I personally am not a big fan of decorating above cabinets, however I have seen many times where it is well done.

My sister-in-law has oak cabients and her small kitchen has a "coffee" theme. She has a small plaque and some decorative coffee mugs above her cabinets. She also does have a small greenery piece, but it's not in a basket. I'm sorry I don't have a photo so I doubt I'm much help.

I did see some pretty colored glass bottles from Pier 1 that would look nice over cabients.

That's where, in our last place, I had my whole collection of tea pots and tins lined up, paying attention to color flow and/or material, etc.

In my last house ( cherry kitchen ) I had some painted chickens, a small amount of greenery, pottery, and those bottles that have olives, etc in them.

I have NO IDEA what I want in my new creamy kitchen. I think my chickens will still look nice, but so many of my things were green and purple (my favorite colors) and new house/kitchen can't use those colors.

My first suggestion is NO to decoration above cabinetry.

If you have a lot of space (3 feet or more) then add some native american pottery or blue/white china etc. You could even tile that space with gorgeous mosaics. Or interesting lighting.

DO NOT put fakery (fake-greenery) :)

I hate that space. And everything up there gets SO dirty. I've been toying with the idea of pulling off the moulding at the top of the cabinets, adding in display boxes that would essentially go to the ceiling, putting crown moulding on top and some sort of flat moulding to cover the seam and lighting them.

But that sounds like a whole lot of work so I may just buy several large baskets that are all the same and put them up there.

When my son moved into his grandmother's house they put her pottery bowl collection up there. Looks great.

They talked of putting their Christmas Village pieces up there one year.

Friend puts rope lights along the cabinet tops and decorates above for Christmas.

Well, I'm of the opinion that it's totally OK to use good quality artificial greenery . . . if it's used in a setting where that plant could actually grow. Obviously, it would be extremely difficult to grow real plants in a tipped sideways basket, though (LOL).
That said, I always think that your above cabinet spaces should reflect you and your interests and/or continue the look of the room. I do think that a few larger items grouped together look better than a lot of little things lined up "like ducks in a row". It's a great space to showcase your collections, if they'll work with the rest of your kitchen decor.

My own home here in New Mexico is a Contemporary Hacienda style home, with Spanish Colonial and Southwestern art, furniture and accessories. Bright Talavera-type pottery and santos (statues of saints and angels) are two of the things I like and collect and so I've used these types of things above my own cabs. BTW, I also have built-in lighting up there so that this area is lit in the evenings.
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

But . . . my laundry room is out of the public eye and I've turned it into my little refuge filled with childhood memories from our summerhouse on Lake St.Clair outside Windsor. If my home and kitchen were of a different style, I would have used them in my kitchen instead.
Above the cabs in my laundry room, I've got my inherited collection of Cottageware pieces displayed. Many are too small to look good sitting on their own above any cab, so I've put the smaller ones up on old cake pedestals, a cottage-y shelf and even a rustic doll chair. It's my solution of how lift up and showcase my smaller pieces. As you can see, I also like propping framed art up above my cabs.

Don't forget to get back to us and show us the final results!
Lynn

Perfection, Lynn...please come up north and do mine! :)

Too funny, Lori, but thanks!

Lynne, is that a Cath Kidston peg holder in your utility room? It sure would look nice in mine. :)

Oakley, I have no idea if it's one of hers. I bought it on Ebay, new, several years ago. But, I've just googled Cath Kidson's website and can sure see why you thought it might be one of hers. OMG, I LOVE her things!!! At heart, my all-time favorite decorating style is Cottage. I just live in the wrong part of the country for it.
Lynn

Hope you got my email via GW's email system?

Back to topic:

I am going through the same thing right now.

When we moved my parents in with us, I saw that my Mom was very protective of several boxes and she refused to put them on the U-Haul truck that was headed for Public Storage.
She brought the boxes to my home and immediately unpacked them and 'found' a place for her 'pretties' in my kitchen.

Now that I've had to replace my kitchen, I have less counter space as one of the counters has no 'back' to it, instead it juts out into the dining room as a buffet counter (we have a large family and since my parents are here, everyone comes here for all celebrations and get-togethers).

There is only so many places you can find for Mom's Pretties and I'm going to have to go UP. Above the cabinets.

I hope others will post photos of decor on their kitchen wall cabs....I need inspiration, desperatly!

Lynn, I never, ever get tired of seeing photos of your beautiful home, your vignettes, your decor style.
I check out every little detail......you can say I'm your Decor Stalker. :)

Amity, Yes I did get your lovely email. . . Thank you! I emailed you back and hope you've received it. Lynn

If your cabinets are anything like mine, they need something on top. There is quite a bit of space above them and my kitchen just looks blah without anything. I don't have a picture handy right now, but I would be so sad without my collection. I've got a mix of items...Polish pottery I bought in Germany, old canisters of my grandmother's, milk glass and platters from my MIL, a basket I bought in France and a couple of other items handed down from family members who have passed away. My cabinets are white and walls are deep red. I put some rope light up there and it's really pretty especially at night. I do wash everything every 3-6 months, but I would be cleaning up there anyway even if they were bare.

lynninewmexico, love the Cottageware. I have the teapot like yours in the third pic, top shelf. Would love to have all those pieces.