If my contractor came back to me with a price of $1,300 for that work, I’d kiss him.

@Sammy kiss him for charging your too little or too much (kiss of death haha).

Breakdown was:

$500 for the bulk head

$500 for the trim

$300 for the paint

@User thanks! There was an option for more cabinets, but its another $6000 to add that, which is outside out budget for sure!.

I feel what you are saying about the ceiling feeling heavier, good point!

Virtually everyone I know who has bulkheads is removing them in their kitchen remodels....or stacking extra cabinets to the ceiling above them. NOT installing bulkheads.

Not enough information provided by OP.

How tall are your ceilings?

How tall are the upper cabinets?

Is this a kitchen renovation, a new home build, or are you just deciding whether to add a bulkhead in isolation with no other changes to the kitchen?

Can the height of the upper cabinets be changed?

@Miranda33 Hello!

To answer your questions:

- ceiling height is 9 ft

- upper cabinets are 41" high. This cannot be changed.

- This is a new build.

-The bulkhead is done in isolation. Nothing else would be affected if we add or remove it.

I understand why you don’t love the open space, but if you can’t afford to fill it with cabinets, don’t fill it with bulkhead. That said, I think $1300 for the work is very reasonable.

@JuneKnow@Muriel Thompson Thanks!

This is how it looks without the bulkhead, in a 3d drawing

:

Hmm. Have you already ordered the cabinets? If not, I'd think about adding smaller, stacked cabinets on top with glass panels for display. I'm not a giant fan of putting in soffits, nor do I like cabinets floating with no connection to the ceiling. It might cost you more than $1300, but it will be well worth it in terms of a timeless look:

Glynmoor Lakes Kitchen · More Info

The Grayson at Griffin Square · More Info

@JuneKnow

This is kind of awkward, as a lot of the kitchen, we asked for ourselves.

The fridge was at the opposite end of the perimeter (we did not like it there right next to the living room).

The sink and d/w were on the island, we removed it to have a big open island where we do most of our work on. The d/w is not a panel d/w near the sink.

The fridge should open all the way, it is counter depth but the doors stick out, and the doors are flat (no convex).

The backtracking - i can now imagine having to go all the way to the fridge multiple times, which could be annoying.

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors it does look amazing, just waaaay expensive, extra $6000!

Yep. That's true. Also much better looking. But if you really can't spend the extra $, don't put in the soffit. Leave them alone.

The price is reasonable but I wouldn’t do it.

Use the $1300 to finish off the cabinets with a proportional sized trim. Your kitchen can still look great even with the gap.

following

It is personal preference. I have two homes , one kitchen has a soffit and one does not. I love having a soffit and hate the look of the open space in the other.

I agree with what @User wrote earlier that a bulkhead adds unpleasant mass to the look unless done really well. When it’s tacked on for $1300 by a builder who just wants to get on with it, it won’t be done to the high skill level needed. So I’d skip it.

The whole “dust collecting on top” in my experience is an exaggerated fear. Here is the Martha-Stewart-esque solution: lay wax paper down up there, it’s just the right width. A couple times a year, when you have the ladder out to change smoke alarm batteries, simply switch the old wax paper for new. My experience is there is very little dust collected, especially with a decent exhaust hood. Do not display anything on top of the upper cabinets in that space; that is a dated and cluttered look with 2 exceptions: exquisite pottery sparely placed, and (per the much-missed Sophie Wheeler on this forum) a cat or two.

Isn't the gap 13" with 9' ceilings and 41 " uppers?

That is a good point @J Sk that the OP should check out. The OP should also check the distance from the counter to the bottom of the upper cabinets - standard is 18”. And the crown should add 3”, making the gap 10”. Also, 41” tall cabinets are unusual. 42” is the typical upper cabinet height.

The OP should confirm: (1) how tall are the upper cabinets, 41” or 42” or something else; (2) what is the crown thickness; (3) is the distance between the counter and the bottom of the upper cabinets 18”; and (4) did the builder tell her there’d be a 20” space to the ceiling? If so, determine how that 20” was arrived at, especially in light of the points (1) through (3).

Thanks all:

I am sure the cabinets are 41", builders mentioned it a few times.

The cabinet is 18" from the counter top.

So to add it all up:

Counter top = 36".

Counter top to cabinet: 18"

Cabinets: 41"

Crown trim: 3 in"

------------

Total = 98"

The ceiling height is 108'//

As I write this , I realize my math fail. It is a 10"! Opppsss

Thanks @J Sk and @Shannon_WI for pointing it out.

June is correct. The layout is dysfunctional. If you still can adjust it, i highly recommend you post in the kitchen forum and get a better layout

Are you adding a light rail to the bottom of the cabinets (to hide UC lighting)? That might account for the extra inch to make the cabinets the standard 42" tall. Does the mfr or contractor offer taller pantry and fridge cabinets? Unless you are very short in stature, you could raise the upper cabinets a couple of inches, but that would affect the way they line up with the pantry and fridge cabinets. Also, if you like the style, you could raise the uppers far enough to add a 'cup shelf' under them, which would take up some of the empty space. Then you could add a trim piece between the cabinets and crown.

As for the layout, if you moved the DW to the end (with return panel), then the sink, and put the range between the sink and fridge, the layout would be improved.

Crown around the top and no bulkhead. (Your bulkhead price isn't that bad though.)

The layout isn't terrible. It could be finessed but that's not always an option in a new build. If it's an option and it's not too late, this is a good place for ideas.

The greasy stuff on top of cabinets...so what? Who's looking? Also get good ventilation so it doesn't actually get that way. But if you never check, it doesn't happen.

Redesign the whole. Include better ventilation. Then you won’t get greasy deposits everywhere. Just plain dust.

IMO a 13” high bulkhead is too much and certianly too much for some kind of crown and the 2 toghether are not attractive at all. Wait and save until you can add a nother set of cabinets ideally with glass doors above what you have . All those base cabinets should have been drawers anthwere possible Not the best kichen plan that is for sure.

How tall are you?

I prefer the bulkhead. I have had both and I hated the dirt and grease that collected on top of the cabinets with out the bulkhead. I am almost 6 ft tall and no way would I want cabinets to the ceiling. I don't want to drag a step stool out every time I want something out of the upper cabinets. It would end up as the place for things to be forgotten about and die. My mother was short and she couldn't even reach the top shelf of her regular cabinets. The only things she had on the top shelf was things she never used.

@Sammy for the win!