Extending Kitchen Cabinets To The Ceiling

Updated 4.10.2020

Building these cabinets to the ceiling was one of the best decisions we've had!  They really complete the look in the kitchen and the crown molding makes it look so polished.

Hubby had more confidence in me than I did... I was pretty intimidated by the work involved in this project, but I put on my big girl britches and got to work.  And guess what?? I actually did it??!!!

I built the front frames, built up the sides and finished cutting and installing the crown molding! Whew!!  I used a Kreg jig to put the front frames together. That is such a handy tool and is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It makes pocket holes to screw the frame together making it solid and sturdy.

You can see here how I put the face frame together.

Next, I installed the front face frame along with the side of the upper cabinet.

Later, I realized I should have made the sides of the frame go to the ceiling so that the crown molding would have something to attach to... (You can see what I mean by the arrow in the photo below) Oh well.... 😏  I added some blocks and toenailed them in.

I used pretty funky chunks of wood to give the sides support... No one will see them...

One side complete!!

And... the other side!

That frame above the fridge was a bear to get in!  Thank goodness Hubby was there to help! We Kreg Jigged the frame into the cabinets.  That baby isn't going anywhere!!

We left that space open with no separation between cabinets. It will be easier with lighting and it was a lot less work than putting in boards between every cabinet. I'm sooooo happy the way things are turning out!! 😍

Hubby also helped out with this outlet in the long counter that for some reason the builder put in sideways.... Kinda weird, lazy? whatever...

Hubby fixed it! 💕

There was juuuust enough wire to turn it upright.

You can see the outlet is fixed here in the "War Zone"! That hole next to it will be covered with a board.

Ugh, this mess.... I was kinda freaking out with all that stuff everywhere!! Hubby is so sweet, he never complains or says a word.

As you can see we are getting ready to paint all the cabinets and added a beautiful board and batten trim to the lower cabinets.  You can find all the details at Painting Our Cabinets and Board and Batten trim.

Okay... the finishing touch is crown molding. This was so stressful for me! I needed 22 ft.  I bought 24 ft. I was praying I wouldn't make any mistakes.

That's unlikely since this is my first time installing crown molding....  I watched a YouTube video over and over and I felt like I understood the process. Voile'!  I did it!!

You would have laughed at me.  I was talking to myself the whole time trying to remember all the little tricks for cutting crown molding, and all the praying and thanking Jesus for the cuts that worked out!  I had about a foot of board left over! Perfect!

Before I begin painting, I'll caulk all the seams and fill all the holes.

In case you want to save this for a future project. Here's one to Pin to Pinterest.

Here are some more after photos to enjoy!!  To see the entire painting process check out Painting Our Cabinets.  I even have a one year update post, 1 Year Update on our Painted Cabinets.

Those buckets that are in the extended area are plastic ones from the Dollar Tree!  I did a post on how I created these buckets, Dollar Tree Bins to Galvanized Buckets.

Here is a link to how we added board and batten to our lower cabinets.  It really added a custom look to our kitchen, Board and Batten on Cabinets.

Blessings,