I would remove it. To me looks sort of odd how it disappears into the ceiling. It almost looks like the ceiling were lowered at some point, covering the top of the arch...

i would remove it.
it looks odd to me

Oh Tinker I love your kitchen - what a beautiful, beautiful green it is. I love the paper and the crisp white - it reminds me of a meadow early in the morning in May.

I would ENHANCE the archway. Build it up across the ceiling. I think that architectural detail will add to the kitchen's ambiance. But you need to either build it up or get rid of it. It does look a bit odd the way it gets lost in the ceiling now.

I have a beam/soffet situation over my penisula in my kitchen ceiling. I wish I could make it into an archway.

Your kitchen is beautiful, so happy looking. Enjoy!

I have a theory that the ceiling was lowered, and the original high ceiling along with the remainder of that tasty arch is still up there. Since the present ceiling is scheduled for "work" there's little risk at doing some exploration.
Casey

I agree with Claudia77. The archway either needs to be enhanced to make it a real archway or eliminated. As it is right now, it looks odd.

I would like that arch very much if it were all there. As it is, it looks a bit awkward. I vote with sombreuil_mongrel to do a bit of ceiling excavation and see if there is more to it. If there isn't, I might suggest that you take it down and install a similar shape elsewhere (over the window?) as a reminder of it. Or as Claudia77 says, perhaps you could replace it with a complete arch in the same location, if it won't interfere with the rest of your kitchen plan.

Thank you! I gather that most think it looks odd.. and should be removed.

I should have mentioned the way the previous house was... the house was built in 1937, and the one side of the arch was a porch, with door way into the kitchen. These are the original lath and plaster ceilings, nothing has been lowered at all. There is an attic access in the ceiling, and we were just looking at it today.

Okay.. DH will win this and we'll remove the arch, which I really liked! That said.. I also really think the cabinets that go to the ceiling, although... I do like this kitchen layout too.

Claudia, thank you! I love it too, and the pictures look much better than real life! LOL.. the kitchen and wallpaper is 20 yrs old, and it shows. It is going to be a bear to remove, but it must come down!

No real way to enhance the arch.. it will just look un-balanced. (IMHO)

You're welcome Tinker. I have hunter green/pink/white wallpaper that I will be tackling,oh, I'd say about this time next week. Uggghhh....I am not looking forward to the renovating; however, I am looking forward to the renovation. I visited Crate & Barrel yesterday to entice and encourage me to get going with this project! Good luck to you....this website is a comfort and reminds us we're certainly not alone.

I understand why you like the arch, but I would remove it to take the cabs to the ceiling in order to maximize storage. I love the green and white--so fresh and light!

I wonder if it would be possible to somehow save the arches and reuse them elsewhere in the house. I doubt it, because it would be so difficult to remove them without damaging them. I agree with you - such a shame to see them go.

I love details like this, but I agree with your conclusion to remove it. My parents' house (1920s) has arches throughout, but they extend all the way across the ceiling. It may be that I'm used to seeing them that way, but the way yours disappear into the ceiling do look off to me. Plus they are not symmetrical - the one on the cabinet side is pretty wimpy out there on its own. I agree that it would be cool to replicate the arch somewhere else in the house if you can, though.

If you CAN save the arch that would be great. if not, well....
regarding the wall-paper, I would try to keep some of it ie remove very carefykky so you can reuse it somewhere. Maybe as the background in a frame or the back of a cabinet ( not glass doors but just so YOU get to see it and be reminded when you open that cabinet or something to remember it by.
Your kitchen does look pretty in the picture but I know that l;ooks in pictures can be deceiving.
good luck with the reno

It's so nice when people choose to keep and highlight earlier elements to honor the various eras of a home. I'm another who thinks the arch just don't work at all as is, though. But it is quaint and charming, and you like it.

So, how about keeping it but remounting to fix its poor relation to the rest of the kitchen? You could lower the arch pieces, re-placing them in relation to the walls as needed (as in bringing that right one toward the center, etc.), and then filling in around them to the ceiling and walls? This last would probably connect them but wouldn't have to if you chose to finish the center end of each independently.

It is definetly cute....if it were better balanced. My first impression was wow, leave it! Then when I looked more, I saw the asymmetry and the awkward ceiling transition. I think it would be better to remove it and run the cabs up to the ceiling. Shame! I love arches and wish I had someplace in my house for one, or two...or.... ;)

I guess I am in the minority because I'd keep the arch. I think it is unique and something that adds character because it is quirky. I'd skip the crown and use taller cabs. If you go with a simple, smaller, molding, you can use bigger cabs while still not hiding the arch. I think you could use 36" tall cabs and have plenty of room above.

I think of Cindy Crawford and her mole. If you airbrush it out, she looks pretty, but like every other pretty woman (in her early career, they did hide it). I think it adds character to her and without it, she would not have been a supermodel. She would have been a model who looked great, but no one noticed as special and remembered the next day.

Definitely cabinets to the ceiling! Why waste that space for something that's not a real architectural element?