How to Disguise a Kitchen Bulkhead

 

Kitchen bulkhead or also known as soffit is the thing that you use for covering plumbing, electric wiring and air vents and it normally sticks out of your kitchen wall and above the kitchen cabinets. Kitchen bulkhead has drywall over them and you simply paint them. The bulkheads can be disguised with many options in order to make it unnoticeable and looking like a well-used area. If you really want to remove the bulkheads permanently the only way is by renovating your kitchen and rerouting all the piping and wiring located in your kitchen. That is why most people tend to just disguise the bulkhead because it is much cheaper than renovating the kitchen.

To disguise a kitchen bulkhead, you need:

  • Paint or wallpaper
  • Paintbrushes
  • Molding
  • Sheet paneling
  • Glue or nails
  • Decorative art
  • Cupboard doors
  • Door hinges
  • Vinyl wall words
  • Plate rail

Disguising a Kitchen Bulkhead

How to Disguise a Kitchen Bulkhead

  • The first thing that you can do is to cover the bulkhead by using the same paint or wallpaper that you used for the rest of the kitchen in order to create a continuous look.
    • By doing this, your kitchen bulkhead can blend in nicely with the rest of the kitchen wall.
    • You can also use the same trim or molding across your kitchen bulkhead for a finished look.
  • Apart from that, you can also attach thin sheet paneling onto the bulkhead.
    • Try to choose paneling that can match with your décor.
    • It is recommended that you use neutral color like white or brown so that you would be able to create a more subtle look.
    • Then, finish the look of the bulkhead with crown moldings so that the bulkhead will look much smaller.
    • You need to paint the molding and paneling using the same color to create an even look. Another option is to just leave the molding white if it matches your kitchen décor.
  • Your crown molding can also be cut similar to a form of a picture frame shapes on the bulkhead’s wall.
    • Then, you have to glue or nail them onto the wall in order to create a frame with equal sizes.
    • For instance, you need to measure 6 inches starting from each of the edge and position each of the frame piece at this distance. After that, you can hang art or any decorative objects within the frame.
  • You can also create faux cupboards on the bulkhead by nailing or gluing cupboard doors onto it.
    • You should be using large doors that can match the existing cupboard doors.
    • Make sure to include the hardware so that you would be able to create a door that can look exactly as if they were the real thing.

The easy way to disguise your kitchen bulkhead is by using the same wall color that you used beneath your cabinets. If you do not have lot of wall space, you need to consider using a strong color such as red or burnt orange.

  • Another option is for you to use inexpensive vinyl lettering where the kitchen bulkhead will be as part of a frame for the vinyl letters.
    • You can try to create wording or phrases related to kitchen or any of your personal wordings that you like.
    • The vinyl lettering is a good material to use because it is not only cheap but it is easy for you to take it down whenever you decide to change the style of the area.
  • The bulkhead can also be turned into a plate rack where you can request your contractor to place a plate rail in between the top of your kitchen cabinets and the bottom of your bulkhead.
    • By creating the plate rack you would be able to have extra storage for small objects or decorative items.
  • You can also use appropriate kitchen utensils in order to disguise your kitchen bulkhead.
    • Some of them that you can make use are Gelatin molds, egg beaters (hand-crank), rolling pins, cheese graters, colanders, trays and serving spoons as well as any antique or unusual tools that you have in your house.
    • It is also much better to use larger kitchen utensils because it will provide better viewing from beneath and cover your bulkhead nicely.

      Always remember that whenever you want to disguise your kitchen bulkhead you also need to apply wall treatment.

      • One way of doing it is by painting your bulkhead with contrasting color or decorating it with stencils, wallpaper or a wallpaper border. You can also add hand-painting words like “bon appetit” or other kitchen-related phrase to create character to your kitchen.
      • You can even hang plates or shallow baskets around the bulkhead in order to create a classic, homey look. If you like a simpler look, just hang matching plates in even rows with minimum numbers and leave lot of wall space between them.

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