There it is. That big honkin' expanse of space above the cabinets. Glaring at me. Empty.
Not to mention making our eight foot ceilings feel more like a very cramped seven. Yes, I know I could've hung up plates or vinyl lettering or 10 lords of leaping. I could've even ripped them out altogether, but since we've got ductwork on the other side, they're staying. Call me spoiled, but I rather do enjoy air conditioning.
I thought about painting it cream, but knew that rather than giving the illusion of taller cabinets, it would just look like painted drywall.
So I had the lovely gentlemen at Lowes cut down a 4 x 8 sheet of beadboard paneling into eight 12" tall strips, 
and then nailed them up side by side.
and then nailed them up side by side.
A little rough (I prefer to say rustic), but that's where a bit of molding and caulk come into play, followed by a coat of paint.
While I had my brush out, I also painted the small gap in between the crown of the cabinets and the underside of the soffit so that it blends right in. 
Although the doors on the other side were off like a prom dress, this side stayed covered for housing all the unsightly kid necessities: plastic IKEA plates. Cocoa Puffs. Nyquil.
Before 
and After.
and After.
78 comments:
That looks fantastic! I can't believe what a difference a little moulding and caulk made to the beadboard. You should be very proud of yourself.
Gorgeous! I almost wish I had soffits so I could do that!
Dang girl! The prom dress comment had me in a fit of laughter!
And just when I thought your kitchen was done, you totally surprised me. I LOVE IT. I think it looks freakin' awesome!
Man I want a house...
Oh, and I hope you're out of your "funk". I'm getting better. I think I'm in the clear for the time being!
That is the PERFECT solution! I think a lot of women do-it-yourselfers don't know about the magic of the panel saw at Lowe's or Home Depot. I've had those guys cut lots of stuff for me over the years and it makes the project so much easier to do.
Wow! It looks so good...maybe even tempting me to add a soffit? haha...We don't have enough space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling (mobile home) on the "short side" of the kitchen to do much...I never know what to do up there!
That is fabulous! I love beadboard. And may I say, I'm jealous of the air conditioning? Though I guess that may be more of a necessity there than here.
Brilliant!!! You made your kitchen look like it should be in a magazine. I love the open cabinets too.
looks awesome!
I am impressed!!! I just kept scrolling up and down, up and down. I couldnt believe the difference it made!!!!! The prom dress comment....LOL!!!! Great job!!!!!
Whew....ya gotta give a girl some warning! I totally almost peed over that prom dress flying off!!! The soffit looks amazing!
WOW! Looks GREAT! I am really impressed by your caulking job. I did beadboard in my bathroom, and my caulking sucks...I guess I should try again after looking at yours..LOL
There's always a solution, isn't there. Very nice indeed!
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
that turned out great! i love beadboard! & i love your handles & pulls, too.
Now THAT, my friend, is IMPRESSIVE! I'm amazed that you had the vision to do it, because I certainly wouldn't have thought of it. But it looks GREAT! (Hence, so many CAPS in my comment.) I love it, and it looks so "finished."
I am continually amazed! It looks great!
So maybe I missed the memo about how to get your kids to sleep through the night...Nyquil, eh? Love the soffit!
Wow what a difference, great job!
Cool - I have the same problem in my kitchen. May have to borrow this idea!
Gorgeous!
Lookin' pretty fabulous!
-Jill
I am leaving a comment because you totally took your kitchen up to the next level. Now, did you do it alone AND how long did it take? Was it a one day while kids were in school project? Must tell the dirty secrets now.
This has been my favorite makeover in months! I love how the tops are so open and airy compared to the bottom - plus your descriptions had me cracking up :D
Just FABULOUS!!
It looks a world better!
I love it...
I have a stupid question....What brand/type of caulk did you use?
I am so glad you showed the bead board without the caulking and trim. I need to know what it will look like before caulking. My perfectionism would freak out at that stage not knowing that caulking would fix the imperfections.
It looks fabulous....I see a project in my future. thanks for sharing.
Tasha
momofsbandeg@yahoo.com
I am so impressed! Such a great transformation.
I literally laughed out load at your prom dress crack!
And, more importantly, that looks absolutely fantastic!
GORGEOUS!!!
I wish I could marry molding I love it so much. The before and after pictures are astounding - you are so busy!
This is so smart. I mean, really smart. Beadboard looks so rich, so homey, so inviting. And they cut it for you at Lowe's? I need to get with it and get some things cut for myself. This is great.
I cannot believe how much better that looks. It's fab. You now have fab cabs. Me=jealous. Instead of a soffit, we have about ten inches of "display space" which you can't see anything on because the crown on the cabinets is too tall. Maybe that sounds whiney, but it just looks silly to me. So now I am jealous. Again. Can you come south for a visit and implement all sorts of loveliness here?
HOLY MOLY! My husband is going to be so mad at you, because that is what he is going to be doing this weekend with our leftover beadboard wall paper!!!!
THANK YOU!
I'd love if you shared your cabinet color (and any other color for that matter) on my paint color party and giveaway this Friday!
Stef
http://frugalhomeideas.blogspot.com
my prom dress stayed on! (oh, wait, I never got asked to prom. hmmm....)
wow wow wow! this just adds such a greater level of sophistication to a space that was already pretty snazzy. well done :)
It looks gorgeous, what an awesome idea!
