Pros and Cons of Kitchen Cabinets to the Ceiling
Pros and Cons of Kitchen Cabinets to the Ceiling
When planning for new kitchen cabinetry or if you’ve decided to remodel your existing cabinets you’ll be wondering if it’s better to install your cabinets right up to the ceiling or should there be some space between the top of the cabinetry and the ceiling?
If you have empty space above your kitchen cabinets as they are now, wouldn’t it be better to stop ignoring that empty space? Resting ornaments on the top is fine and all, but they merely serve to gather dust and it’s most certainly not optimal space usage.
In most UK kitchens, storage space really does matter. Ceiling-height cabinets optimise the amount of storage space. Let’s consider some other pros of kitchen cabinets to the ceiling, in addition to the potential disadvantages.
Pros and Cons of Kitchen Cabinets to the Ceiling
The Pros
Storage Space
For those of us that prefer to buy family-sized packs of pasta and whatever else – stuff that’s going to last for the next few months or more, it’s a great idea to store these items in the more difficult-to-reach locations such as higher up in our kitchen cabinets.
For heavier items – think tinned goods – for obvious reasons, these are best stored at a much lower level.
So the idea is to keep the upper shelves filled but with lightweight goods. After all, if you do prefer to extend your kitchen cabinets to ceiling height, it’s possible you’ll require a ladder to get up there. For this reason, you’ll want to be sure that the items at the top are not colossally heavy so one hand or the other can remain free to maintain a firm grip on the ladder.
Cuts Down on the Clutter
Floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets work very well in terms of extra storage space, and together with that comes the attractive advantage that there’s potentially a lot less clutter.
For example, if you love to bake and you love to pour over baking recipes, you might want to establish a small bookshelf within one of your cabinets.
Do Away With What Can Be an Ugly Gap Between Cabinets and Ceiling
For kitchens that are designed whereby the cabinets fail to extend right up to the ceiling, there’s going to be that somewhat ugly ‘dead space’ that only serves to accumulate dust.
For sure, if there’s a large enough gap, you can perhaps use it for display purposes or for storage. if it’s a small gap, you can enjoy a finished, clean look simply by applying crown moulding.
Stylish Design
Tall or full-height kitchen cabinetry looks very stylish and they can work in any style of kitchen, be it contemporary or traditional.
Since full-height cabinetry does not feature the typical break in the middle of each unit that’s used for work surfaces and splash-backs, this type of cabinetry can really be particularly attractive.
Integration of Appliances
Tall or full-height kitchen cabinetry is ideal when your kitchen appliances are integrated (built into the cabinets). In return, you get a seamless, highly attractive visually appealing result.
The Disadvantages of Kitchen Cabinets to the Ceiling
Reaching Up Can Be a Pain
Unless the ceilings in your kitchen are very low, or unless you are an extremely tall person, it’s very likely you’ll need to use a stepladder if you wish to gain access to those upper shelves. Well, either a stepladder or a chair.
Yes, it’s easy to fold up a simple stepladder and store it beside the fridge or in the pantry or whatever, and for sure, a stepladder is handy to have around, but it’s not exactly an ideal scenario, is it?
Feeling a Bit Cramped?
If your kitchen is relatively small and you already feel like it gets a bit crowded when there’s more than just you in there, when you have floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinetry it can make your kitchen feel even smaller yet.
For this situation, you may well want to keep a small open area between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling.
If the open area is big enough, you might wish to use the space to showcase various bits and bobs like cookware, attractive mugs, jars.
If there’s some available sunlight, you might also wish to keep some of your houseplants up there.
When you keep items in this space it adds depth to the visual impression and draws the eye up. This, in turn, helps to increase the sense of there actually being more space than there really is.
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