I think this is really a preference and design thing. Also budget. Stacked cabinets are so lovely and provide for a great deal of storage if you have a handy ladder nearby. I personally love the look of high ceilings and cupboards that are relatively low (but easy to reach). It looks more old - fashioned and I've come to love the clean look. It's also much more affordable than stacked cabinets. The box soffit option is chosen by many builders, but we specifically requested no box soffits for the entire home. I have friends who prefer soffits to an area that needs to be dusted though. I may have opted for stacked cabinets if I didn't have a handy dandy walk in pantry nearby planned for extra storage. Houzz has some great kitchens of all types. Here are some of my favorite designs... via the link below Here is a link that might be useful: devol bespoke kitchens

I think it's important that the room (& the windows & doors) be large enough to balance the imposing scale of cabinets to a tall ceiling; otherwise, it might be a bit overwhelming. My kitchen is one end of a great room (approx 1/2 the room) that is 14'x37'. The ceiling is 11' (150 year old house) with pantries on one side going all the way up & the opposite wall has cabinets to approx. 10'; the short connecting wall has a tall window & door that repeat the sense of height but give a visual break; & the opposite end of the kitchen is open to the living area. If the kitchen had been narrower or enclosed instead of opening into another area, I suspect the super tall cabinets would feel top-heavy. Likewise, regular height cabinets would look dwarfed against the rest of my architectural components.

Our house is in progress. We're doing JUST that...a contoured wood hood to the ceiling and 10 foot cabinets with molding above (the molding and the hood are not on yet) Here's some pics of the VERY rough kitchen without anything other than cabinets with unadjusted doors: Here's the hood. Well, not THE hood. The paint wasn't right so it has to be fixed. But that's the shape minus the molding at the top: Sink side of kitchen. I wish I'd have gotten a better shot since you can't see the glass cab on the right of the window. But you can see that in the range wall pic above I guess. There will be a window seat to the area to the left of the kitchen (that's the dining table area) with solid-door hutches on each side of those wing walls that face inwards. We are doing those to the ceiling to break up the line of cabinetry around the room and add height along with the hood. The built-ins on either side of the fireplace (that's covered up with that big board over on the left side) will go to 8 feet. Those will be cabinets on bottom and open shelves on the top with the backs painted out a gray shade: I looked to nini's kitchen for inspiration too. It's so pretty! Here's some kitchens with hoods to the ceiling and cabinets down a foot or two:

I love the look of your kitchen, babs, I think the open space above is a great look. Unless you have money to burn AND a too-large kitchen, I vote for 8 to 8.5 ft of cabinets with cove lighting above. What does cove lighting do? It gives soft indirect light which is always more flattering than high wattage central bulbs. Plus for smaller kitchens it highlights the openness of your ceilings and turns dark, murky shadows above the cabinets into a pleasant accent feature. I love all your stacked/stacked look pics above, guys, especially with the backlit top row. But worth the extra money over cove lighting? Probably not unless you have an unlimited budget or you've REALLY REALLY gotta have it. Then you probably should get it. :) Davif