Open shelves in kitchen - yay or nay?

[RenoQueen]

I see renovation expert Dea Jolly is saying one of the hottest trends in kitchen cabinetry is open shelving. 

Her argument is that it allows you to add styling elements to the space, integrated appliances and the use of two different materials to add texture.

This example certainly looks lovely. 

But what about the practicality? Open shelves means you can't hide clutter, won't be able to store as much, and there's much more cleaning as you'll get dust and maybe even grease if close to a cooktop. 

What do you think about open shelves in the kitchen?

[Jason]

It is good to have another material - we've got two timber shelves next to our kitchen window which we use for cookbooks and display items which is a little similar to the example above.

For appliances, we have two pull open cupboards. The door is lifted up and then can be slid away into the recess. I've marked them with stars on the picture below. Bottom one is for toaster, kettle etc and has a pull-out base on track rollers. Top one is for the microwave. We love these because they can be left open for convenient day-to-day use but hidden away if you have guests. A good compromise to consider between open and fixed cupboards. 

Jason

[Helen]

Quite like that idea! I am looking for ideas for kitchen reno, my aldult son is  blind & has ABI. I want to set up kitchen so he can be more independant, for when I depart this world. Like the look of open shelving but think the cleaning is a put off, maybe not suitable for our situation, but those doors that lift & side out of the way with put out shelf has me thinking, will investigate more! Thanks for the idea!

[BibbyKat]

I like both.  Many years ago .. I took the cupboard door off two shelves and made them "open" shelving.  It highlights certain aspects in the kitchen.

[Jason]

Thanks for joining in the discussion @BibbyKat. Sounds like a great idea. If you have any photos I'm sure other Workshop members would love to see what you have done.

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. Many thanks for joining the community. I hope you find the site to be informative, inspirational, and plenty of fun.

Jason

[Brad]

Did you remove a wall @Jason ?

Have wall wall cupboard built by a recomended pro, it has 2 external shelves big enough for a biscuit barrel that are near to where the frypan and chipper is used so good as a grease trap. It being L shaped he used two pieces of board for shelves and top and bottom without joining them with dowels or anything else... The old one lives in the shed and is in much better shape still.

Small shelf that used to have a radio on it that now has dust collectors.

I guess that puts me in the nay camp.

[Jason]

@Brad,

The divide between the kitchen and family room (where the beam now is) used to be the end of the house but the previous (original) owners added an extra room in the early 80s. The only wall we removed was to remove the old laundry. We went with a Euro-style laundry instead to give us a much bigger and open family room. Very happy with that decision. 

Jason

[maknilsin]

I'm hoping to do something similar to this in my new Kitchen. The options from my builder were pretty bare bones when it came to the Kitchen, but I think this will be a low cost solution to my storage woes.