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happyday321

cabinetry crown will stick out from soffit

5 years ago
Kitchen woes... cabinets went in and we realized that once the crown goes up, the crown will come in further from the soffit.
The ceiling in the kitchen is 12’ high but we liked the look of cabinets to the ceiling so we asked them to make a soffit at the 10’ height. They made two soffits actually (because I think it would look odd to have a 2’ deep soffit) but the problem is that one of the cabinets juts out from the rest (just a decorative thing) and as result, it will now stick out beyond the soffit edge by 1 or 2 inches.
THEN, after making that realization, my husband and I also realized that the fridge and freezer will stick out too (depth of fridge and freezer with panels included will be 25”). There are cabinets to be placed above the fridge and freezer.

So my questions are
1) is this a big deal even, or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
2) how would you fix it?

Comments (20)

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Well...yes the projecting cabinet and refrigerator/freezer will look like they weren't considered in the overall design, because...well...they apparently weren't.


    But...unless you're prepared to redo the soffits, I think I'd just have the crown installed and learn to not look at it.


    The conditions are rather confusing to visualize, so there may be some sort of solution possible if you make more information available.


    Good luck on your project.

  • 5 years ago
    Here’s a screenshot of the ceiling detail if that helps....
  • PRO
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Is it still possible to make the overall depth of the soffit from the wall deeper on the side with the cabinet and refrigerator/freezer? 1'-6" is certainly insufficient for the lower soffit for a 25" deep refrigerator which needs 2" of clear space behind it for water pipes and air circulation.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I'm doing the same thing, soffit for 1' but my soffit will be quite large to fit the fridge etc "under it". I would fix it now, it would drive me nuts seeing the crown go past the soffit. The picture below is what I'm going for.



  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Well, luckyblueeye, the cabinet depth refrigerator/freezer are always one of the areas in kitchen design frequently overlooked.


    In your inspiration photo these are close to lower cabinet depth of approximately 24". Also note they are flush with the inclosing cabinet, and there's no vent space on sides or top. Said differently, these are the expensive refrigerators/freezers designed to be built-in and often with face panels to match adjacent cabinetry. They look wonderful in inspiration photos. And they're really cool in kitchen plans since they align with the adjacent cabinets.


    Now to the real world and what many people choose to purchase, once they compare prices:


    "Normal" refrigerators tend to be deeper, around 25" and require a 1" space all around, sides and top, plus 2" in the rear for piping and ventilation.


    So many people fail to design their kitchen around the refrigerator/freezer they will actually use.


    Good luck on your project.

  • 5 years ago

    I'm only going for the ceiling soffit (9' to 10'), not the cabinets, counter depth fridge etc...and husband is a GC so we have it all covered. My comment wasn't a slam against the oversight.

  • 5 years ago
    @virgil, good point about space needed behind the fridge. I hadn’t considered that and will have to check on that

    The fridge /freezer depth is actually 24” and the side panels (from cabinet maker) are 25” so I guess he left that 1” to accommodate the pipes in back possibly?

    We can ask the builder to re-frame the soffit. But do you think a 25” soffit would look right? Also you might have seen on the plan that this double soffit is only on three sides of the space. The side with the windows has only one higher soffit - because the windows are so tall (they go up above the 10’ mark).
    Maybe it’s better to have them eliminate the soffit altogether and abandon the idea of having the cabinets go to the ceiling?
  • 5 years ago
    Here’s a photo I found somewhere online where there are cabinets going to the ceiling soffit and the fridge sticks out beyond the soffit. I’m trying to decide if it is really a big deal or not ...
  • 5 years ago

    Treat the taller items differently, by rising them up to touch ceiling by

    Putting a filler & use a smaller crown



  • 5 years ago

    @ happyday321 - I don't want to be spending your money, but I would definitely try to fix it. That jut out bugs the OCD in me. That being said that's a really tall soffit. There have been some prior threads that people posted pictures of disguising it a bit, either with tall crown or painting it to match the cabinets or even fake cabinet doors.


    @ luckyblueeye - that's a really pretty inspiration picture, I love the floor colors. Might I ask where you found it? Got to find that stain! :)


  • 5 years ago

    Sam, sorry it was just a google search...I'm starting my own project so I have saved about a billion pictures :)

  • 5 years ago
    It seems that in order to bring the soffit enough for the fridge/freezer to come under it, we would have to combine two soffits and end up with one soffit that is 14” deep.
    Any photos or opinions on a soffit that comes down 14”? Too bulky?
  • 5 years ago

    maybe the cabinets can be recessed slightly into wall behing them or cut the cabinet depth down a few inches.

  • 5 years ago

    I would consider dispensing with the two soffit idea. Have just one soffit that can accommodate all the ins and out of the cabinets and fridge. You can soften the height of the soffit by putting crown molding where it meets the ceiling.

  • 5 years ago
    Cat perch. Or plant shelf.
  • 5 years ago

    Sam Goh, google reverse image search led me to find the source for the picture here: https://elizabethgarrettinteriors.com/portfolios/piney-point/


  • 5 years ago

    You can decrease the height/depth by framing it lower (the middle of the tray ceiling). I'm doing white beams, I don't want a rustic look but I will use the beams to create interest and make the soffits/tray ceiling have a purpose.

  • 5 years ago

    Did you find a solution, yet?

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Oh boy. My best solution is to have the soffit re-framed to fit the molding.

    Your kitchen looks like a higher end kitchen and mistakes like this will cheapen and distract from your beautiful cabinets.

    A last resort would be to bury the cabinets into the wall to gain the inches you need to fit the molding and not touching the soffit. Speak to your builder and installer if this can be done. All depends on what is behind the back wall.

    good luck and let us know how it works out.