20 Beautiful Kitchens With High Ceilings

High, or vaulted ceilings are common to many different eras and they are a great way to make spaces look and feel larger than they are. On the other hand, they can also make a room feel too large with all the suspended space in between.

In a small kitchen, a high ceiling can help add visual square footage, and for some of the space, you can put it to use to benefit you. Larger kitchens with high ceilings can feel overwhelming, but there are ways you can counteract the dangling space to bring the kitchen to create a cozier space.

If you have high or vaulted ceilings and are looking for tips on decorating your kitchen, keep reading to learn a few techniques that can help you decorate and optimize that open space.

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Create a mid-line focal point on the wall

Kitchen walls are typically broken into different areas, if you think about. The upper portion of the wall is typically what houses the upper level of cabinetry, while the lower portion of the walls are occupied with your lower cabinets, covered by the counter top.

In between these two spaces is typically, just wall. To help draw attention away from the over-sized ceiling height, create a focal point with the mid-section of the wall with the wall color you choose. Golden tones can help draw the eyes in, which means they won’t be so inclined to be drawn upwards towards the height of the room.

Use upper shelves for display

It’s common to see counter-to-ceiling cabinets. They fill a lot of space that can be hard to know what to do with it. In other kitchens, upper cabinetry can be a great place to put some of your favorite decor pieces or kitchen ware on display.

By using the tops of your cabinets to display your favorite collections or other decor items, you’re not only helping to close the gap between your cabinets and high ceilings, but you’re creating a beautiful focal point that shifts the focus off the high ceilings and onto the creative use of so much space.

When there’s a lot of space between the tops of the cabinets and ceilings, try adding some tall pieces of art, tall candles or other items with height to balance the space.

Use longer types of lighting for your kitchen

One way to help utilize open space in a kitchen with high ceilings is to add longer types of lighting, for instance, use long, or extended pendant lights over a kitchen island, table or sink. If you need to, hang the cords with extension cording to make them longer. Ceiling fans should be hung from the longest extension as well, otherwise you risk the look of the fan appearing dwarfed in such a big space as well as awkward, being too snug to the ceiling.

Add paint, beadboard or beams

Instead of trying to disguise the height of your ceilings, you might consider turning them into a focal point in your kitchen. There are a number of ways you can do this, with one of the most popular being to add wooden beams across the kitchen ceiling.

This is not only a popular look for homes today, but it’s one that adds a lot of charm and coziness to a room. Painting your ceiling a darker color can help to visually lower the ceiling to make it a warm and cozy space, or if you like a more modern look, try adding pressed tin panels or beadboard to give your ceiling some character.

Lower the ceiling

There are ways you can lower a ceiling, or parts of a high ceiling if your kitchen seems too open with all the height. If you have an area that you want to create a more cozy look and feel, a contractor can add a dropped ceiling over a portion of the ceiling, perhaps in the working area of the kitchen, or over the dining area of the room. Having a break in the height of the ceiling in your kitchen can create an interesting look and add character, as well as making for a more intimate room.

No matter how high your kitchen ceilings are, there is plenty you can do to make them work for you, and turn your kitchen into a dream kitchen. If you have been looking for ideas on what to do with your kitchen that boasts high ceilings, take a look at the following 20 beautiful kitchens with high ceilings and get inspired.