19 Ideas for Decorating the Top of Kitchen Cabinets

Decorating the top of kitchen cabinets is an easy way to add some flair to your kitchen while filling in the empty gap between the top of your kitchen cabinets and the ceiling, an often neglected area that can look a little awkward or simply lacking when left bare.

These days many kitchen designers solve this problem by custom building cabinetry all the way up to the ceiling. But if you don't have the luxury of building a custom kitchen from scratch, prefer a less tailored look, are working with existing built-in cabinetry from a rental, or don't have the budget to renovate, there are plenty of ways to fill that dust-collecting kitchen neverland while adding visual interest or extra storage.

Depending on your space, you might choose to line the top of your kitchen cabinets with objects, or to decorate the wall above. Keep in mind that not all kitchen cabinetry comes in a flat pack, and that you can use these tips to style the top of freestanding secondhand, vintage, or antique cabinetry like china cabinets and hutches as well.

Check out these ideas in a range of styles that will help you to maximize every last inch of vertical space in your kitchen.

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Add Decorative Baskets

Design by Studio Peake

This London kitchen from Studio Peake has tall, seamless built-in cabinetry painted in a serene shade of pale gray that ends a few feet short of the glass roof. A row of decorative woven baskets defines the empty space while adding a touch of warmth that complements the organic wood bar stools.

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Add Open Shelving

Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Max Kim-bee

In this light-flooded kitchen from Leanne Ford Interiors, open shelving is installed above and around a built-in vintage-style china cabinet perched on top of a row of lower cabinetry. The mix of old and new furniture and fittings and natural wood shelving and painted cabinetry gives the kitchen a lived-in, homey DIY feel that isn't trying too hard, making it cozy and welcoming.

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Hang Some Wallpaper

Design by deVOL Kitchens

To fill the dead space above the cabinetry, deVOL Kitchens hung some nature-themed illustrated kitchen wallpaper that complements the dark green tile backsplash and adds a layer or visual interest without cluttering up the narrow space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling.

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Add Bar Storage

A Beautiful Mess

While it's perfectly acceptable to decorate the top of your kitchen cabinets just for show, there's valuable real estate up there that can be used for storing infrequently used items, or things that you don't want the kids to get their hands on. A Beautiful Mess child-proofed the liquor cabinet by storing it on top of the kitchen cabinets, with bottles neatly organized in a row of wire baskets.

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Add Trailing Vines

Design by deVOL Kitchens

This elegant British kitchen from the U.K.'s deVOL Kitchens is decorated with illustrated wallpaper, shades of green and cream, copper accents, and plants with delicate trailing vines perched atop the closed and glass-front cabinetry that add a natural touch.

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Balance High Ceilings

Mindy Gayer Design Co.

Mindy Gayer Design Co. layered art and objects on top of the kitchen cabinets in this high-ceilinged lower level Lake Arrowhead kitchen that focuses the eye and makes the space feel cozier. The top of similar cabinets in the corner is left bare to keep the space from feeling cluttered.

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Layer It Up

Lobster and Swan

The top of this olive green painted china cabinet in a rustic English DIY kitchen from Lobster and Swan is layered with objects and a tall vase of branches that fills in the empty space above the relatively short cabinet and draws the eye upward.

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Keep It Casual

Design by deVOL Kitchens

In this timeless English country space from deVOL Kitchens, the top of a free-standing cabinet is styled with a basket and spillover earthenware that is displayed inside and on the open shelving above the sink, creating a casual but coordinated look.

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Add Baskets

Thistlewood Farms

Thistlewood Farms added a row of matching storage baskets to the top of an open china hutch in her modern farmhouse-style kitchen.

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Add Plants

Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Alexandra Ribar

Kitchen cabinets come in various shapes and sizes. In this spacious kitchen from Leanne Ford Interiors, a large curvy antique wooden hutch that stores dishware and cookbooks is topped with a row of bushy Boston ferns that create a lush look and introduces some vibrant greenery into the kitchen.

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Add More Cabinets

Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Alexandra Ribar

Instead of leaving blank space above the kitchen cabinets, Leanne Ford Interiors added a row of glass-front built-in cabinetry that seamlessly fits the space and can be used to stow non-essential items. The glass fronts add contrast with the larger closed cabinetry below and preserve an airy feel. A sliding library-style ladder attached to the wall allows for easy access.

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Define Space

Dazey Den

Dazey Den added plants and glassware to the tops of opposite rows of cabinetry in this colorful and kitschy midcentury modern space that help define zones in the semi-open-plan kitchen and dining room.

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Mix Materials

Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Alexandra Ribar

A pair of rustic vintage painted wood cabinets with a charmingly worn patina stacked on a side wall of this kitchen from Leanne Ford Interiors provide extra storage and give the room a sense of history. The top of the cabinet is styled with rustic objects in a mix of materials to give it an effortless feel.

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Install Open Storage Nooks

Design by Alvin Wayne

Interior designer Alvin Wayne added open stained wood niches above the white kitchen cabinets that serve as display space and storage for those cookbooks that only get trotted out during the holidays.

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Keep It Practical

Arbor & Co.

In this garage-turned-guest-house from Arbor & Co., an L-shaped kitchen has a mix of upper cabinetry and open shelving to accommodate the small space. The cabinetry top is treated as an extension of the open shelving, housing a pair of simple bowls that makes the corner space look cohesive and keeps everything visible and accessible.

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Add a Book Nook

Whittney Parkinson Design

Whittney Parkinson Design added a cookbook storage nook in the dead space between a built-in refrigerator and matching kitchen cabinetry that's built up to the ceiling in this neutral-toned 1920s Tudor kitchen renovation.

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Extend the Backsplash

Design by Laura Brophy Interiors / Photo by Tim Hirschmann

One way to eliminate the problem of filling the empty space above your kitchen cabinetry is to install an eye-catching kitchen backsplash that extends all the way up to the ceiling, like this contemporary kitchen from Laura Brophy Interiors. A blackened wood drop ceiling also helps to fill in the space while providing additional lighting.

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Bring In Faux Greenery

M. Wilcox Design

Decorating the top of your kitchen cabinets can be challenging from a maintenance standpoint when it comes time to watering and pruning, especially if you don't enjoy climbing up on kitchen stools and ladders to get the job done. These days you can find beautiful, realistic looking faux plants that will take care of themselves and look good doing it.

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Go Custom

Design by Louis Duncan-He Designs / Photo by Eymeric Wildling

If you're designing a kitchen from scratch, you might want to remove the need to decorate the space above your kitchen cabinets by custom building cabinets that kiss the ceiling instead, like this spacious kitchen from Louis Duncan-He Designs that maximizes every last inch of vertical space.