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I am trying to figure out what I should put up on these "walls" in my kitchen. There isn't much wall space in my kitchen so I wanted to put something up here to add something to room and make it not so bland. I was thinking either small chef/bistro art or vinyl letters maybe. Any ideas?

Other side

Way before wall words became popular, I painted grapes and stenciled sayings on the four soffits of my kitchen. My husband is a wine enthusiast and at that time we also owned a wine and spirit shop so it seemed appropriate.

And I still like it all these years later -- 12 or 13 at least!

First wall -

Martha

second wall

Martha

third wall

Martha

and the last one

Martha

lettering or pretty decorative plates possibly?

I like the wall words and the plate idea, as well as hanging framed nostalgic food labels or other artwork. Also you can cover them up like this.

Here is another idea for you. My other house had soffit along the top like yours. When we redid the cabinets I had my husband attach shelves to the underside of the soffit. It gave me lots of display area that I never had before.

Here is the before...



...and here the after...

Instead of vinyl letters, a really unique option would be to find some decorative wall decals online. I know most of them these days are incredibly easy to put on the wall, and even easier to take off.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mariagarcia495,

I LOVE the wood and carving detail that zone9alady posed. It adds richness to the cabinetry and draws the eye upward. What an elegant great way to address kitchen soffits.

Optionally, the plate idea is quite common, but effective for this area. Framing labels is a bit more creative and interesting depending on the feel of your space. Framed tiles is yet another idea that can add color and visual interest there. I once custom cut floral wallpaper and made it randomly cascade down from the ceiling on my soffits. It was less predictable, but paintsaking to do.

If you like the idea of wording/quotes, you might opt to display cooking words/terms of various fonts and randomly placed there instead.

A unique treatment might be to frame the soffit in crown and trim molding (BTW, if trim is white you can find it in a lightweight product vs. wood) and paint the face of the soffit with chalkboard paint. Then, you have the freedom to write whatever suits the occasion or season there.

Martha, you wine motif is great. Isn't it nice to have the perfect solution for yourself and enjoy it for years?

Sideshow I don't have any soffits as my cupboards go to the ceiling. However I do have a very tiny kitchen so I have utilized the space over windows and doors so I have more storage.

this is window across from doorway

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lady of shallot,

I like plates hung on the soffit, or any kind of framed art work. You could also paint a simple design on the walls.

Depends on how simple or elaborate you want this space to be. You could put wooden architectural elements here like Zone lady did or even hang collectible or vintage kitchen items.

What is your style? From what we see of the cupboards it is hard to say.

Sometimes I wonder why kitchens have soffits anyway. Surely they don't all conceal pipes and wiring.

I cross stitch, and if the soffits (is that the right word?)in my kitchen were tall enough, I'd display my own framed pieces there. As it is, I only have room on the walls for these two pieces:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sms29s66,

I personally prefer the uncrowded approach as I always think what goes up has to be brought down a few times a year to get grime and dust off items. A few carefully arranged pieces/art usually does the trick for me.

I am with Mamaspoon....I think about having to take down things and clean them. But I think a clock on one of the soffet walls would be good and maybe a couple of kitchen pictures on the other wall. Too many things would look cluttered IMHO.

After living in my house for 7 years and ignoring these "walls", I finally hung up some artwork. I wanted to carry the color of the pottery up there and I wanted to hang artwork. With a tiled back splash, there is no where else to hang artwork. You can see the thread here. http://boards.hgtv.com/eve/for...4079532/m/6463917267
Mine are 1 1/2 inches from the bottom and top edge. So chose something substantial. I would have liked 2-3 framed things on each wall, but DH vetoed that and we compromised on one frame on each of the 3 walls.

Oh and instead of using nails (I don't know what is behind there) I used the command velcro strips. I used 4 strips per each frame. I followed the instructions very carefully and they are SOLID. I originally thought the velcro would allow me to remove them for cleaning. Instead, I will just leave them there and wipe the frames. They aren't going anywhere easily.

I prefer to leave my wall cabinet tops unadorned; nothing irks me more than a cluttered array of dust-collectors and teeny-tiny tchotkes on display in the kitchen.

OTOH, an artful arrangement of just a few objects that make sense in a kitchen, such as functional, decorative baskets, can be just the ticket. Here's a photo of a kitchen where oversized baskets, on just one section of the wall cabinet run, make a dramatic statement. (Plus baskets are lightweight and easy to clean.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

Personally, I don't mind it bare but if you want something there, I like the plate idea. I would do all the plates in one color though(like red transferware if that was your style).

Another thing you could do is to pick up some dollar store frames (or check out second hand store, yard sales, etc for them). You can always paint the frames so don't worry if they arn't a color you like. Then find a book with fruit pics, menus, words, or something of interest to you(again, look for them at second hand stores, yard sales, libraries, etc. Add them to the frames and voila, instant art at a low cost.

This decale idea is pretty special:
http://quotethewalls.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=485

Here is what I have on an upper wall in my kitchen. They came from Ross. The middle one is a plate that I glued to a standing plate holder.

I found this photo on the internet, and it was the best example I could find of how I like to treat above cabinet soffits. I like the space to look like an extension of the cabinet itself. It takes some extra trim and painting the soffit in the same paint as the cabinets. Easier to do with painted cabinets, but not impossible with stained. (Would have to face with matching wood for stained)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

What cocok said.

have you checked to see if there is anything behind those walls of the upper cabinets .I had the in my house in NJ and found the only reason they were there was for 1 lone heating duct and decided to take them out and add boxes to some of the uppers and hid that duct with a vented new door I bought since I was going to refinish the cabinets and buy new doors it hid it well and really updated my kitchen

I am with Aych and Cocok -- ALL THE WAY!!
Less is more.

Have a feeling we lost Sideshow (the OP) long ago. That's o.k. - maybe this is helpful to someone else. Absolutely love all of your ideas, BTW.

Anyway, WRT the original photos, it appears the kitchen lacked a backsplash and was painted light beige. If the OP wanted an extremely simple and inexpensive fix, paint (in an accent color) might be the quick and easy way to go for both the soffit and backsplash.

A stripe or some other basic paint treatment on the soffit would draw the eye up. At a later date, the backsplash could be tiled, using the selected accent color, to liven up the kitchen.

JMHO.

P.S. Sideshow, please return with some updated photos. Hope your project went well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: blueday,

quote:

A unique treatment might be to frame the soffit in crown and trim molding (BTW, if trim is white you can find it in a lightweight product vs. wood) and paint the face of the soffit with chalkboard paint. Then, you have the freedom to write whatever suits the occasion or season there.

Great Idea Froo!

quote:

Originally posted by zone9alady:
I like the wall words and the plate idea, as well as hanging framed nostalgic food labels or other artwork. Also you can cover them up like this.

I like this one the best as it is timeless...

quote:

found this photo on the internet, and it was the best example I could find of how I like to treat above cabinet soffits. I like the space to look like an extension of the cabinet itself

Then why not extend the cupboards themselves? The cupboards in my old house go to the ceiling. I still think this is a good idea, even though there is much else that is less than desirable about my kitchen.

I absolutely prefer that the cupboards go up to the ceiling like yours do Lady, but if you don't want to buy new upper cabinets, or deal with what might be contained in the soffit (like plumbing or venting), then adding some trim and painting the soffit to look like part of the cabinets is an inexpensive solution that makes the kitchen look really good.

I also have a large wall area in my kitchen and plan to use lettering there. Using popaw & memaw's mob then list all of the kids grand kids in different fonts. and scattered about.