I have a small kitchen. The ceilings are 9' high, and it is about 14' feet long. ~7' feet wide.

I hate having space above the cabinets. So at first I was thinking of having stacked cabinets. It would have been 15 over 36 with a 20" back splash and 1" molding.

However, I have been running in to kitchen layouts that run a shelf along the bottom to act as the bottom shelf. I really like this cause it will be a place to put commonly used items like tea pot ,fruit bowl, cooking books, and some nice looking seasonings.

In my new layout I pushed 42 in cabinets all the way to the ceiling with 3 inch molding. This left 27" between the cabinets and the counter top. To break this space up I want to mount floating shelfs at the standard 18' mark. Making a 9" shelf space above and a 16~ space below the shelf.

On the opposite wall I plan to tuck a 24" x 18"deep pantry in the corner opposite the sink, Maybe with a shelf that can fold up and down as needed for more counter space (16" x 48) right next to it . However, other then that the wall is bare. So I plan to have a place to mount a step ladder for easy access to items higher up.

I love what I have I just keep wondering if I am going to regret having the cabinets so high up- despite having the floating shelves between

Also I have considered making the sink cabinet 27" and making the side cabinet near the wall 15". However, I think it messes with the balance of the upper cabinets and thought to maybe just adjust the bottom ones.

**NOTE I also included a pic of the original kitchen. You will notice the stove/cabinets stick out past the window. this is not longer a problem. We were able to salvage an extra 6 inches hidden behind the wall.

I should mention that the boxed in area to the left of the fridge is the waste/vent pip. It sticks out 6" from the wall and is 9" wide.

Thanks.