I would not be happy and would put a stop to the project until it got figured out.

How tall are your ceilings? Look to be 8 to 8.5 ft.

At that height I would want actual taller cabinets and not just a filler between the current cabinet and the ceiling.

I didn't go all the way to the ceiling, but I have 12 ft ceilings with beams and stacked cabinets.

Did you not see any elevations or have to sign off on the design? Do you have anything in writing? The short cabinets would have been obvious if you had seen elevations. They look like decent cabinets and they even gave you nice finished side panels ... so why the dinky height?

Off topic, but surprised they aren’t protecting your pretty floors

They are 8 foot ceilings. I had only seen a computer rendering which apparently showed that they stopped before the ceiling but it wasn’t very obvious to me. The contractor had me at his house and his cabinets didn’t go to the ceiling and I told him I wanted to make sure mine did go all the way up. Unfortunately this was the only conversation we had had about this. The cabinets themselves look beautiful but it’s strange they made them short.

Hi Kayla,

To get taller cabinets now after purchase would be a very expenisve fix.

The main reason people use 30H on an 8' ceiling is just to save costs.

By any chance, do you have anything in writing like a text, email, or paper, that states you want the cabinets to go to ceiling. If so, then the contractor should honor this agreement. Chances are they will be very relutant to do it, due to high expense, but if it is in wririting you have an agreement. At the very least, get a significant discount.

If you have no proof in writing & signed off on layout, then unfortunately, you will probably have to do a change order & pay extra to fix.

A more economical option is remove crown, get a filler then slide crown up to ceiling.

Unfortunately, it looks as though they got 30H which means from top of cabinets to ceiling is 12" space. It will be about 6-9" of filler showing after crown installed. Not ideal but ok.

You can also embrace them as is & install lighting above on a dimmer which would look very nice as is.

btw, I like your floors. Ask them to protect them from metal or tools that could stratch them.

Wishing you success with your project.

Ya I figured things were too far along now. They will add the filler but I’m a bit worried it will look strange. I am also surprised they aren’t protecting the floors. I’m definitely going to mention this. thank you!

Not sure if this is at all helpful, but perhaps you could raise the cabinets and have a shelf below them.

No, it won't be cheap now, but it's cheaper than it will be later. I would pay to have it fixed because it's ALWAYS going to bug you. How many uppers do you have?

I like them. They look good and if you enjoy the furniture look of a traditional kitchen, this captures it well. I don't think it's necessary to fill in the gap.

These are the only extra uppers we have too. Plus what’s included in the above pictures.

Kayla you probably already did this, but check what upper cabinet size is specified in the materials listed in your contract. Either way, you are going to have a beautiful kitchen. I love your floors, and wow what a view!

I would not be happy and would put a stop to the project until it got figured out.

Agree. Not only is this not "to the ceiling", that's an odd little crown at the top.

At that height I would want actual taller cabinets and not just a filler between the current cabinet and the ceiling.

Ideally, yes, but I'd settle for a solid piece of wood "up top". I do not like the flared crown that doesn't reach the ceiling.

Do you have anything in writing?

That's the real question.

The cabinets themselves look beautiful but it’s strange they made them short.

They didn't do this to make them short. They did this to make them cheap.

They don’t look right as is. I would not be happy. If you are the one who has to pay for the fix, could they be rehung higher on the wall and a shelf added below? I’ll share a photo of my uppers that were designed with a shelf. I don’t know if this will be a solution for you, but thought it might be helpful.

Chinacatpeekin your floor is adorable!

Mama Cita Thank you! It’s a vinyl floor cloth by Spicher and Company. They come in many patterns.

I’m realizing now I’m kind of screwed against being able to hold him accountable for this. He said he would fix it, but his solution is to add the filler. This was my first time doing any kind of reno and my contractor came recommended through my aunt. He never gave us a breakdown of everything so I never signed a contract which I now realize was a horrible idea. At the time I was 8 months pregnant (have now had the baby) and he just kept saying “we will get this done” so I think I put too much faith in his word. He’s been great in general but there was a lot of back and forth on design ideas and I think he lost track of some of my ideas. This is definitely very frustrating, especially dealing with this and a new baby. I just want to get in the house and enjoy this gorgeous view. :)

I realize you are ready to be done with this - and he's probably aware of that too. Again, I would bite the bullet, open your wallet and just get the right size now while you can get the same paint color, etc.

Love jaja06 and chinacatpeekin's shelf idea. That's an economy fix that will look better than the filler, and give you more storage too. Hope this wraps up soon so you can enjoy the kitchen and focus on your new one.

Agreed--go with jaja06's shelf idea for the uppers over the counter. That's a quick and painless fix for the contractor and will be more useful than just adding fillers. I would consider paying to have it fixed for the refrigerator enclosure, though--you will appreciate having that storage space, and the short cabinets do look a bit odd there. That's also something that can be done without delaying the other appliances, counter installation, etc. and you could easily live there while waiting for the cabinets if needed. (It may just be the perspective on the photo, but I'd also double check your clearances in the refrigerator cutout to be sure you have the correct airflow space based on your model.)

Yeah, when it comes to design, never assume someone else has the same vision in their head, as you do, when you describe something to them. I always use photo examples with notations or pay a designer to make scaled plans/elevations of my ideas.

CoCongratulations on the new baby. this too shall pass.

chinacat…i love your kitchen!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! This is another kitchen he did and he will be adding similar moulding at the top to mine. He said my piece between the moulding and he cabinet would be about 3-4 inches taller than this one which doesn’t seem too bad! They will be able to complete the rest of the kitchen and then modify this once that extra part is complete. I’ve learned an unfortunate but valuable lesson when it comes to Reno’s and contractors.

I'd just remove the unattractive molding at the top so the cabinets looked like these:

IRG Kitchens · More Info

-- amateur

My kitchen designer had everything specifically spelled out in my final kitchen cabinetry blueprint, including cabinetry extending to the ceiling. I got exactly what my blueprint showed.
I am glad you will be getting a good “fix” to your cabinetry issue.

I like the frieze above the cabinet with molding along the ceiling. I did the same in my kitchen and pantry.

@kculbers how long is the tallest part of your panel?

Kayla: my upper cabinet door length is 35.5”