apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

EMPTY. But with hidden lighting.

Not every surface needs to be tchotchke'd, people. :P

You said it,

Dusty and cluttered nightmares. Too way up above eye level is forgotten by everyone but the dust.

I would probably put plants up there...i don't have space though above my cabneits!

I'd prefer it empty but with two taller roommates and only like 3 kitchen cabinets, someone always puts stuff up there and on top of the fridge...ugh.

I don't want anything on that spot!!
It gets dusty and greasy. So the only thing thats going to be on top of my cabinets are old newpapers.
I want to cover the whole surface so if its getting too dirty i just have to remove the newspapers and put new ones on it. That way you will never have to clean... I only have to put this (old) idea in practise :)

When I saw single, it remained empty... once my (now) wife moved it, a few vases got stored up there. Since the wedding, it's full of larger and/or less commonly used cookware like dutch oven, roasting pan, etc. as well. Looks a bit cluttered, but we only have so much cabinet space.

when i bought my house, it was already renovated and the cabinets were placed high with crown moulding up to the ceiling. since i don't have enough cabinet space, i would've welcomed those few extra inches for the platters and seldom-used large flat items.

My mom keeps glass art up in her kitchen. She just goes through twice a year and wipes them off with a soapy sponge - dish soap works the best on that horrible kitchen gunk. And since it's glass it's easy to clean.

Since I'm a tiny-apartment dweller, the tops of my cabinets are crammed with whatever I can shove up there. It's not pretty, but when you have no storage to speak of function triumphs over form...

Dutch-oven, crock pot, serving platters, anything that I rarely use goes up there. A small apartment only has so much cabinet space.

I have an apartment with like NO cabinet storage space, so anything that doesn't fit, like the toaster oven that I never use because I already have another toaster... and my fondue set box, misc labeled boxes, that goes up there! Not meant to be pretty, but very functional.

In my last place I had high ceilings so a lot of space above the cabinets - I put plants on the cabinets with a mirror behind them, it looked great (I also used it to store some stuff in nice looking tins). But the cleaning was always a problem, so in my current place when I was putting in the kithen I put in extra-tall cabinets that go right to the ceiling. I can still use that top space for storage, but now it's actually inside the cabinets it's hidden out of sight and it's grime free. I just have to put my plants elsewhere.

My shelves are kind of unfinished up/back there, can't see it, don't want to see it, it's behind a finish molding. I know by experience it's where my cat likes to go when she climbs - she leaves the rest of the shelves alone. I don't have enough stuff to look at that isn't already out on my open shelves. That would just be out of control. For someone with cabinets, it might be a different matter, and presents and opportunity to dress up the kitchen with displays. As always, the dust, grease, and lack of instant access will pose the usual obstacles, but I think it looks nice. I guess I think a whole wall or two of closed cabinets tends to look like wood paneling, and then sometimes there's too much stuff out on the counter like a knife block and a coffee maker and a mixer and a this and that, but that is every day stuff. It's not going to look nice or do much good stored up top. I wish there were a kitchen counter cabinet where all that stuff could be gathered out of sight, actually.

My mother used to have the original cabinets with a soffit. When she remodeled, she put in cabinets up to the ceiling on that side and filled out the other side where the hutch had been with cupboards, a little glass cabinet, and it doesn't go up to the ceiling, but she had enough pitchers and vase things to line up, and it looks nice up there. She hates dust too, but she keeps it clean.

I have a v. small kitchen with stainless steel drink buckets from Target.
They hold extra snacks and extra cereal (take advantage of those sales!) and some not-oft-used appliances.
They are effective and nice-looking storage that reflects light.
I also have a small stool so we can reach the contents when needed.

i couldnt keep my cats from hanging out up there unfortunately (i know, eww, but they really would not listen to reason) in the "above space" in our last place. luckily the one in our new place is WAY too high for beast nor human to hang out up there or put anything up there.

I found five baskets at Ikea that were just a bit smaller than the distance between the cabinet tops and the ceiling, and almost exactly fit across the entire length of the cabinets. I store lesser-used kitchen things in these (fondue pot, Christmas baking supplies, margarita glasses in winter, springform cheesecake pan, etc.) instead of having everything out looking cluttered. I just pull out a chair to get anything down from up there.

Yep, wish I had the luxury of space for tchotchkes OR emptiness, but we put our big kitcheny things up there for storage--stand mixer, serving pieces, cake stands, canning equipment, etc. It's a working kitchen, not just a decorative space, and I need somewhere to put those things. I try to keep them neatly arranged, and many of the things are pretty in their own right, so it doesn't look too bad.

