Why do you have a ten foot ceiling?

Plans show 10 foot ceiling height

Where would you keep the ladder?

I’m the pantry 🤣

Who was the house designed for?

Did you try a search? This is a frequent question.

Why do you have a ten foot ceiling?

This is the right question.

10’ is much too high for a working room. Unless you like quadrupling your builder’s cabinet allowance, which will already be too low by half. Or more.

Plenty of people like high ceilings, specially if building in warm climates. The ceilings in the house we are building range from 10-12 ft and we really like the open feel and the views and light we get with 10ft tall sliders and large windows.

I had saved examples of kitchens with different ceiling heights.

This one is 10 ft

Showhome - The Manor · More Info

Also 10 ft

Kitchen · More Info

This one is 11 ft

TIBURON REMODEL · More Info

Some people dislike open space above cabinets and other don't mind them. I'm in the group that doesn't mind open space above cabinets when the ceilings are high.

For example this kitchen:

Modern/Contemporary Spanish Kitchen in Blue and Rustic Alder · More Info

I think ten foot ceilings are fine…nice even …in the right floor plan…but cabinets too high to reach are a bad idea…superfluous…for cleaning…for access …a problem…if you need extra storage…..add a pantry…the ultimate convenient storage for any kitchen

"Plans show 10 foot ceiling height"

This is the wrong answer.

If I couldn’t afford to take cabinets up to the ceiling with crown above, then I would lower the ceiling height. But yeah, nothing is going in this upper cabinets except those tacky serving bowls Great Aunt Gertrude gave as a wedding present that you only use when she is coming over

I have a 10' ceiling in the kitchen and used a tray to lower the cabinet area to a 9'. I have can lights on both levels, it creates a nice layered effect. I would absolutely keep the 10' and figure out a solution. Keep in mind all of the tall windows and 8' doors that are required with the taller ceiling height...the extra cost does not end with kitchen cabinetry.

Photo: Redfin

Here's another ten-foot ceiling. Because you don't put cabinets to the ceiling doesn't mean you can't afford to. (This is the kitchen in a $14m. new home.)

Photo: Toronto Life

My kitchen has 10' ceilings. I use the upper cabinets for display items.

If I couldn’t afford to take cabinets up to the ceiling with crown above, then I would lower the ceiling height.

We could afford the taller cabinets, but did not want or need the storage. Instead we visually lowered the 10' ceiling in the kitchen (as well as in the attached family area) with coffers (trimmed boxes) on the ceiling. Our cabinets are 42" high + a two piece crown. I believe the coffers are 10" deep. I do not have a photo because I have yet to see them since they were built.

People are taking my comment as insulting their buying power. I didn’t mean it that way, but I was commenting in response to those who pointed out the major increase in cabinet budget by taking cabinets up 10’. Some people are fine with that increase in budget, some don’t have that budget, and many may just choose to spend that money elsewhere as they don’t see a ROI for 10 ft cabinets. Most people building a home have some sort of budget and must do a give and take of what they would dream versus what is practical for their budget. My personal opinion was I like do not like a gap between my ceiling and cabinets because it is a pain to clean (so if it wasn’t in my budget to take the cabinets up to a 10 ft ceiling, I would lower the ceiling or before I would have a gap. My previous home had a cathedral ceiling that spanned across kitchen and I had the gap, and I hated it. This home has lower ceilings in kitchen and my cabinets go all the way up, and I love it.

My home is older and lacking storage so I use the absurdly high cabinets in the vaulted bit of my kitchen and I'm glad they are there to store seasonal things like Gertrude's serving bowl, Halloween costumes, and the Tom & Jerry set.

I do not object to standing on the counter every once in a while so no ladder is required.

Lucky998877 and nhb22 would love to see your cabinet pictures in your kitchens

My last house had a gap between the ceiling and cabinets. The cat just loved that space, nice and warm, able to keep an eye on the dog. Not the most hygenic situation I'll admit. OP, do you have a cat?

Jessica Weese - I will try to remember to get that photo on Monday when over at the house.

rtpaige03 - I was not offended by your comment. 😉 Just making a point that sometimes it has nothing to do with wealth. Yes, the cost was going to be extra. And yes, they were not in the original budget that we set for building our home, but we certainly could have had them if that's the look we were aiming for. We do not mind "a gap" over the cabinets. When moving from our previous home after 14 years, I was surprised at how little dust there was up there! Other than the initial cleaning after we moved in, I never cleaned up there. 😁 Really, the top of open kitchen cabinets is really no different than having the tops of your furniture such as a breakfront, a bookcase, or an entertainment center.

I think that the most cost effective way to deal with this issue is to build a dropped soffit combined with a 42" wall cabinet. I combined this with crown molding for a very integrated look.

Most of what has been suggested is to stack two cabinets, one above the other. But, this costs a lot for very little effective storage. If you don't want a gap between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, dropping the soffit will do the trick. No dust either.

Here is a picture that illustrates the dropped soffit.

Bottom line there are lots of good solutions depending on what you want and your budget. :)

homechef59 - Came real close to going the soffit route with our 42" cabinets. Then after doing the math, the coffers did not cost that much more to do. If I had gone with the soffit, I would have painted the wall area between the cabinets and the crown molding (soffit) the color of the cabinets and trim so that it looked like part of the cabinets.

Jessica Weese - I took this photo today. Kitchen if still unfinished. Trim around the windows, trim around arch openings, and parts of the coffers are not yet done. Hope this helps!

The backsplash is yet to be put up. Oh yes, appliances! The walls will get a brighter/creamier color (SW Antique White) and I am hoping to convince DH to let me have the ceilings painted a very pale blue like the last photo in this post.

Thanks so much!

Tall ceilings are better for cooking and serving saganaki. OPA!