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Double stock wall cabinets 10 ft ceiling

10 years ago

Hello,

Our kitchen has 10 ft ceiling and we currently have 30 in wall cabinets leaving exactly enough room between the ceiling and the cabinet for another 30 in on top. I do not want to buy new cabinets (42 in) so my choice is either to get another 30 in and put on top or leave it as it is.

I would really like the cabinets to reach the ceiling and I could use the extra storage space but I wonder if two rows of the same size cabinet will make the kitchen look like a storage room or garage.

Has anyone seen this done or has done it, can you offer any insight as to what this may end up looking like when done?

Thank you very much for any input!

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Comments (7)

User
10 years ago
If you have 10' ceilings, then you have 66" of space above the standard bottom alignment of cabinets, which is 54" above the finished floor. 30's on top of 30's would be a disproportionate stack, and have a top heavy feeling even though the cabinets would be the same size.

You could do 18"s on top, with 6" of crown and have 12" of space to the ceiling, or you could do 15"s with 6" of crown and have 15" of space to the ceiling.

If you truly want cabinets "to the ceiling" then the lower cabinet size has to increase to be able to work visually.
chris401
10 years ago
I'm not sure I understand holly springs response. We are considering a similar 30/30 stack, how would that be disproportionate? In addition, the 30 lines up great with the top of a built in fridge at 84". In theory at least.
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I think it's important that the room (& the windows & doors) be large enough to balance the imposing scale of cabinets to a tall ceiling; otherwise, it might be a bit overwhelming. My kitchen is one end of a great room (approx 1/2 the room) that is 14'x37'. The ceiling is 11' (150 year old house) with pantries on one side going all the way up & the opposite wall has cabinets to approx. 10'; the short connecting wall has a tall window & door that repeat the sense of height but give a visual break; & the opposite end of the kitchen is open to the living area. If the kitchen had been narrower or enclosed instead of opening into another area, I suspect the super tall cabinets would feel top-heavy. Likewise, regular height cabinets would look dwarfed against the rest of my architectural components.
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I love the look of your kitchen, babs, I think the open space above is a great look. Unless you have money to burn AND a too-large kitchen, I vote for 8 to 8.5 ft of cabinets with cove lighting above. What does cove lighting do? It gives soft indirect light which is always more flattering than high wattage central bulbs. Plus for smaller kitchens it highlights the openness of your ceilings and turns dark, murky shadows above the cabinets into a pleasant accent feature. I love all your stacked/stacked look pics above, guys, especially with the backlit top row. But worth the extra money over cove lighting? Probably not unless you have an unlimited budget or you've REALLY REALLY gotta have it. Then you probably should get it. :) Davif
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How do you find a KD that isn't attached to a company? I am in the same situation as 'airebabe' and cannot find anyone that isn't attached to a cabinet company or kitchen contractors. I called people listed as KD's from Houzz and they are all attached to contractors. We live in Florida and it's been a nightmare. When we lived in NYC, it was easy to hire a designer, pay them independently and shop for everything myself. Not possible here in Florida. I don't want to intrude on 'airbabe' post, but everyone keeps recommending KD's but how do you find them? Jane
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CPartist - it looks like you don't have crown which takes away one of the trim issues. And, to be fair, we have no idea of design aesthetic of OP. So trim doesn't always matter for sure. True on both counts. In my area, what is typically (but not always) done is that trim is fairly heavy with 10 ft ceilings. Which is generally fitting. Then it can be too heavy in a lower ceiling area. Not a big deal really but an additional complexity/decision to make. I have found that whether 9' or 10', the same trim can usually be used. I had heavy trim in my 1898 Farmhouse Victorian which had 9' ceilings. I would argue that the average person building a house already gets overwhelmed with decisions so this can increase this. Certainly FLW didn't mind and you either. That can be true but that's not what the OP asked. In your pic, you maintain a consistency visually with a high trim line that is not typical. And there are no doors. And I am absolutely sure that doors can be made to work but again is a decision/complexity that isn't there with consistent height ceilings. Look closely and you can see the red front door in the foyer. :) This is the mudroom entry door and the door to my pantry and the powder room. All are 8' Now if an architect is specing the ceiling height change and dealing with trim/doors/windows/chandeliers design choices - that is a different story. So what you're assuming is that the typical person building a house, can't decide on their own whether to lower a ceiling?
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User
10 years ago
The ideal proportion are 2/3 and 1/3. The top cabinet needs to be smaller, or it doesn't work visually. It feels top hevy. It's about proportion, which is one of the key principles of design.

See the difference. The builder's kitchen tried to use stock cabinets to create a custom look and it fails. It's too visually top heavy.
chris401
9 years ago
Holly,

That helped a TON. Thanks for the visuals. I will be going with a 1/3 and 2/3 split as a result.

I owe you.
elizabetheva
9 years ago
I've been looking at so many pictures lately, I can't seem to find what I'm looking for when I try to go back to it, but if you still want to fill the space above the two cabinets, I recently saw a DIY wood soffit with crown that looked really good (not your typical 90's drywall soffit that sticks out a bit), it was similar to the bottom picture hollysprings posted with the small portion of wall above the cabinets. I'll keep an eye out for the post, I think it was on a blog somewhere, but it's something you might consider. I like cabinets to the ceiling, too. I think keeping it simple above the cabinet helps draw the eye back down in the spirit of the 2/3 to 1/3 proportion while closing up the dust trap and giving you the clean look you're going for.
sombreuil_mongrel
9 years ago
It would be a lot of work, but an idea I heard floated elsewhere is to take the existing cabinets and raise them 12", and that space which is filled in by a band of open shelving, then the new uppers to fill in up to the ceiling are 18" or better yet 15" + 3" of cornice/crown, etc.
Casey
Mags438
9 years ago
Wow, holly springs, I know not what you were illustrating, but any info on the chairs in first photo?

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