I think crown or some type of moulding always looks better. By the looks of it you will have too attach a nailer strip to the top of the cabinets first, since doors go all the way up.

I agree it's more contemporary, however there are lots of different crown profiles that would look nice with that style of cabinet. Or even a 1x2 nailed around the top with a 1" reveal would look good in my opinion.

Kustombuilts suggestions....I like the one on the right...very clean. I was leaning with "none" till I saw that. Nice.

The kitchen looks great btw! Above the fridge cabinets built in wine cubbies or just more storage, would be nice too~

Definitely not traditional molding. If I had to guess what would look good, I would say 1x poplar kind it like kustom's right picture, but only sticking out 1/4" and painted 1 or 2 shades darker of the same color as the cabinets.

No crown. You have enough going on in there and it has a nice crispness that you would lose.

Wow! It is such a pretty kitchen, it's hard to find anything to critique!

I noticed one comment stated that your cabinets look contemporary, and at first glance there is a modern feel, but the design as a whole is a lovely blend of cottage, craftsman, early (drawer hardware, sink hardware, lighting) 20th century, and mid-20th (shiny black and red)
blending periods is really hard to do, and you have done it very well.

My only comment is that everything you have above the cabinets is way too small. It is something we ALL do it. I pay attention to scale, and I STILL do it! If there is a vase in several sizes, I won't get the largest one because it looks SO big. Then I get it home and it's too small!

My husband's first response to even a SYLLABLE out of my mouth is: "I'm not paying for it!" One time I dragged this HUGE piece home when he was at work, and had my neighbor help me hang it. When he got home and saw how good it looked, he just LOVED it, but if he had seen me carrying it into the house, he would have had a fit!

I think you're right to consider some type of finish, or crown molding. Here's why: It defines the top of the cabinets, giving them, and the room, importance (crown) and connects them as "built in", making it more pleasing for the eye to move around the room. Most of the style of the room, including pane window, stained glass, wood trim, dictates it, but again, it is very nice now, if you like it better the way it is. It's sort of like putting a frame around a picture.

What you might consider instead, or in addition, is having fun getting some larger accessories. You have a large amount of space above the cabinets, and if it is accessorized with larger prints, sculptures, important (or important looking!) and deliberately placed, it may "top off" the space with a beautiful gallery look. You obviously were smart to not waste money on cabinetry that is so high, you never use it, and have the sharp eye and sense of what looks good, to pull it off. I would love to see what you do, even if it's nothing. I just keep going back and looking, it's so pretty.

Good Luck and Great Job!

If you did a1x on the top and bottom of the cabinets, you would have a place to hide under cabinet lights. Assuming those are frameless.

I knew I could depend on the Houzz Community for great ideas! Kustombuilt, I love the idea in the picture on the right. This would cap off the cabinets nicely (@Smdrovetto) while still allowing for the clean look I like (@Jackie Rhodes and @Fred S) Our house was built in 1917 as a vacation home so it is very simple (Bungalow). Two major things happened to the kitchen along the way: in 1957 a major remodel was done that included the incorporation of a back porch and the 'new' cabinets. In 2000 an 80 foot oak tree crashed down onto the kitchen roof, which resulted in the raised ceiling. Whenever we work on something we try very hard to use what was already in the house. Incorporating so many years worth of design elements can be tricky but I like the challenge. Your comments are all very kind, and great ideas. Thank you so much!

Oh my goodness! What an interesting history! My grandmother, and aunts, who grew up on a dairy farm in Canada, taught me to be creative, and use what you have, also. Their respect of nature, and disdain for wastefulness has been a huge influence.

My mom had bees in her attic one summer. She called a beekeeper, and the Univeristy of Washington, and both said, unless you have to cross their path to the entrance, they won't hurt anything, and will leave in November.

So, we lived with bees, and they left in November. They liked to congrigate in the wall right next to the commode, and if you tapped quickly on the wall, they would IMMEDIATELY stop! That was in the early 80's. Some people thought she was nuts, but now with the bee population at risk, she doesn't sound so crazy! She's almost 94.