This is a very pretty kitchen. Adding cabinets to the lower sections will be a little tricky because of the crown molding that leans in from either side of the higher cabinets. I think I might let it go in this case -- it reads classic farmhouse to me, not busy 90s cabinet design, probably because the level expanses are pretty long.

Note that you can't "unstagger" the top without creating uneven-ness at the bottom, which would be far more distracting...

I agree with acm. Because only the outer two are higher, you don’t really notice it.

This kitchen doesn’t read as dated. I would leave it alone.

When I said unstagger I meant replace the shorter cabinets with taller ones to have clean lines on top and bottom which would also take away the trim on the taller cabinet issue. That is a very expensive option and I would prefer not to do that. My other option is remove shorter cabinets and replace with floating shelves and then just build the tall cabinets to the ceiling. We are already thinking of removing the microwave and cabinet above it and replacing with a hood. This kitchen has so much cabinet space that we don’t *need those cabinets and, truthfully, after 7 years, I am tired of them visually.

Hi Stacy. i currently have the same dilemma and was curious what you decided to do?

Me too....would love to hear what she did. In her case I would have removed the taller cabs and replaced with open shelves and then taken the shorter ones to the ceiling. But she has a MUCH better layout with staggered cabs than me.