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Show me the soffit/molding/trim above your window!

bluekitobsessed

16 years ago

I'm looking for photos of the wall/ceiling area above a window between two upper cabinets. I have a common or garden variety layout with window above sink, flanked by upper cabinets. The ceiling was dropped six inches, we assumed we could raise the ceiling and measured all cabinets accordingly, we assumed wrong because of pipes hidden in the dropped area/soffit (longer version explained on a thread from yesterday). The plumber is going to reroute MOST of the problematic pipe, but he believes I will need a soffit/small dropped ceiling extending out to the cabinet depth (12" standard size), about 3 - 4" deep, between the two windows. I thought it would be ok to just drywall the small soffit and suspend a light fixture there. The cabinet people tell me I "have to have" wood trim there, otherwise it would look weird. I know I've seen pix where people have run a wood rail? crown molding? or something? across that area. Please show me anything and help me visualize!

I'm already having 3" crown molding atop both cabinets.

I can't use a fabric valance to disguise; this is more the ceiling than the wall.

Here is a photo from Rejuvenation showing wood trim (the lights are suspended from a "normal" ceiling behind the wood trim, but in my kitchen they would be suspended from a ceiling dropped 3 - 4 inches.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood trim against ceiling above window

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Comments (4)

cambro5
16 years ago
I spent an hour in the book store combing thru kitchen books looking for unusual soffit solution over windows! I couldn't find anything! I have a similar problem, only my soffit will be emerging from the back of the cabs because we are hiding the piping in the cabinets! I guess I'm stuck with a valance to hide it. The one in your picture is pretty good, though - high and not too dark.
idrive65
16 years ago
How about a curved valence board that is built out? I'm not explaining this well, but in the link below, look at the range hood in the second row, white kitchen with three black counter stools. That treatment would look great over a window and would disguise the lowered ceiling height.

Here is a link that might be useful: crown point pics
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bluekitobsessed
Original Author
16 years ago
cambro5, in idrive65's link check out the medium oak kitchen at the bottom right of the page. It's a slightly arched piece of wood trim essentially tying the two cabinets' crown molding together. Might work for both of us (some of my problematic pipe will be hidden in the cabinet, and some in the empty space behind the crown, but not all).

I'd still like to see more ideas! Help people!
igloochic
16 years ago
Personally...I have to tell you, then when I see a window in the middle of a run, I do like to see that decorative board tie them together, so I'd take this as a design yea verses nea :) (Although I am known as the soffit police girl around my place). My plumbers kept telling me I was going to have a one or two inch soffit that had to run the legnth of the kitchen, including the window area, and I said "Nope" get rid of it...somehow they did (perhaps they just cut the pipes) :oP But it's gone.

The way your's is though in my mind sounds ok to me. I think the trim idea you've found is a great option :)

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