Until recently I was unaware that my general distaste for upper kitchen cabinets is part of a concept called the unfitted kitchen. Basically, the idea is to opt for furniture or furniture-like cabinets. Open shelving often replaces wall cabinets. Free-standing cabinetry lets them become part of the architecture and design rather than a stuck-on, applied afterthought. In my research, I realized that most of the pictures I'd gathered had very few if any upper cabinets, but almost always had an old hutch or armoire. It may sound strange, but it looks good and seems to be functional, too. It just so happens that as big as my kitchen is (ok, so it's enormous - about 350 square feet), there's not a lot of space for wall cabinets anyway.
And also, I'm thinking this will work in the bathroom, too. Here's a picture I found before I knew about the "unfitted" thing:

Or am I just talking crazy?