Mind the gap (kitchen edition)

My (former) apartment had short kitchen cabinets. It wasn't ideal for storing stuff *in* the cabinets, but there was lots of space *above* them, which I used as a makeshift bar and beer-stein display.

My new townhouse has tall kitchen cabinets, which I like better, because all my stuff is stashed like carryon luggage on a crowded flight. But there's a small space (about 12 inches) between the top of the cabinets and my ceiling. It's not large enough to put anything useful up there and it's too high up to use as storage for anything I'd actually need.

The gap never really bothered me, until I saw what my girlfriend did with her above-cabinet area. After I mentioned how it made her kitchen a little more classy, for Christmas, she was nice enough to get me these similar supplies for my cabinet tops.

[pics and more after the break]

With a little vision, my girlfriend turned a couple candles, bottles and some fake vines into something classy for *my* place. With a little masking tape (nearly invisible against my white cabinets) and some empty cardboard boxes (used as platforms), I was able to make it all stay in one place.

The vines and candles came from Walmart, which has a surprisingly comprehensive collection of this sort of stuff in stores. The bottles and lantern came from Pier 1. The cardboard boxes came from my recycling bin.

I'm just glad these boxes are hidden by the vines and the inch-high molding around the top of the cabinets.