How to Decorate Above Kitchen Cabinets: 7 Ideas

Whether you want the lush look and health benefits of real plants or prefer the no-fuss maintenance of faux ones, adding plants above your cabinets can make your kitchen feel fresh and welcoming.

A few tips when choosing your plants:

• Size the plants to the space above your cabinets. Adding a small plant to a big space can look underwhelming, while a plant too big for a small space will look crowded.
• Stick with your kitchen’s color scheme. If your kitchen is bright and airy with light blues and greys, you may want to avoid vibrant, florally plants that could clash with the cool colors. Don’t forget to coordinate the pots!
• Go with plants that require little sunlight. Even if your kitchen gets a lot of sunlight, it may not hit directly above your cabinets. Plants that require a lot of direct sunlight may not make it sitting above your cabinets.

Need extra storage? Use the space above the upper cabinets to creatively store practical items you need to easily access.

For some ideas, think about:

• Styling a tray, cake stand or cutting board with other accents (see section below)
• Putting paper towels or napkins in a decorative bin
• Using pitchers or jars of dry goods as accent pieces

Looking to make your kitchen cabinets a bit more interesting?

Consider arranging a collection of items or themed accents that sit on top of the cabinets.

For some interesting arrangements, think about:

• Vintage books, lanterns or tools
• Various vases or pitchers (the same color or shades of it)
• A China set, tea set, or kitchenware

Another idea for filling space above kitchen cabinets is to have a cabinet expert install:

• Nooks or additional cabinets. If you need the extra storage, you can have nooks or additional cabinets installed to fill the space between your upper cabinets and the ceiling. The additional cabinets can match your existing cabinets, or have a different color or glass inserts for a bit of contrast.
• Fillers that match your cabinets. Like nooks or additional cabinets, fillers extend from your upper cabinets to the ceiling, except they’re purely decorative. They can be a flat panel that matches your cabinets, or be more decorative with clear or frosted glass and backlighting.

Thinking about a combination of nooks and fillers? Not a problem. At Cabinet Coatings, we’ll help you design and remodel your kitchen cabinets to get the exact look and style you want.

For more ideas on updating your kitchen cabinets, visit our blog “How to Update Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them.”

On the wall behind upper kitchen cabinets, you can either:

• Paint the wall something bright for an exciting pop of color. If your kitchen is more neutral, paint the wall a shade lighter or darker than the color you have on the rest of the walls to draw the eye.
• Extend your backsplash (or install new backsplash for a fresh look) up the wall to add texture to your kitchen. Modern or contemporary kitchens will look great with white subway tile or, for a more rustic feel, add a brick backsplash. Visit our blog for more rustic kitchen cabinet ideas.

A great way to brighten up your kitchen, while making it look more sophisticated, is to install ambient lighting above the cabinets.

For track or recessed lighting installed in the ceiling above the cabinets, you’ll likely want to hire a professional.

If you’re looking for lighting you can easily install yourself, most home improvement stores sell the following above cabinet lighting options:

• Strip lights: Long, thin boxes of bulbs that are great for going above longer cabinets.
• Puck lights: Sets of usually 3 or 6 small, thin discs that work well above small or narrow upper cabinets.
• Rope lights: Thin, flexible strips of LED lights that add a variety of lighting colors to upper kitchen cabinets.