Unfortunately, when a new home is being built one of the first areas to be left out is decorative moldings. Too often the builder and home buyer are focusing on high and vaulted ceilings in the kitchen to open up the space, but to cut corners forgo the crown moldin and don't fully take advantage of the space they provided.
Whether refacing or painting cabinets, we always look for ways to enhance the current cabinets. One of the best ways to make those small cabinets look new and custom is to add crown molding, and even under cabinet molding.
The above before and after picture show a St. Charles home that we painted. The builder did use 42" tall cabinets on the high walls, but buy adding a stacked crown molding prior to painting we were able to take those old plain builder grade cabinets and make them look custom built.
Another feature common in kitchens decades ago were soffits built in over the cabinets. These can give a kitchen a dated look, but can be a mess to tear out and require a full kitchen demolition. A much more affordable option is to make them look like part of the cabinets as a tall stacked crown molding. In the above example, we covered the soffit with a decorative base molding mounted upside down, and a matching crown molding atop it to cover the soffit. The soffit is gone, but it is still a functional shelf for decor items.