This is just my opinion but: Ornamented corners seem now to be associated with DIY. The corner comes premade (Inside corner or outside corner) so the do-it-yourselfer does not have to worry about mitering. Thus, even though it is more ornamental, to me it makes me think of work that is amateur because of its associations. The other thing perhaps is that ornamented segments of mouldings were very specific to certain periods of American architecture, mostly in the victorian era, and I feel that that is where they are appropriate. My particular block is c.1840, with some relatively ornate cornices and centerpieces and yet there are no ornamented corners --that was later victoriana, and even then they weren't used in rooms with lower ceiling heights. If the ceiling approached 9 or 8 feet, the mouldings were plainer.

BTW I would like to use the moulding to close the gap between the cabinet and ceiling (I have not yet installed the cabinets, I can figure out the correct hanging height if I can choose a moulding now. Do you see any problem with this if the ceiling does not run true (I am sure this happens), Does anyone know how this is addressed? Caulking? Or just leave a tiny gap between top of moulding and ceiling? It's addressed by that piece of 2x4 flat stock you mentioned -- the molding is attached right against the ceiling, so it's the flat bit between cabinet and molding that winds up making up the unevenness. Sounds like it would be really obviously uneven, but because of the flat plane, it works! A real carpenter will probably wander along soon to fill you in on the details. :) If you go to a local lumberyard, they will have a lot of different cove moldings to choose from, and there are many excellent online sources, too.

I am so grateful for this feedback I have received today. And thank you again PPF and Bryan911 for all the helpful details. I am going to see about a new upper cabinet. We’ve put too much into this project to let two upper cabinets good us up :) I had a lot of people including a designer I hired for a short time out eyes on this, and we still missed it. Just goes to show you how difficult it can be to build a house and get all the details to work out as hoped. PPF — the reason we broke up the expanse of the pantry door with shaker panels was since we wanted it to look integrates with the cabinetry and to break up the tall doors since we have 10’ ceilings. I do agree also about hinges that can be hidden. It also annoys me that they are such a bright gold when my lights and cabinet hardware will be more of an aged, satin brass. Is it easy to switch out hinges and not mess up the doors?

We find the height of base and crown that are most pleasing to the eye are the ones derived from classical proportions. For a 10' ceiling height, we would use 6 3/4" base and single-member cove or crown with a vertical projection of 4" Marianne Cusato's book "Getting Your House Right" is an excellent reference for moulding sizes--and lot's of other stuff, too.