My preferences would be to fill the space with crown molding which adds a finished look to the cabinets. Or, the taller cabinet with no toe kick. You can always use 4 more inches of space !!

"fixed cabinets"-do you mean you are considering "stock sizes". No cabinet is "fixed", there are infinite ways to assemble/build/modify cabinets. With the money you are saving not removing soffit,go ahead and get the carcass sizes and minimal under soffit molding to get you the backsplash dimension and where applicable the tall pantry cabinet of exact size you want. Barker cabinets or scherrs cabinets or any local cabinet maker will construct your sizes so you are flush/have clearances for doors/the cabinets line together and no "leftover gaps" have to dealt with later. Not to say you never need a filler strip.....but work on your dimensions and go to someone who can get you your requisite sizes.

angela12345: no toe kick wouldn't be a bad idea - just wondering how that would look as I would order a 90' minus 4.5 inch which leaves me with 1.5 inch to fill. Not sure how this would look with other cabinets with toe-kicks.

Crown moulding would be nice but I am getting a shaker style and would like the simplest kind. ( attaching a copy of the styles choices I have from the cabinet manufacturer ). Tell me what you think. I was thinking about the CR60 ( the simplest one )

Even with Crown - I will have ~ 1/2 inch gap there. How will this look? I was thinking of putting rope lighting there.

herbflavor: yes I mean stock sizes - well I would definitely like to go full custom but I cannot afford those prices.

You can't store your Christmas platter behind crown molding and uplighting.

If the cabinet line you are using doesn't provide you with enough sizes to be able to utilize ALL of the space you have there for storage, then you need to move on to one that does. Most of the major companies have everything in 3" increments all the way from 12" to 48" before starting the "single stacked" cabinets. If you aren't using a line that is that flexible, then you aren't getting your money's worth. You only do a kitchen remodel once or twice in a lifetime. Don't settle for something non functional.

Either take down the soffits or find someone who carries the right sized cabinets.

live_wire_oak: not sure what christmas platter is =s

I am actually not talking about the width; more about the height that I am talking about.

I agree with your statement about kitchen modeling being a once / twice life time thing. I am just thinking about the options I have.

I am starting to lead towards having a moulding to reduce the gap between the bulkhead and the cabinet.