Closing the Space above the Kitchen Cabinets

From the beginning of the whole kitchen renovation, closing this gap was one of my priorities and now even more because I had to conceal the hood ducting.

This is how it looks now:

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I followed what I believed was the most practical and economical way for me to do it.  It doesn't mean it’s right or wrong, it has worked for me and that’s why I’m writing about.

I just screwed long pieces of wood(1"x 2") on top of the cabinets, and on the ceiling (to the ceiling joints, using anchors when needed).  They have to be aligned to the cabinets, but be aware of the thickness of the front board when taking your measurements.  The front board has to be flush to the front of the cabinets.

I used ½” MDF to close this space as well as for the front and sides of the hood.  This material it’s excellent for painting.

Here you can see the pieces of wood screwed to the ceiling and
one screwed on top of the cabinet (still missing one piece to the bottom left)

This is a picture on how I tried to get the most out of a single 4’x 8’ sheet of MDF.  Since I don’t have a table saw at home I always ask for the long pieces to be cut at the home center.  At my local Home Depot they usually do it for free on week days, if you go on weekends is a different story.

After it was closed:

It just needed moldings and paint to finish up!

That space was just 12" height from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling, if you have a space grater than 12" a good alternative would be to give it the look of "open cabinets" as I did in my Laundry Room HERE.

You can also click on the next links for:
how to paint the cabinets.
Install a marble backsplash.
Add moldings to your kitchen cabinets 
Build a range hood.
Build a fridge enclosure.
Update the kitchen island
Tips about installing recessed lights
Final kitchen reveal
Kitchen cost breakdown
1 ½ Year Later How the Kitchen is Holding up



Thanks,