Many times soffits contain not only electrical, but also plumbing to an upper floor and if you want to remove them you have to move the plumbing. Other times soffits are almost empty with maybe a few electrical wires going through (like the OP seems to have). We had 12" high soffits that we removed. Most were either empty or only had electrical that we were able to move up to the ceiling area. However, there was one area that had the waste pipes from the master bath. We were unable to move that plumbing so we put in a very shallow soffit and ran the crown molding over it where there were cabinets, but where the vent hood is you can see the soffit if you look closely. While I wish we could have gotten rid of the soffit altogether, I'm happy with how it looks now as opposed to what it looked like before. Before: Story of a Soffit Removal in Pictures: Waste Pipe that couldn't be moved (before cabinets went in): First cabinet installed: All 3 cabinets installed on one side; you can still see the waste pipe if you look closely above the cabinets: Start of Crown Molding, note that the waste pipe extends into the space b/w the vent and the cabinets. The pipe will need to be hidden here as well: Soffit between 2 taller upper cabinets that don't need it, but not behind them. It's there so the upper wall of both sets of cabinets look the same: Soffit on either side of vent: Soffit to left of vent: All crown molding, full view: All crown molding, right view: All crown molding & Light rail, full view: Note no soffit outside of cabinet run: Kitchen before paint, etc.:

Redfeather, I lived most of my life in TX and I agree that silk greenery on top of the cabinets (and lots of it) seems to be a TX thing. We moved to the Carolinas 2 years ago and my kitchen felt so stark I put up several items on top of the cabinets to soften the look and make the kitchen feel more homey. Some of my neighbors have left the tops of their cabinets bare, but their kitchens have backsplashes with some visual interest. Personally, I like the look of the plants and I think it's a matter of personal preference and decorating style. I think your pottery would look nice grouped with greenery or baskets or some wrought iron pieces. I am posting a couple of my kitchen photos (hopefully no one will tease me too much :) ) Please disregard the tupperware and Halloween buckets! I also wanted to add that my original intent was not to put so much stuff on top of the cabinets and just do a few groupings instead. Personally, I feel like grouping smay work better in kitchens with taller spaces above the cabinets - but that's just my 2 cents : )

My cat votes cat tower or aquarium. I'm all for the slot cars (seriously.. you totally inspired me to consider incorporating that into my living room....). But the indoor grow area made me lol.

Need photos. Many people would leave the negative space undecorated, but there is no way we can give relevant suggestions without seeing your unique setup.