How to update the top shelf of a kitchen [closed]

Question

Modern kitchen cabinet design have elements to ease access and make use of the space that is available. For example adding carts, rolling elements, and lazy Susan can improve access.

Is there such a design for the top shelf of a cabinet?

I am remodeling a kitchen. The room height is the standard 8 feet and the cabinets that are on the interior wall are shown below. The boxy space above cabinets is about 13 inches tall. Under the plexiglass cover there is just empty space and a light. No ducts. The existing cabinets are to be retained and repainted. I am looking for ways to make practical use of the top shelf if the top box is removed.

Answer 1

Either ignore the wasted space or build cabinets to the ceiling.

For the latter idea, you’ll have to move ducting. And you should also assess how level your ceiling is… out of level means fixing the ceiling or jumping through hoops to make the cabinet tops visually appealing.

Edit to say that I might have mis-perceived the layout. If that’s soffit above, it might contain ducting. Cut in and look before committing to a particular design.