To keep it cohesive, keep the blue on the cabinets. Keep the soffet the color of ceiling or close to. Don't paint the soffet blue, it would make it feel heavy & visually lower the ceiling.

As for the beadboard on soffet sides as shown in your picture. Line the underside with a thin smooth surface. Corner trim all the outside edges. Scribe trim the other areas.

Lastly trim the top cabinet line that touches under the soffet the same color blue as cabinets to finish off.

I just dealt with a similar issue in my kitchen. I knew removing the soffits in our kitchen wasn't in the works at this point so I looked at a lot of options, just as you did. The best solution I found was actually the simplest....do the least amount to them and they become less noticeable. Keeping that in mind, I would agree with artistsharonva that the blue should stay off the soffit. In our kitchen, we had a very large hangover on the one side so we decided to continue the wall color all the way across the soffit and under it. I can't tell you what a big difference that made. We initially left it white underneath to match the ceiling, but then it made the soffit look like an extra element in the kitchen (which I guess it technically is!) By extending the wall color underneath, it softened the look and (in my opinion) makes the soffits less noticeable. It just looks like a continuation of the wall. I've attached a few pictures of how it worked out in our space. I also happened to come across a picture from an episode of Fixer Upper where Joanna Gaines worked around soffits. I'll attach that photo as well. I can't wait to see how your project turns out!

The more stuff you put on the soffitt the more you pull attention to it paint it like the walls or the cabinets and leave it alone and I sure hope you are putting doors on those open cabinets they will always look like you took the doors off and forgot to put them back not to mention the PITA for keeping clean and perfect.

Thanks for the advice so far! So my soffits are actually currently the color of my walls (light grey), the ceiling is white, and we just painted our cabinets blue. I HATE the look of the soffits. When I look at them I don't see them blending in with the wall as much as I see them contrasting with the cabinets. So I wanted to add beadboard and molding to make them look like an extension of the cabinets and to make the room look taller? This may be a better example picture of what I am going for:

This is my current kitchen w/ the new blue cabinets:

So right now the soffits are the same color as the walls below and around the cabinets, but we will be adding white countertops and a white backsplash that goes all the way up to the "ceiling" (ie. soffit). So, I feel like leaving the soffit alone would make it stand out even more?

Also since the cabinets are flat I thought the beadboad and modling would give them character? Or maybe it would just make them look out of place? Now I'm not sure haha

@artistsharonva - thanks for describing how to dress the soffit up! that's super helpful

@Katie F - Are your soffits and ceiling the same color? The kitchen looks great! Gosh, I hope mine turns out half that nice :)

@Patricia Colwell Consulting - The top picture was just an example of the look I was going for. I've definitely got doors on my cabinets. Hope the additional pictures help to clarify that

Maya L., my soffits are different from ceiling color. However, my soffits (sides and underside) are the same as the wall color-SW Twilight Gray. I definitely think the black cabinet picture you posted gives me a better idea of what you are looking to do. I think that could be done in your space. What kind of backsplash are you thinking of doing? I would be interested in seeing what the cabinets look like after the backsplash is in. You might not notice the soffits as much after the backsplash goes in. Another thought that might dress up your cabinets would be some hardware. One other question I have is do the soffits run all along the kitchen? Or just along the one window?

Katie F

I was thinking of doing white subway tiles, but we haven't officially shopped for those yet. Yes, I think once those awful brown laminate countertops are replaced with white quartz and white backsplash, it will do wonders for the room!

Hardware is on the way! We are getting white ceramic knobs with a grey pattern and silver pulls to match the hinges/appliances.

They are just over the areas where the countertops are. They start at the door frame between the laundry room and kitchen and stops at the end of the counters. The left wall extends into the dining room and the right wall stops and opens up to the living room.

The backsplash, counters, and hardware sound beautiful! I think that will really brighten things up and look gorgeous with the cabinet color you’ve already picked out. I realize this is getting away from the beadboard you were originally asking about (and I hate moving away from the true question you asked), but have you looked at millwork for the cabinet doors? I didn’t know if that would scratch the itch of wanting some detail without the problem you are trying to sort through with how to trim out the beadboard?

Oops, meant to include this link in my last post:

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Ekena-Millwork-Ashford-20-in-x-2-33-ft-Primed-Polyurethane-Preassembled-Picture-Frame-Moulding/50318009?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA_ONLY-_-Millwork-_-SosSpecialityMillwork-_-50318009:Ekena_Millwork&CAWELAID=&kpid=50318009&CAGPSPN=pla&k_clickID=be3026b0-bf6b-4f97-bf26-7bd16c12fd42&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2qbc5euw2wIVCKtpCh07TAs7EAQYAiABEgLaRvD_BwE

I think you should stay away from any beadboard. If you keep the soffit the same light color, it visually raises the height of the ceiling. I can't tell, but I think you have blue trim around your window. Get paint to match the color of your tile and let it blend in!

Katie F - thanks so much for the suggestion! I didnt think about adding anything to the doors themselves. It's something I definitely want to keep in mind, but not something I'd want to do immediately. I think the issue I am struggling with is that I really don't want to leave the soffits as is. The house is from the 80s where you can see, w/ what I can only describe as veining on the walls. So I feel like the combination of the uneven overhang and semi-textured walls make the soffits look really sloppy and lazy.

I think if the cabinets lined up with the edges of the soffit, it wouldn't be as displeasing to my eye. I have to do something to them to elevate them just a little. I'm not married to the beadboard idea or to what color they should be. But I do know I don't want to leave them as is.

bethschindler - We intentionally painted the window trim blue, tho we may have done that prematurely haha. I see what you mean about making the entire backsplash one cohesive color. If it looks bad once we put the tile in we will repaint it white to match. Thanks!