We are doing this now in our kitchen. We just got the door shpped to us for one of the cabinets and its so big compared to our present cabinets! Im going to have a lot of room!! Yes, leave room for crown!

If you area afraid to make choices, then you definitely need a designer to help you with the decor coordination and a KD to help you with the kitchen function and decor. Because you have hundreds of choices ahead, and that's just the kitchen! There's no use in being intimidated by the decisions, but there's no use in not engaging professional help when you need to also. Are you in TN by any chance?

Cabinets to the ceiling are often done. There are several discussions on this board about how to either stack cabinets or to have single cabinets with 9'. There are about a baker's dozen different ways to accomplish this. So, just one more of those decisions that you need to make!

My cabinets go all the way to our 9-foot ceilings. Here are some pictures (note: the table, chairs, and stools are all leftovers from the previous kitchen and will be replaced):

We have cabinets all the way to our 9' ceilings and I adore it. Such a good decision! We left about 4" at the top for trim but that's it. Ours are custom so they look like they're 18" cabinets stacked on 32" cabinets, but are actually a single cabinet box. You could get a similar look with stacked stock cabinets, though, and I'm also glad we split them. (We use the top cabinets for long-term storage/little used objects, and picked the split based largely on how high we could reach without getting the step stool out---my husband and I happen to be within an inch of each other height-wise, so the highest shelf of the lower cabinets is at the end of arm's reach and the lowest shelf of the top cabinet requires the step stool.) If you search for cabinets to the ceiling, you'll find lots of threads unpacking all the various ways to do this and reasons to do it or not to do it, plus lots of photos of all of the options.

We did our cabinets to our ceilings and, although we aren't moved in yet, I love them aesthetically. I also know already that we'll never be able to reach the top shelf or possible even the top 2 shelves. I don't mind that because we have a lot of other functional storage but I was shocked at just how high these things really were once they were put in. But I love them and I would do it again any day of the week (we have cabinets to the ceiling in every room w/ cabinets, which is almost every room in the house)

We have 8 foot 4 inch ceilings and I love my cabinets to the ceiling. There's crown molding on top. I bought a folding step stool at Home Goods which lives under the sink. I use it to reach items at the top of the cabinets. They aren't used much, but used to be in the basement. I would definitely do this again!

I think it's a great idea--not only for the extra storage but then you don't have a dust-catcher space between the top of the cabs and ceiling. Go for it!

I feel like my kitchen ceiling is higher now that my cabs go all the way up. Can't imagine doing it any other way now.

Going to the ceiling is great for all the reasons mentioned, but be sure to make a storage space in the new kitchen for the stepstool - an easy to get to space. Several years ago, I needed something on the top shelf, and pulled over a chair and to get it down. My mind was totally on the item I retrieved and not at all on the chair I was standing on. It was part of a new-to-us set of captain's chairs, kind of like this, but a lot nicer:

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As I stepped off the side of the chair I had that "oops" moment for the longest time. I caught my toe on the side arm, and got a v*e*r*y long time to think, "This is one of the stupidest things I've ever done." as I fell head first to the floor. Now here is my plug for wood floors in the kitchen: our wood floor is laid over a subfloor, so when I landed, there was a certain amount of give in the floor; my head appreciated that. It was just me and the puppy home at the time, and she came over to lick my face as long as I was down there. It took a few moments to decide if I was OK, but there's nothing like puppy kisses to motivate you to get off the floor. This did require a trip to the hospital for an x-ray, and I missed a day of work, but all was well. Thank goodness. (A friend who was talking to me the next day was totally distracted and finally asked if I knew my eyelids were blinking at different rates.)

The point of all this is: plan a place for the stepstool where it is close at hand - closer and more convenient that the nearest random chair. And quadruple that advice if you're going to run your cabinets up to a 9 or 10 foot ceiling.

suzannes1 -- ouch! So glad you were not badly hurt -- this could have been tragic. Thanks for using your story to help others prevent a similar fate -- yes, I agree, a ladder is a necessity if you go high -- we have only 7 1/2 foot ceilings and I'm 5'6 with long arms and yet I use my ladder probably 3x/week to get things from the highest shelves in my own kitchen, which are still 1 1/2 ft lower than yours. Definitely plan space for a 3 step stool.

When you flip through magazines and look at kitchen pictures online do you find yourself gravitating to pictures of cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling? It is a matter of personal choice.

Like many on GW, I like the look of cabinets to the ceiling.
There are some kitchens in which it wouldn't be my choice.
My default setting would be to embrace cabinets to the ceiling.

We have 9 foot ceilings and the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling.

We have:
6 inches for crown
16 inches for top stacked cabinet
32 inches for cabinet on bottom of stack

The upper cabinets are great for rarely used items and overflow.
We do have to stand on a step stool to reach them.

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We have 9' foot ceilings and cabinets all the way up. I love the extra storage space (for items I don't use all the time,) I love the lack of dust collecting above shorter cabinets and I love the look!

We just put in cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling in the new house I am helping my parents build.

There is trim at the top, but no space is lost to put crown on top of the cabinets. We did not want space to catch dust. The kitchen is still not completely finished, but here are some photos that show the cabinets.

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Just picked up this stepstool at Lowes for her this weekend. We wanted that was sturdy, had rubber feet, had a tray, and folded up fairly small. This one will support $250 pounds and the top step is very wide and feels very safe when standing on it. We did make sure to unfold and try out the ladder before we bought it. The first one wobbled a bit and we think something was wrong with it. The next one back did not wobble. Also available online at Amazon.

Werner 3-step Step Stool

It will depend on your style, but you definitely want no space at the top of your cabinetry. Cleaning the dust up there is no fun at all! Most people choose cabinets that are shorter than their ceiling height and use molding to take it up to the ceiling, and some people take their cabinetry all the way up to the ceiling. One style is traditional. One more contemporary.

Which style works for you will depend on the architectural style of your home as well your personal design aesthetic. There are many many ways to accomplish this, and you should have your KD explaining the cost/benefit ratio of each of the choices. It is a more expensive choice than shorter cabinets, so you want to make sure that you choose the one that is suited to how you work in your kitchen as well the one that is proportionate to the other design elements in your kitchen.