will look fine!