Rethinking the Kitchen?

We did so much fun renovation work in our kitchen and have been loving the new island, the more functional layout after closing off a doorway and the new lighter cabinet color (among other things).  We still need to decide on what kind of tile to use for the backsplash (white subway? marble? arabesque?), and in brainstorming about this question I've been stuck on another idea (oh boy, the exact words that keep getting us in trouble:)).

Since the beginning stages of designing this kitchen I have toyed with the idea of installing upper cabinets up to the ceilings.  I love the look but always wondered if it would be worth the extra expense.  Extra storage sounds great, but do you ever really get up there and use it?  I wonder if I would just forget what I had stuck up there...

So I thought we should just live in the kitchen for a while before deciding what to do.  We have plenty of options to finish things off: 

1) The cheapest: we leave things as they are (except for installing a backsplash), unembellished and embracing the industrial chic of the exposed venting from the hood, which I like.

2) The mid range: top off our current cabinets with crown molding.

3) The all-out: add small upper cabinets all the way around, finishing with crown molding throughout the room.  Did I mention, I love this look?

One happy benefit of the most involved option, beyond looking good:), is that if the cabinets extend all the way up, then I can tile the backsplash all the way to the ceiling around the window.  I'm thinking I would remove the cabinet just to the right of the window and install it on the left so that that left hand line of cabinets extends all the way to the back wall.  That way the window will have around a couple of feet of free space on both sides, which is where I would tile all the way up.  Here's an inspiration photo that I've kept in the back of my mind for ages.

Here's how it looks at the moment:

And here's how it could look with the extra height from the upper cabinets and crown molding, one cabinet moved from the right of the window to the left, and the blue area all covered with tile.  I like how this look is more balanced with the extra space around the window, and how it emphasizes our high ceilings.

It's just a thought, though, and it's obviously the most involved option, which might mean we can't justify the extra cost at the moment.  But it sure is fun to plan it! You know, just in case:)

Do you have super high upper kitchen cabinets? And do you use them? I'd love to know:)

xo

Liza