Love-Lovey-McLove IT!
Beautiful Before. Even Better After.
ooolala. Great job in the kitchen. It looks just right with the bead board and adds so much more "character" to your kitchen.
You have MAD SKILZ Women!!!!
Oh my goodness. I have been wanting to rip out the soffits in our kitchen. Ours serve no purpose. There are no vents behind them. I am so going to copy your idea. Thank you for the inspiration. I love it.
Wow! That looks gorgeous. What a great change.
It looks beautiful! And the dog's pretty cute too :)
Great idea... love the look and really like the cabinet doors removed. Hugs, Peggy
What a great idea. I have the same thing in my kitchen (space aboive the cabinets) I might have to steal your idea....
Greta job.
That's freaking awesome. I so want to do this now! And love the prom dress comment - hilarious!
Beautiful job with that! Love, love it.
I want to be you. Please.
You are so smart. That looks terrific.
LOVE THIS! Can I ask did you do your own kitchen cabinets too? If so is there a post for that? I couldn't find it, but I love the way they look.
It is all in the details. What a transformation. You did a great job. You must just LOVE your kitchen now.
This is absolute genius! You have inspired me to cover our ugly soffit! :)
Woohoo, I'm your 100th follower!! Yippeeeee!! What a great solution for those nasty (bulkheads we call them here) things!!! You did an amazing job.. love it!!!! My last house that them and an old outdated kitchen.. so my daughter and I got rid of them before the new cabinets went in.. and it was a lot of work, dirt and pain! Then I found this house.. same thing!!! Bulkheads and OLD cabinets. This time around, my "kitchen guy" came up with a shelf idea that attaches to the bulkhead then the cabinets attach to the shelf.. another great idea! Thanks for sharing your clever solution!
wow! it looks fabulous! great job! I love the color!
gail
holy shoot...! is there anything you can't do, woman...?
i knew i made a good choice for my new best friend...:o)
Wow, you just solved a huge problem for me. I've been trying to figure out how to hide my ugly soffits. Thanks for the great idea. P.S. love the black on bottom/white on top kitchen!
That is AWESOME! I have those same ugly things in my kitchen and I would LOVE to do this! I really like the open cabinets too.
Beautiful! Almost makes me wish I had a soffit!
Wow! That is such an amazing difference! And it seems easy enough that maybe I could do it myself! We have those same things above our kitchen cabinets ("soffits? I had no idea!). I always think how handy it would be if the cabinets were that tall because i have not NEARLY enough cabinet space in our kitchen. But at least the beadboard would make it look beautiful! Thanks so much for the idea. :)
That was a brilliant idea! It really does look like an extension of your cabinets now. And I love love love open cabinets. I'll be ripping my cabinet doors off to as soon as I find a way to control the mess of Pringles and candy that takes over my cabinets. (Yeah, we are junk-foodies!)
Ah! I just noticed how your puppy sneaked into the last photo! Mine does that all the time! How cute.
That's just unspeakably awesome. Or something like that.
You've taken what a lot of homeowners hate and created a very doable and presumably an inexpensive solution for.
This is going into my favorites for future reference. Oh my. I love it.
SUPER DUPER CUTENESS!!! We have an open soffit (don't know if it is called the same thing if it is open...but anyway...) in the living room that I am at a complete loss for. You have inspired me to do something with it!! Thanks!
fab update! Ingenious really.
I love your new soffit! Mine is paneling and I was just going to paint it, but this may be another solution!
Beautifully done. It's amazing what a few little details can do to make a room gorgeous! =]
I am SO doing this when we get around redoing the kitchen! I LOVE that idea...thank you for the inspiration!
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Beautiful ... I love beadboard and the two colours on your cabinets. Great idea for an update.
Standing up and applauding, Bravo! Bravo! I love it. I can't wait for my man to get home so I can show him.
beautiful work!
WONDERFUL! I too have the dreaded ductwork filled soffit. WHY DO THEY DO THAT TO US? LOL I LOVE your idea! looks fabulous! And the open cabinet shelving...love that too. We are semi finishing up a DIY cabinet reno and took some doors off too, we added a couple corbels to the shelves and then screen molding on the front and around the opening to give it a finished look. I'm in love with them!
How creative! I am stealing your design idea for my own kitchen! The guy at The Home Depot cut my beadboard after I told him they would do it at Lowe's!
OH MY! Thank you! I have the soffits in my kitchen that I HATE and don't want to rip out.
To see the BEFORE....I'm going to use your idea for my AFTER.
http://ourhouseinpictures.blogspot.com/p/kitchen.html
Dixie
Genius! Absolutely beautiful transformation.
What a neat idea! I may have to use this in the future....
http://westpointedesign.blogspot.com/
~Bridget
OMG I wish I had thought of this in my former home! Instead, I just bought a new house! That kitchen was awful! It looks beautiful!
Evelyn
evelynneal@sbcglobal.net
I'm way inspired by this! Love, love your blog!
Thank you so much for posting this project!
I am going to use the bead board textured wallpaper since my soffits have 1960s paneling and paint it the same taupe as my cabinets.
Thanks for inspiring me to do a more cost effective - save my energy efficient project.
I got the same look from paintable wallpaper, also from Lowe's, in a wainscot design. Didn't have to change any mouldings, just gave it a coat of paint. Much cheaper, too.
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