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A kitchen soffit is usually a boxy structure built to hide wiring, pipes, or other mechanicals, or to fill the space between the top of your cabinets and the ceiling. Soffits can make a kitchen feel dated and closed-in.
Why do Kitchens have soffits?
A kitchen soffit serves a purpose, which is typically to cover up and hide the necessary kitchen wiring, ductwork, and even plumbing. If there is nothing above the kitchen, there is a higher likelihood that there is nothing critical inside the soffit.
Are soffits in kitchen out of style?
Kitchen soffits are out of style, with fewer people retaining these fixtures in their homes and fewer still having them installed at all. Their outdated look often makes a room look smaller, and when building new kitchens, it’s better to free up that space for a bigger and brighter feel.
What are kitchen cabinet soffits?
Kitchen cabinet soffits are box-like structures built below the ceiling and above your cabinetry to hide the inner workings of your home, such as wiring and pipes. Soffits may also be used for purely aesthetic purposes to fill the space between the ceiling and kitchen cabinets.
What do you put on kitchen soffits?
Here are some creative ideas for kitchen soffits : Add Moulding Border. Paint them. Add new cabinets. Cover Them With Artwork. Build a window. Place Plants. Cover Soffits with Beadboard. Use Sculptures or Books.
Are soffits necessary?
Why does my home need soffit? Air from the soffit cycles to the vents to draw heat and moisture away from the house. Moisture is mold’s breading ground and the cause of roof rot and poor air quality. The soffit also helps keep pests from slipping into your home through the roofline or gutters and nesting in your attic.
Should I keep soffit above kitchen cabinets?
During the kitchen remodeling process, you may need to remove your kitchen cabinets to eliminate the soffit. Removing the cabinetry will protect the cabinets and give you more space to work with for the renovation. After you remove the soffit, you will now have more space and design options for your cabinetry.
How do you update a kitchen soffit?
8 Ways to Deal with Those Awkward Kitchen Cabinet Soffits Fill in the space with trim. Fill in the space with a furr down. Fill the space with trim in a contrasting color. Get some really tall upper cabinets. Add a second row of cabinets. Add a window. Paint the wall the same color as the cabinets. Embrace it.
How high is too high for kitchen cabinets?
Anything over 20 inches above counter top is too high.
How much does it cost to remove kitchen soffits?
The national average materials cost to remove a kitchen soffit is $0.25 per linear foot, with a range between $0.24 to $0.27. The total price for labor and materials per linear foot is $8.20, coming in between $4.99 to $11.42. A typical 25 linear foot project costs $205.04, with a range of $124.64 to $285.44.
What is the space above kitchen cabinets called?
It’s called a soffit, from the French word “soffite,” which refers to the underside of a ceiling. In common usage, however, it’s the word for the enclosed space between the top of the cabinets and the kitchen ceiling.
What do you do with empty space above kitchen cabinets?
11 Smart Ways to Use the Space Above Your Cabinets Display serving pieces. Use canisters to conceal clutter. Or bust out the baskets. Show off a collection. Display cookbooks. Store your wine. Grow something. Add another shelf.
Why is my kitchen ceiling lower?
The kitchen typically serves more of a practical purpose than an aesthetic one. High shelves are impractical and the large fluctuation in heating and cooling the space given the activities being performed there warrant as low a ceiling as possible.
Do kitchen cabinets have to go to the ceiling?
It is prudent to surmise that kitchen cabinets that go all the way up to the ceiling are great for aesthetic purposes. You can decide to have some lighting in the front cabinets in order to avail some modern look in stark contrast to working with the open space just above the cabinets.
How do you fix the space between cabinets and ceilings?
You can build the cabinets to the ceiling (most expensive option), keep the area open (no cost!), build a soffit to match the cabinets, or add a drywall soffit.
What is an interior soffit?
A soffit is an exterior or interior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of any construction element. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of beams, is the underside of eaves (to connect a retaining wall to projecting edge(s) of the roof).
Is it hard to remove a soffit?
If you choose to remove your soffit, cut a hole in the side and look in there first. If it’s empty, there is little difficulty in removing it. If it is full of pipes or duct work, the difficulty lies in rerouting these items. This means either opening the ceiling or the wall behind them to give them a place to go.
What’s the purpose of soffits?
Like many parts of a home’s exterior, soffit serves both an aesthetic and a functional purpose. Functionally, the basic mission of soffit is to protect rafters from the elements. Keeping moisture away from the rafters reduces the chance of mold, and helps preserve the life of the materials.
