Before you start! Why are you doing this? To save money? make a point of
your skill? or design a kitchen that fits?

Level the ceiling at all cost. It would be easier to level the area above
the cabinets then dicking around with trim that may Never look right!
Examine what cabinets will store what and build them for the family. I'm
6'2" and the wife is 5'6" realize the difference in reach having space out
of is valueless. Unless you love hearing Honey can you get this! The focus
besides storage area should also be the work area, bumping the cabinets out
another inch or two may rob more valuable workspace. Why bump them out for 2
large plates and one bowl? I'd also avoid face framing and only consider
that when re-modeling the cabinets.

The last thing I learned is to budget yourself first then re-evaluate your
costs. I was going to bust my nut and build all new cabinets. I looked
carefully at costs and time. When you sell the place in most all cases those
beautiful cabinets will never really be appreciated again. I decided that it
was best for me to buy Ikea Cabinets, and make the doors out of fine Maple.
BUT! It also allowed me to save enough money (time is money too) to buy the
Silestone Countertop I wanted! This also allowed me to focus more time,
money and effort on the wet bar to show my skill.

....to do it again, I'd use 2 maybe 3 less cabinets on the wall and focus my
storage area in another large pantry.


"Todd Fatheree" wrote in message
...
I'm looking to build wall cabinets for a kitchen with an 8' ceiling that
go
(essentially) all the way to the ceiling (i.e. no soffit). At first
glance,
this would seem to dictate 42" cabinets. However, I'm wondering what
those
experienced do in this case. I'm planning to us a 2" face frame with a
1/2"
overlay door. I'm also going to be putting up crown molding, and it seems
that the 1.5" left on the top is going to be pretty tight for crown
molding.
I'm considering either of the following (or perhaps a combination). I'm
thinking about using 3" stock for the top rails to provide a wider space
to
place the crown molding. I'm also considering leaving an inch of space
between the cabinet and the ceiling to a) account for any variation out of
level in the ceiling and b) provide additional space to fit in the crown
molding. If I left additional space at the top, I would, of course,
shorten
the cabinet accordingly to leave the same amount of space between the
countertop and the bottom of the wall cabinets. Which way would you go?

And since I have your attention, I know that stock kitchen cabinets are
generally 12" deep. Do any of you bump that out an inch or two?

todd