Above the Kitchen Cabinets?!?

I'm getting so excited to paint my kitchen white as soon as it gets warm enough outside, so my paint will dry correctly, out in the garage. Sooo.... naturally, being a woman, I'm already thinking about decorating everything. What has me puzzled at the moment though, is how on earth I'm going to decorate above the cabinets?
Does anyone else have this problem? I have WAY too much space above there that I can't NOT do anything. Empty space like that wouldn't bug most people, but it bugs me. So, here is what my kitchen looks like right now.

No cuteness. No order. No color scheme. Just blah! All that's up there is stuff that wouldn't fit in my basement, pretty much.
A lady came over one day to see how I decorated my house and when she looked up there she said, "You know, a lot of people just don't put anything up there and it's nice." So I know it looks horrible. But not for long!

So here's the research I've done about this and of course some cute pictures to go along with it. :o)

First of all, think of things that you like. Do you collect anything that you could display, like plates, pitchers, bottles, glass or any pottery? Make the space your own and something that you'll love to look at everyday.

 Country Living

 Polish the Stars

 Our Suburban Cottage

KitchenBathIdeas

Try to keep things the same color. If you don't, it doesn't look as nice and orderly and just looks like you threw a bunch of junk up there.

 Reluctant Entertainer

Plants are ok, but I guess fake plants are a big no no these days. I say if you can't tell if it's fake, then why not? Just dust often or they will look fake. Watch out for hanging plants that can gather dust and then possibly land in your food.

 Ghow

Big plates and platters look so dang cute!

Cottage Living

The Little Red Shop

Try using smaller groupings of items in odd numbers (3.5.7) instead of trying to fill up the entire space. Mirrors are great for making your area look even bigger.

 The Story of Home

 The Story of Home

 Pinterest

 Imagine Cozy

Starmark Cabinetry

Find big bowls that you don't use a lot. They look super cute up there and will take away from cabinet space... so you can buy even more kitchen stuff!!!

Country Living

Pictures are such a cute idea. This is a good example of varying the heights and textures of the pieces you use.

 Eclectic Revisited by Maureen Bower

Themes. They're great if you can keep them in your kitchen color scheme. Remember that what you put up there should be bigger and bolder than what you would normally decorate with, because it's farther away.

Pinterest

Baskets! Way cute and great if you need extra storage.

Pinterest

 Pinterest

This one follows a nice color tone that they've brought down to their countertops, so it flows perfectly.

Thrifty Decor Chick

Love books? Remember that whatever you do put up there should be dusted regularly. Having not so many big things will be a lot easier to dust than a bunch of little things. Go with whatever you'll be able to handle.

 TheKitchn

Whatever you use, make it something that's you, something you love and get super creative!

Under the Sycamore

Pinterest

If I had my way and didn't care about what my husband would enjoy as well, I would put my collection of elephants up there. Actually I can think of a thousand other reasons why I wouldn't do that, but trust me, one day I WILL post about finally finding somewhere to put those things! Muh-ha-ha!

Remember how I wanted to incorporate lime green into my house? Well, I think I'm going to go with something like this...

Pottery Barn

Does everyone have their creative minds generated? It's Monday! The beginning of a new week. Let's get started!