I keep all our large platters and gigantic pottery bowls up there. It's true that when I take them down for parties I have to wash them again, but my cabinets aren't big enough for them.

My cabinets go all the way to the ceiling (thank god - I'm a lousy housekeeper) but I have a friend who used found branches wound with white X-mas lights in that space and it looked nice and provided a lovely soft glowing light.

In Los Angeles, it's horribly dangerous to put anything up there that's not nailed down. Getting beaned in the head with a crock pot OR ceramic gnomes is not good.

I keep my cookbooks up there. I use a stool to get them down when I need them. Works just fine.

Ugh, I hate that space. I don't get why anyone would build a house that way. I actually have artwork on mine (I rent). They're tea towels my great grandmother sewed many years ago. I framed them and put them up there on the wall part so they can be seen if anyone looks up there. It totally works and isn't cluttery.

We've got a galley kitchen and on one side, my vintage martini shaker collection is stored. We usually only use one shaker, so it doesn't matter if they get a little dusty. The other side, the cat uses, so it remains almost entirely empty except for a few wooden bowls that don't have a home.

I don't like lots of crap up above in that space, and I'm luck that I don't need it for storage. If I did, I'm certain I'd have some very tidy boxes with everything neatly concealed inside.

That said, I do have a couple of thematic items in place. One side I have 3 simple green glass jars, on the other a ceramic orange frog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimg924/2931438599/

i have a dishes of apple cider vinegar laced with dish sopa to keep away any potential fruit flies.
But, that's it.
I am going to get some lighting at some point...

I would love to have cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling like my Mother's old house...

...but I have about a foot or so to the ceilings, so that's where the glass cannisters for sugar/flour/etc live with the 10lb bags of rice, 1 gal tins of Olive Oil, serving platters, etc...

I remember my first apartment: I climbed up to see what was on the tops of the upper cabinets and found tons of mouse poop!

I had matching ikea boxes up there for awhile storing actually craft supplies (its a really small place, okay) but i got all purge-y and managed to move it all. Now its has (hidden) christmas lights on a timer, and pest traps seasonally. We've had a pantry moth problem.

I actually think using that space for oversize serving peices, especially if they match looks fantastic. I have a friend that has pyrex bowls in shades of blue and green and my grandmother has 5-6 transferware platters up in hers. You have to get out the step-stool and wash it before you use it, but you only do it once a year anyways.

Why don't people just make the cabinets go to the top?
I've never seen this before.

I don't know, because the ceilings are too high for that to really serve any purpose? Cabinets go up as high as people can reach In my last apartment with cabinets, they went up a certain amount, but then had cute little short cupboards above instead of open cabinet top or soffit. I think my grandma has the same thing, but I haven't been there in a while. No display, but storage.... I didn't keep anything up there, it was too high and deep to clean out and make sure it was not a total skeeve cabinet. bepsf's comment about the mouse poop - ::shudder:: you get the idea.

i personally hate when people put plants... or even worse fake vines up there. its just not natural. right now our cabinets go to the ceiling... if i did have space up here and needed it for storage i'd prolly get some nice looking bins or wicker baskets from ikea to house stuff.

my friend pur oversized vintage letters up there and it looked pretty cool. i think if you need the space use it... just dont overdo it.

I live in a one bedroom apartment, with a tiny kitchen. So that space has to go to use since I don't have enough cabinets to hold everything. I put large rectangle baskets the color of my cabinets on top and fill it with not commonly used things like baking pans and teapots. I also store a couple vases that don't fit in my cabinets(too tall for the shelves). I wish it could be empty though (if wishes were horses than beggars would ride).

I don't care how big your kitchen is, nasty grease and then dust migrates up there to whatever is in in that space. Seriously, nas-teee.

In my last house, I made my own border of soaked off wine labels to give that space some interest. I just attached them on with some wallpaper paste on the backs of the labels. Also, we got to drink a lot of wine, and our friends even saved labels for me. It was fun, and people always noticed the labels that we had shared together.

the weird space above my kitchen cabinets is about 14". i set up some plant lights and seed starting trays up there, and they are doing wonderfully. it's nice to have fresh herbs growing in our tiny kitchen! we are using two 40-watt plant light bulbs, which have only added an extra $1.50 to our electric bill each month.

