My kitchen (no soffit) and dining room are all in one room. I have my collection of roosters on top of my china cabinet. Do you have a collection of any kind? A neighbor has her collection of angels on top of her entertainment center.

Fake garland, in fact most fake florals/greens, are not currently considered trendy. Of course we don't have to follow trends. I quit using them, even seasonally, a few years ago as I'm decorating in a less 'fussy' way. And that had more to do with the fact I was tired of cleaning all that stuff several times a year! I have 3 hutches in my house and still have some things on top of them but don't use garland. I do have a garland inside a hutch with glass doors in a guest room as the decor there is country/cottage and it seems to add some softness and more color.

The link below discusses this subject altho she's rather arbitrary about fake greenery! LOL However, it's only one person's opinion so we won't worry about it. :D There are many good ideas and pics there tho.

I really like the large wire basket in the 3rd pic.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to decorate cabinet top

Thanks to both of you for replying. I'm pretty much over garland of any kind but am not sure what to do, if anything, instead. I don't have a collection that would work. If I had tall ceilings, that would really help. I will check out the link.

Luckygal, thanks for linking the article. I didn't agree with everything that was suggested, but overall, I thought it was helpful.

Gardenpea, You might try living with nothing above your tall pieces for a while and see if you get accustomed to seeing them that way. I think with 8-foot ceilings, it sometimes looks better to have the area clear, but it is hard to get used to it after removing all the holiday decor.

Maybe a low, narrow basket w/ dried hydrangea? I typically prefer simple so I may put 1 or 3 pieces of ironstone in a nice little grouping.

I agree w/ living w/ nothing and see how you may be directed after that.

Thanks again. I like the idea of hydrangeas in a low basket maybe. I will live with it vacant until spring and see how I feel. I, too, enjoyed the posted article and pictures, although most of them had taller ceilings than mine, which is really the problem as far as anything fitting there. I'll just think on the low basket/hydrangea idea for a while unless anyone else has another suggestion.

Do you have a photo of the room(s) & furniture in question? Sometimes the colors, decor etc. will generate an idea...

I could take one and try maybe tomorrow to post it. Never done that before and am not too computer savvy. Does it have to be in shutterfly or wherever? I will have to study the link below to see if I can figure it out.

i've put some large, bulky platters, stacked, on top of our china cabinet... because they were too wide for any cabinet, but also to fill that space a bit... and also had a basket on top of the stack. helped the cabinet look less squat (9' ceiling) and was practical.
we will be going into a house with 10' ceilings this summer and i'm not sure how that piece will look with even taller ceilings... i might need to refer to the linked article again!

does your room have crown molding?? that's a way to add interest above furniture at the ceiling too...