Your math seems slightly off. If your ceilings are 8', that equals 96".

I don't see 40" uppers except in fully custom cabinetry. Are you saying that Ikea offers 40" uppers? I recommend 39" tall upper cabinets, though Idk if Ikea makes those. There are many mid-priced cabinet lines with upper cabinets offered in 3" increments for height, so that 39" uppers are available. But some lines do not even offer that, and they go from 36" height to 42" height.

I also recommend a 3" crown. You need the crown thick enough to be able to have enough width to scribe to an uneven ceiling (everyone's ceilings are uneven, but some more than others, so better to have the 3" crown as cushion).

Here is the math:

36" floor-to-counter + 18" counter-to-uppers + 39" uppers + 3" crown = 96"

@M Miller Thank you for your response.

IKEA doesn't provide 39'' cabinet neither do they provide 36'' cabinet. I would just go for it if they do carry those dimensions.

Also I should have pointed out that the lowest point of our ceiling is only 95.5 so that's

36" floor-to-counter + 18" counter-to-uppers + 40" uppers + 1.5" crown = 95.5".

I have seen someone finish their kitchen by just applying a thin trim between the cabinet and ceiling. Wondering if this trim is 1.5'' height or not.

I think top molding is overrated. Go to the ceiling if you're tall enough to afford the extra inch above the counter. Otherwise, do as you are describing and just leave the tops bare.

New Kitchen 2016 -- wall 1 after · More Info

We had the exact same dilemma a few years ago when we went with ikea 40'' cabinets for our kitchen as well, 5 years ago. These frame less cabinets take pre-work to have crown molding on them. Please look up Youtube Videos. We thought this was something we could do after the cabinets were installed and were terribly mistaken. We have gotten used to the 1.5'' gap- fix it in the next kitchen we do!

@User I am working with a contractor and he told me that should be fine but he's not an ikea pro, I'm little worried the actual look might be different than what he assured us.

As with the look I don't have a strong preference for moulding. I just fear without the deco strip on top it would look ugly.

I have 8 foot ceilings and I’m putting in the 40” cabinets. There is just enough room at the top for the ikea soffit with a bit of wiggle room to spare.

but I also couldn’t care less about substantial crown moulding so there’s that.

@SmallRanch SmallProblems that's really really great to know! Thank you.

For the new kitchen you worked did you also use 40'' cabinet for the 8 foot ceiling? How does it work? Would you recommend me doing the 30'' instead?

Yes, we used 40'' cabinet with 8' ceiling. Looks great. I highly recommend it. You will definitely need a small foldable stool to access the top shelf in every cabinet but it is a good spot for rarely used stuff.

Also, a few ideas (1) a drawer microwave, and get that off your countertop next to the fridge, (2) swapping a few of the upper cabinets for either open shelving or the glass front ikea upper cabinets.

Regarding crown molding...Crown molding serves at least two purposes: it gives the Kitchen a more finished look and, more importantly, it helps hide ceiling height discrepancies. Most, if not all, homes have uneven ceiling heights -- the distance from the floor to the ceiling. Even new homes, once settling occurs. (It can also be caused by ceiling installation/finishing or floor installation/finishing.) The larger the room, the more likely it is and the greater the discrepancy can be.

When we remodeled, we discovered there was around an inch or so difference in our Kitchen's ceiling height b/w the two ends. Our KD designed in 3-piece molding. The top and bottom pieces are the same throughout the Kitchen. The height of the middle, or "filler" piece varied depending on the ceiling height.

When the crown molding was installed, the filler piece was cut to fit the available space b/w the top and bottom pieces. The result is that all our cabinets go the ceiling and look exactly the same height with the crown also looking the same. The middle filler piece is not the same, but b/c it's a plain flat piece, the eyes "overlook" it in favor of the cabinets + top & bottom crown pieces.

If crown or cabinets do not fit right against the ceiling, then the closer the cabinets and/or molding are to the ceiling, the more obvious the discrepancies will be.

@SmallRanch SmallProblems do you mind sharing a photo of you latest kitchen? I'd love to see the beautiful pictures of it. Thanks!

Here you go- During construction and now (ignore the mess). I hope this helps you make your decision.

IMO a lot depends on your style I prefer no actual crown molding in my kitchen so the closer to the ceiling the better with as little trim as possible above the cabinets .

The people saying that no crown molding is needed are ignoring the issue of an uneven ceiling. In addition, when you have little or no crown molding, you must be careful that any recessed lighting is well away of the upper cabinets' door swings. No crown molding means no clearance even for the fraction of an inch needed for the recessed lighting trim.

I have the 40” cabinets with 8’ ceilings. You will never be able to fit crown in the traditional sense. You can fit a vertical filler that is scribed to follow the ceiling. It basically disappears. Their end panels are 3” longer than the cabinets so they can go flush to the ceiling.

I think you made the right decision. One of the differences with IKEA kitchen wall cabs is that they are 15” deep and so the closer to the counter they hang the more in-your-face they will seem.

What did you end up doing above the upper cabinets? I’m in the exact same situation now. Wish I could do 40in high upper cabs or ikea sold 36in. My ceiling is 94.5 after floor leveler so I lost an inch.

I ended up choosing the 30 inch ceiling as I don’t want to risk buying a lot of cabinets and realizing they don’t fit after assembling them together. I am happy with my choice.

Did you leave a space above the upper cabinets or fill it with moulding up to the ceiling? I’m guessing you also did 80 inch high cabinets if any.

Yes I chose the 80 inch high cabinets too.
We didn’t add the mounding up to the ceiling as it was not a small gap and I didn’t find good enough moulding fit our kitchen. I spent the money pairing the wall and install a one piece quartz as backsplash to enlighten the kitchen and it looks beautiful. People won’t pay attention to the top at all.

40“ ikea upper cabs, 95.5” ceilings (we are in the middle of replacing the top trim, we hate it).

Amber S--I can see why you have made the decision to replace that top trim.

So, all of you, what can people who have 8' ceilings and want the contemporary look of a slab door do if they want to install the 40" uppers? (I like fancy crown molding with traditional cabinetry, but it won't work with a modern look.) How about installing the uppers about 1.5" or so closer to the counter top than is typically recommended?

We have 8' ceilings and did the 40" IKEA uppers - actually they're just shy of 8' because we did 5/8" drywall on the ceilings instead of the 1/2" that was there originally. We have a deco strip on top and another on the bottom. We didn't go much lower because our uppers are tied in with tall cabinets so we didn't have much wiggle room there - just plan ahead.

Lin Y - can you share a picture if possible?

wisco - do you have a picture of your 40" uppers?