Leave it open on top ready for when you have enough money to add the stacked cabinets possibly. Because then you won't have to cause too much of a mess taking down 2x4s and drywall when you move ahead.

It's hard to believe that the extra height in cabinets would cost that much though... Unless you have a huge kitchen. Stacked cabinets look great as you've probably seen, so if you have the funds try to work something out.

I would do the stacked cabinets now, not the bulkhead. Initial investment may be more but resale should recoup the difference. Stacked Cabinets look beautiful.

Spend the money now and do the stacked cabinets.

I agree about the ones over the sink and IMO unless you have crown molding in the rest of the house i would take the cabinets to the ceiling no crown and do it now to make sure the cabinets all match There are a couple of design flaws in this kitchen that should be addressed the fridge and the sink are way too far apart so unless you put a prep sink in the island you need to reconfigure this layout.. Just imagine trying to prepare a meal in this space the amount of steps just to prep veggies will be a workout .

i have a 9' ceiling and did 42" cabinets. i did a door style that feels like stacked without the expense, but i didnt want glass up top anyway. i had a non-negotiable plumbing situation in a small chase, so skipped going to the ceiling but i dont mind a little empty space up top.

If you use stacked, go with 39/12 combination. Some companies make stacked cabinets as one piece. Don't go over the window with cabinets, but if you like something over, you can make a nice soffit using kitchen matched material with lights underneath over the sink area.

A tall fascia board applied to the cabinets to take it to the ceiling and a crown off the fascia to the ceiling may be what you want to do. Upper cabinets over 42" will be unusable without a step stool . A door with glass in the top is beautiful. Stacked door cabinets work better with inset cabinetry, if using a stacked door cabinet with full overlay leave a gap of 1" between the upper and lower door sections if possible.

I'm curious, why leave a 1" gap between the cabinets?