how would you access such.. presuming you arent 7 foot tall ...??? chairs.. ladders... etc ... and how do you get that 20 pound cast iron gizmo up the ladder ... SAFELY ....

will you still be there.. in say.. 20 years... and will it still be usable space ...

my mom at 85.. continues to shrink ... and cant even get half way up a regular cupboard ... and God help me ... and her ..... she is smart enough NOT to go climbing on chairs ...

it seems like it would be a great long term storage space ... right there in the kitchen ...why not use it ...

but will it be useful... especially on resale???

i have often wondered about this... i look forward to what the sperts have to say about it ...

ken

Actually I found some great convos & pics on thus subject on this board. I'll try to post pics

One example

I wonder this too.

We have 9' ceilings and are doing 21 inch uppers. We will have 12 inces from the tops of cabinets to the ceiling. We can either do molding the whole way up (12" worth), or a 4". We still haven't decided.

Hi Eire!

We have 9 ft ceilings and cabs without the stacked look up to the ceiling. For the majority we went with 45" tall cabinets and a 6" crown. Some cabinets were 42" because of a bulk head, so the furring was larger. The cabinet above the sink is 36" (I think).

Sorry, this is the only picture I have right now. We are mid reno. The cabinets are tall but my space is open concept so I think it looks ok. Can I reach the top shelf? Not without a chair and probably standing on the counter but that's ok....I don't plan on storing heavy and frequently used items there

We went with a fake stacked cabinet. One cabinet two doors. I don't know what the exact molding measurement is, but it is not huge. You can see pics on my reveal thread which I don't know how to link but you can easily Google it and find the post.

As other have pointed out if you don't want to do stacked cabinets you can fill that space with moulding.

We have 9 foot ceilings and cabinets to ceiling. The top shelve of each cabinet has decorative stuff. We just used normal crown molding that matches the molding in the rest of the house, we didn't fill in with moldings:

I completely disagree with Ken_Adrian and HerrDoktorProfessor. I have 9' ceilings. I have one wall with 42" cabinets and space above, and the opposite wall where I took the cabs to the ceiling via 36" cabs plus 12" cabs stacked above plus 3" molding.

- You can never have too much storage in a kitchen. I use the upper cabinet stack for rarely used items like holiday dishes, candles, a few of my grandmother's pieces, and the like. Where else would I put these things?

- I am always confounded by people talking about not being able to reach a cabinet that goes to the ceiling. Unless you are tall, anything above the second shelf needs a step stool regardless if the cabinet is 30" high or 42" high. Why not have the extra shelving since you will need a step stool in any case.

- Why use expensive large molding to fill up the space to the ceiling? At least using cabinetry instead adds some utility. Also, my personal taste is that I don't like layers of thick molding in a kitchen; I like thick molding in a den or library, but molding in my kitchen is 3" and looks clean and non-fussy.

- When you have a space between the upper cabinets and the ceiling, it becomes one more thing to clean. Lint, dust and pet hair will collect up there. If you put decorations up there to fill the space, that's even more to dust.

Having said all that, I am not sure of the OP's idea of cabinets to the ceiling, but not stacked. How tall will your cabinets be then? When you stack, it adds an aesthetic of proportion. However, I like Nycbluedevil's idea of "faked" stacked cabinets. I have seen other kitchens here on the Kitchens Forum with that, and it looks good.

This post was edited by akchicago on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 9:21

Nine foot ceilings look elegant, and so do nine foot cabinets. The space should be used. In any house you have storage space for regular every day items that's very easy to use, Storage space that is moderately easy-to-use and storage space thats a total pain in the neck. I don't see that as an issue.

My Mom had stacked cabinets with 8-foot ceilings. The things in those cabinets were not used much - fondue pot, canning jars, punch bowl, wooden salad bowls. Usually those things were only used for family gatherings - and my 6'4" husband could reach them easily.

As she got older and got rid of things, those cabinets were no longer used. So what? The next owner will be happy to have them.

And storage like that can be used for non-kitchen things, like tax records, or hiding birthday gifts from the kids.

