Seriously, what is up with open kitchen shelving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dream kitchen is:

- No closed upper cabinets at all
- Sink and counter along windowed wall with deep sill for plants
- Oven and stove along solid wall with hood but no uppers
- Open shelving along third wall (away from stove and hood, could also be floating between rooms)
- Separate pantry closet with door

I really dislike the wall of cabinets look. The combo of large pantry closet, ample lower cabinets, and a handful of open shelves is the sweet spot for me. Visual interest, plenty of storage, and keeps things clean next to stove and sink.

Other than the pantry, this is my nightmare kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. I did two glass cabinets in my kitchen for “show” items and glasses that look uniform and neat. Everything else is closed cabinets. Such a dumb trend.

[Anonymous]

Love my open shelf. We don’t store things we don’t use daily. I go through all our dishes every single day. No dust! I haven’t noticed grease, but I clean my kitchen well each week. Super functional. Love!

[Anonymous]

I hate it and secretly worry when I eat at people's house with them (pre-pandemic).

[Anonymous]

I am intriqued by this thread.
We just moved into our new house and the previous owners have a space at the end of the counter ( from a house with a similar floor plan, it looks like they opted not to do a kitchen desk so it's just open space between the counter and the pantry door). They installed floating shelves (in white the same color as the cabinets.

We are wondering how we could use these shelves and what do put on the floor underneath. We eventually may redo the cabinets, but they are functional so not a priority in the next few years. It just looks awkward right now. It was staged with a plant on one shelf and a water dispenser underneath.

[Anonymous]

We just moved intoa house that has it. They look amazing. But then when I pull the wine glasses off the top shelf every few weeks, I'm disgusted and annoyed that I have to wash them thoroughly. They are 8' from the stove. It's an awful idea. If you like a clean kitchen look, just make enough lower cabinets and store everything there. Practically speaking, they are awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only have white dishes and I have open shelves. Everyone who comes to my house compliments me on how nice the kitchen looks.

Sorry, but this is so boring. I don't want to have to pick my dishes to color coordinate with my current kitchen design or dust my dishes or make sure I only buy fancy, expensive cookware worth of display. I've never had white dishes (and don't plan to) and don't feel the need to show off my expensive kitchenware.

I have all-white dishes (at least my everyday dishes, not my wedding china), and I still have cabinets.

I love the thought that a compliment about your house/wedding/dog means people really love it. They're being polite. You have great taste in friends, not interior design or catered meals.

What a b*tchy thing to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only have white dishes and I have open shelves. Everyone who comes to my house compliments me on how nice the kitchen looks.

Sorry, but this is so boring. I don't want to have to pick my dishes to color coordinate with my current kitchen design or dust my dishes or make sure I only buy fancy, expensive cookware worth of display. I've never had white dishes (and don't plan to) and don't feel the need to show off my expensive kitchenware.

I have all-white dishes (at least my everyday dishes, not my wedding china), and I still have cabinets.

I love the thought that a compliment about your house/wedding/dog means people really love it. They're being polite. You have great taste in friends, not interior design or catered meals.

I disagree. If I don’t like something in someone’s house I simply don’t comment on it. NBD. Aren’t most people like this? Why on earth would you compliment something you don’t like when you could easily say, I love all the windows in here, or the rug is beautiful or that’s a great photo or about a thousand throw away niceties. I simply don’t buy that all of PPs friends secretly hate her kitchen and yet insist on complimenting her on it.

[Anonymous]

I have a condo in an old building with exposed brick and some open shelves in the kitchen along the brick wall.
I like the look of open shelves but agree it isn’t practical. Glass doors are a good compromise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just moved intoa house that has it. They look amazing. But then when I pull the wine glasses off the top shelf every few weeks, I'm disgusted and annoyed that I have to wash them thoroughly. They are 8' from the stove. It's an awful idea. If you like a clean kitchen look, just make enough lower cabinets and store everything there. Practically speaking, they are awful.

Don't put wine glasses on any open shelf. Duh.

[Anonymous]

People see in HGTV, therefore they feel they must replicate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just moved intoa house that has it. They look amazing. But then when I pull the wine glasses off the top shelf every few weeks, I'm disgusted and annoyed that I have to wash them thoroughly. They are 8' from the stove. It's an awful idea. If you like a clean kitchen look, just make enough lower cabinets and store everything there. Practically speaking, they are awful.

Don't put wine glasses on any open shelf. Duh.

The point is that everything on an open shelf gets dirty. Duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am intriqued by this thread.
We just moved into our new house and the previous owners have a space at the end of the counter ( from a house with a similar floor plan, it looks like they opted not to do a kitchen desk so it's just open space between the counter and the pantry door). They installed floating shelves (in white the same color as the cabinets.

We are wondering how we could use these shelves and what do put on the floor underneath. We eventually may redo the cabinets, but they are functional so not a priority in the next few years. It just looks awkward right now. It was staged with a plant on one shelf and a water dispenser underneath.

That's where you put the china that you never use.

[Anonymous]

They're for people who mostly eat take out in areas that don't get earthquakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am intriqued by this thread.
We just moved into our new house and the previous owners have a space at the end of the counter ( from a house with a similar floor plan, it looks like they opted not to do a kitchen desk so it's just open space between the counter and the pantry door). They installed floating shelves (in white the same color as the cabinets.

We are wondering how we could use these shelves and what do put on the floor underneath. We eventually may redo the cabinets, but they are functional so not a priority in the next few years. It just looks awkward right now. It was staged with a plant on one shelf and a water dispenser underneath.

You should frame out a pantry in that space. We added a dish pantry in a space similar. Love it. Plenty of storage. We have everything in one place.