Thanks for your concern, but I'm talking about putting the base depth cabinets ABOVE the regular depth wall cabinets! So they'd start at 7' from the floor, and shouldn't hurt even Shaquille O'Neal at that height!

I think it would look weird??

Ah, sorry I misread that as you were going to hang base cabinets as wall cabinets.
But I agree that it would look strange and I’m not sure you would get that much more usable space.

If you want more storage, work with a knowledgeable Kitchen Designer who has experience in the cost effective and realistic ways to make that happen.

Base cabinets are so deep is is very hard to get to the items in the back. I just put in a new kitchen and all my base cabinets are drawers (way easier to reach and you can store way more in the base that way). Deep uppers will not only look weird but the storage it will add will not be very useful and it will make things very hard to get to.

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. We realize these top cabinets will be hard to access, but in a very small home, this is great potential space for infrequently used items (ie: dishes, etc used once a year) and the depth offered by 2' deep base cabinets mounted under the ceiling can add a lot of desperately needed storage space. The idea is for a row of these deeper base cabinets to be hung atop the 30" H x 12" D regular depth wall cabinets (which, of course, need to be shallower so that the countertop can be used comfortably). The question is how weird it will look, so I'm wondering if anyone has actually done this, and if so, what do cantilevered (projecting/overhanging) cabinets really look like? BTW, it's an L shaped kitchen.

That will be the stupidest looking kitchen ever designed! How will you finish the visible undersides? Where will he store the ladder he needs to get stuff up there?

Here's project for a rainy day--Get some big 2'x2'x2' boxes at U-Haul or a big-box store. Slap those things up there and step back.

Is anything he uses--once a year--bigger than 12"? If it is (big platters), can't it be stood up vertically some place?

What--specifically--would he need to store that is too big for a 12" cabinet? How much of that big stuff is there?

The reason you can't find pictures of what you propose is fairly obvious.

There’s a toe kick on base cabinets to account for, as well.

To echo the others, it will feel very top-heavy. A better idea would be to run some floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets that are 24” deep the whole way.

This could look awesome. This won’t work with American cabinets with a pre installed base and tie kick, but would work well with European cabinets like Ikea. I’ve used ikea ‘base’ Cabinets as wall cabinets in a room with 10’ ceilings once- their hanging system is designed for this. Yes you will need to work to make it all look intentional. For instance flank the kitchen with 24” deep pantries that ties into the upper set of deep uppers. I would also install recessed lights into the overhang of the uppers.

Do you have any photos of the project you did using base cabinets on the walls? We'd really like to see what it looks like. Thanks so much for your suggestions for how to make it work. Also, thank you to tatts (above comment) for your suggestion of "trying it out" with boxes. I. don't think finishing the cabinet undersides would be a problem--a strip of laminate or even painted wood should do the trick. We did think about putting lights into the overhang; it would probably make it look better. As to what they need to store in the deeper cabinets, they have a small apartment in which every inch of space is needed, and they need whatever storage space they can get for all manner of things, not necessarily even kitchen related (ie: bins with tools, boxes of supplies for the day care my daughter in law runs, Costco sized packs of paper towels, etc). There's no end to what people need storage space for! Since they have high ceilings (9' or 9.5'), building "up" seems to offer a solution. Thank you all for taking time to write!

If the ceiling is 9', there isn't enough space for base cabinets since the wall cabinets top out at 7'.

If the ceiling is 9.5', then base cabinets might work. Toe kicks removed and IF the ceiling is a consistent 9.5', which you can't count on it being. To figure that out, you should work from a level line on the wall, not measuring from the floor. Because floors can also be far from level.

Actually, Tatts could give you an idea. Put boxes above the cabinets and see what you think. Have them give you a visual. And think about putting can lights in them. But, once you do, it cuts down on the usable space.