Our space between cupboards and ceiling is pretty large so we felt we needed to put something up there. We've been collecting new and used cookbooks ($1 flea market finds are the best) and are lining the perimeter of our kitchen with them. We're pretty happy with the way it looks. We've got a vintage olive oil tin on one end as a bookend and a cool carved and painted gourd from Kenya on the other end.

When we reno'd our kitchen we put the cabinets right to the ceiling. I really prefer it this way. I still have the storage space, but it's closed off so it looks nicer and stuff doesn't need to be cleaned before I can even use it.

I tossed fake vines up there. Adds some nice green to my kitchen and are easy to clean with a feather duster.

Ok. Sorry to hijack the thread, but how on Earth do you pronounce "tchotchkes"? o.O Is it the same name as one of those bar restaurants from Office Space?

I put my glassware up there that won't fit in my cabinet (punch bowl, salad bowl, cake stand, etc). I just try to edit so it won't look like TGI Friday up there.

And since someone asked... cabinets used to go all the way up to the ceiling. And the lower cabinets didn't used to have a toe kick either. When I do my million dollar kitchen - that is the route I am going.

pikku.sukka it's pronounced "chotch -keys".

There is a special place in kitchen designer hell for those who put cabinets in that don't go all the way to the ceiling. Who couldn't use the extra storage for seldom used items? And who wants to dust the crap that sits on top of the cabinets?

Aha, mystery solved! Thanks LilyC!

Our cabinets reach the ceiling. Our almost 14 ft. high ceilings. I can't reach the top shelf, even standing on a chair or step stool. But it does look very nice.

Same as Lise1914, I got Ikea matching baskets in a similar tone to the wood. I needed the storage!

like tenderleaf, EMPTY except for hidden lighting.

AngelaPeregrina: Anyone can choose cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling when they're renovating. But it's considerably more expensive ... so lots of people pass.

Used to leave mine empty. Now, I use the space to "store" my large fantasy figurines (dragons, unicorns, etc.). These pieces are occasionally dusted by my Siamese cat, Neko, who likes to jump to the tops of the cabinets. He wanders around all the figures and then picks one to pose by so he too looks like a mythic figure.

I used to have collections of cutsey things, but it got to messy. Now, it's used to store the empty glass jars I use for food storage or crafting. Everything up there has lids, so it's easy to clean - just wipe down the outside before use.

Tiny kitchen in my apartment, that space gets utilized 100%! pots, pans, & lids go up there, my husband and I are both tall so there is only the occasional balancing act on the counters to find something. Plus, we cook a lot so things get used enough that mouse poop/whatever won't accumulate. And how hard is a quick rinse if it's dusty?

Current Kitchen--small kitchen, but cabinets go all the way up

Former kitchen #1--tiny kitchen, used squared baskets above cabinets to hold essentials

Former kitchen #2--big kitchen, more than adequate storage--I had one plant up there that hung down the side of the cabinets. I also stored baskets on top of the pantry. The ceiling was slanted and one of the walls didn't even go to the ceiling, so no mystery about the cabinet design there.

cabinets up to the ceiling! (5th photo, on the left side): http://www.wetakeiteasy.com/2008/10/our-home/

I keep hat boxes above the cabinets with china. I hate the dusty greasy layer that covers everything though.

My kitchen cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling, and this has been the case everywhere I have lived.

If I had a space like that I'd either paint it a bright color (just to liven up the room a little) if it were a small space, or, if it were a large space, fill it with a few knickknacks (anchored well with Quake Hold).

can't keep the kitties off, but other than that...EMPTY.

I don't have cabinets that go to the ceiling, but that space is full of wall, so I don't have anything else there either. It is a nice space for my kitchen clock though.

-Cookbooks
-Colourful, pretty ceramic planters in diff sizes waiting for a green companion

Hate that gap - which I have in my current apartment kitchen. I keep big cookware up there, like my wok. Fortunately I use that stuff pretty often, so it doesn't accumulate a layer of greasy gack.

Hate that gap, but my previous home had one. The cabinets were white, the appliances stainless steel, so I filled the space with some fake plants to soften the industrial edge. (I chose fake because they were lightweight and I wouldn't have to go up there to water them!)

Our cabinet tops meet a soffit, so no storage space there. Need to buy a few small pieces of art or paint it out to make it look more pleasing. If we had the space, we would probably use it for seldom use things and/or some of the decorations our families pour down on us.

My mother's new kitchen has rope lights up there for soft lighting.

My brothers apartment: my mom comes over and places holiday decor for him.

Luckily my cabinets go all the way up, but I leave them empty and will vow to do so forever.

We put books up there. We're short on bookshelves.