A second row of cupboards will be a lot more expensive than a bulkhead, and will be difficult to access without a step-ladder. Think about the junction between the top of the cupboards and the ceiling and how it will work. Is there a plaster cornice for the rest of the room? If so, how is it terminated neatly near the cupboards without affecting the door opening? God is in the details and these issues need to be resolved first.

I would also consider increasing the height of the overhead cupboards to about 900mm, and having a smaller bulkhead (with cornice) above these cupboards.

Best of luck with your considerations,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

As Dr R said it will cost more and will rarely be used.

Any floor plan of the kitchen, and is there any cornice

@siriuskey I'm pretty sure I would have them to store stuff and use only when needed (with a ladder) as there is no storage in the house. There is no cornice - just square set plaster ceiling. I'm thinking to have them wider than shown in the plan eg. around 750mm wide if they open upwards to address Dr R's comment about the junction between the top of the cupboards and the ceiling?

@C P Thanks for the pic. Wow! Your kitchen looks amazing and very similar to the color scheme of my planned kitchen!

How high is your ceiling? And how wide and high are your cupboards?

And do you find that the cupboards (when you use them!) open up easily enough - ie. don't obstruct the ceiling etc.?

What is the dark finish you have used? It looks awesome?

hi RZ the ceilings are only 2700 so not 3 metres. They work fine but only store rarely used items in top cupboard.
I'm trying to recall the name of our finish. it's not Polytech which often looks similar, the grain is very fine.
If you look at the kitchen of Style Curator it's the same finish (just Google her blog or find her on Houzz and link from there). The white cupboards are two pac matching our wall colour. They are all push to open.

As you can see our bottom cupboards probably too small as we adjusted shelf to fit tall wine glasses and obviously that makes top shelf useless.

Its Nero colour Cleaf Matrix by Nover

Cupboards! Yes rarely used but may as well use the space. Make the cupboards taller perhaps as mentioned before. I'd use a bulkhead if you have 2400-2700 ceiling as the space would be small.

Remember overhead cupboards are not very deep so things like platters may not fit.. Do you need the xtra storage for some items that you are happy dragging out a step ladder for?
If the room is not overly large I would just have space above the cupboards and no bulkhead to make the room appear larger.

Shot glasses and espresso sets will fit that shelf above the wine glasses. —- Any storage is great if you have none, even if you need a step stool -especially for lightweight items, napkins, spare pasta, cereals, toilet rolls etc. —- having nothing up there is cheaper but you still have to get up there and dust it :(

Full height single door wall units which are usually 30cm deep accepts most dinner plates etc would most likely be the most cost effective and look great. The interest is made by the step out to accommodate fridge and wall ovens

I would have the cupboards. You can never have enough storage in the kitchen. When I had my kitchen designed I arranged for a step ladder to be stored behind the kick board. I can roll it out when I need to access out of reach areas. Could also be an option for you if you're still in the design phase.

It would depend on the kitchen layout but you could also consider a timber library ladder that rolls across the front of the cabinets. They can look great as well

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Agree with siriuskey about the full length cupboards to the ceiling. Otherwise you may end up with shelves that can only hold very small things

If they are cupboards you can use 'em if you want to. If it is bulkhead you can't.

I would use those higher cupboards and what a great idea. Think of all the things you could use it for. If it you need the storage space I would go for it.

A good idea would be to write down a list of everything you will be putting In those cupboards and seperate them into items that need to go into the overhead(bulkhead) and into the standard overhead cupboards. Write the minimal space/dimensions that these items will occupy. Ask a designer to do an elevation layout and position glasses/appliances and their minimal spaces on this elevation. That way you can ensure your bulkhead/cupboards/internal shelving is constructed so that no space is wasted. Also you can get feasible installations in overhead cabinets so these items can be accessed without a ladder. They are commonly used for ergonomic design for elderly people. But it could be an option for you if it’s in your budget.

@Alisa D Great ideas!!! thank you