So I am in the process of building a house and am planning the kitchen. We bought our cabinets from an auction so it is up to me to do the layout and design. Our ceilings ended up 10'5 (!) and our cabinets are 8'. I can increase the height by ordering additional cabinets, or I can have hubby build a bulkhead above the cabinet to fill in the space of 2'5". We would add crown molding to the bulkhead at the ceiling and possibly between the cabinet and start of the bulkhead. However, the bulkhead may look quite large. Another idea I had is to add more space between the counter and cabinets (I have it at 18" right now) but then our cabinets are higher than our pantry and wall oven cabinet. Should I add extra 12" height cabinets at the top to make it a 9' cabinet height and leave the 17" gap between cabinet and ceiling open? Do I add the bulkhead and crown molding? I would prefer not order the extra cabinets for budget reasons but I will if it's the only proper way of making this space look balanced. 8' seems short to me with a 10'5" ceiling. All help is appreciated!!