How to Make Soffits Blend in With Kitchen Cabinets When Remodeling

Install wood materials above cabinets that match cabinet finishes. Use oak beadboard paneling that harmonizes with oak cabinets, for example, on the kitchen wall above the cabinets. Stain the beadboard to match the exact shade of the oak cabinets so the wall above the cabinets looks seamless from across the room. Don’t leave a white wall or wallpaper above the cabinets or you will have a classic 1980s look, thus dating the kitchen.

Replace cabinets with solid white cabinets that match a white painted soffit area. Use white cabinets to give upper walls a clean look. Select white cabinets because they are both popular and inexpensive. Painting cabinets is possible but it’s hard to achieve a professional look on your own. Use any color of painted cabinet, if you desire, to match the soffit space on the wall above the cabinets.

Frame the soffit area and cover with wood or other materials. Box in the space above cabinets so the cabinets appear to reach the ceiling. Use 2-by-2-inch framing material and cover it with beadboard, white vinyl paneling or real wood veneer sheeting to match the cabinets. Install high-quality dentil molding or tall crown molding, as possible options.

Install short cabinets in the upper wall sections above standard cabinets. Filling the soffit area with cabinets looks appropriate if the cabinets and door fronts match the upper cabinets perfectly. Don’t try to fit cabinets above existing cabinets in a different design, however. Tear out old upper wall cabinets entirely before adding replacement cabinets and shorter cabinets in the soffit space, as the best option.

Apply pressed tin tiles in the soffit area to match cabinet hardware. For example, attach pressed tin tiles against the wall in the soffit areas in a satin nickel color. Install drawer pulls and cabinet knobs in brushed nickel so the soffit area tiles harmonize with the hardware. Use copper-colored pressed tin tiles and copper hardware on oak cabinets, for example, so the soffit area blends harmoniously with the cabinet design.