Using 48" transom cabinets that are a single cabinet with two doors and a stacked appearance will be cheaper than almost any other choice. That leaves you room for 6" of molding, which is proportionate to the 9' ceiling height. It's what we did here, with a simple cove molding. (It needs a bit of a space to be fully 9', but it was close enough to work for a display.)

[Transitional Kemper Cabinetry Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2112) by Memphis Metro Kitchen & Bath Designers ProSource Memphis

I have 9' ceilings with 42" wall cabinets. I have a dropped soffit with a band of edge molding at the joint of the cabinet and the soffit. The soffit is made of frame and drywall. Between the ceiling and the top of the soffit, I have crown molding. I think the look is neat and elegant. It's economical, too. I didn't have to buy a second cabinet or extra doors. And, I have plenty of storage.

Home chef 59, do you have a picture of this?thank you all for your input. I'm thinking of eliminating the second row of cabinets in the interest of saving cost

9ft ceiling with cabs to top, usable with a stool

Here's mine, 45" cabinets & 8" of crown. I've linked to another post about this subject. Take a look at Redlover's crown. It's very well done with 42" cabinets & 12" of crown. It works without looking overwhelming because the crown does not project outward onto the ceiling.

Here is a link that might be useful: 9 ft ceilings & crown molding

Here's a pic with the 45" upper cabinets.

Romy718, tell me more about your cabinets. Brand, color? Thank you!

Here is an example of the dropped soffit. I'm going to repeat it in the new kitchen. I like the effect. I don't want to have to buy extra cabinets. Plus, I need the void to run ventilation from the hood.

They are Woodmode/Brookhaven in Nordic White. I did Woodmode in the kitchen & Brookhaven for the hallway pantry & laundry room, both in Nordic White.
Eire-I responded to your email. I think your GW account is not set up to receive emails.
Homechef- really nicely done soffits. The small piece of trim above the cabinets makes all the difference. I also like the jog in the corner.

This post was edited by romy718 on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 14:26

In my old apartment we had 9 foot ceilings and single uppers that went all the way up--the top of the doors was maybe within 4 inches of the ceiling. The cabinets must have been nearly 5 feet tall. Yes, we used a step-stool to get at the stuff on the top shelves. We kept infrequently used things up there--the electric frying pan, some nice serving dishes that tended to only come out at holidays, things like that.

I remember once reading guidelines about what the maximum cabinet height should be and ours were well beyond that. But we never had any issues, even though they were ancient (not sure if they were original to the 100-year-old house, but if they were installed after the 30's I would be very surprised), and had inset doors. Modern hinges should only improve the performance.

I'm with AKChicago. Make the cabinets to the ceiling -- whether you use stacked cabinets or simply a tall cabinet is a personal decision. I lean towards two separate doors though (to avoid warping over time, given that you're looking at rather tall doors). Assuming my ceilings are 9', I'm probably going to go with more than 48" cabinets. Why? I'm very short and want my cabinets to come down fairly low.

I have LOTS of things that are seldom-used, and those top cabinets will be perfect for those things. Yeah, I'll need a stool to reach them, but that's fine.

Yes, this means buying more cabinets, but I see people planning things that I think are pretty stupid. Cabinets are expensive, but at least they are functional.

Cabinets to the ceiling all the way. There are plenty of things to that don't get regular use that can be stored up top. I did stacked boxes with doors from Scherr's in my last place. Loved them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Uppers to the ceiling

Did you put your Scherr's cabinets together yourself dollymibella? I'm thinking about ordering from them. They don't have any instructional videos on line like the other RTA manufacturers. How was your experience?

homechef59, I used Ikea boxes and just ordered the doors from Scherr's. A very good experience, I would just email them and ask about assembly. They were very easy to deal with, their website is a bit dated though.

Homechef, really really like the dropped soffit a lot! Is the edge trim between top of cab and soffit just a regular edge trim or something more special?

I usually prefer cabinets going up to ceiling. To me it looks more polished and finished. The dropped soffit seems to accomplish similar polished look too.

I have close to 10' ceilings with cabs all the way. We store the items we only use a few times a year up there. You need a ladder to access of course.