Timeless or Trendy? Open Shelving in Kitchens
July 12, 2011
Hey all, thanks so much for the amazing feedback on the faux bamboo chest earlier today! Thanks to many of you, I picked a bold color at your suggestion, and it’s actually one I’ve worked with before, can you guess it? Oooh, I’ll leave you in suspense but it’s looking really good so far, can’t wait to show you when the paint dries!
Did you catch Design Star last night? I did, loved it! Great designer contestants this season, I have my top four picked out. I completely agree with Julia’s assessment, loved David and Tamika, giggled at Kellie’s “confetti” analogy, and oh my, who dressed Candice?
With all this talk about what’s good, bad, and current in design, I remembered I did a post a while back asking your opinion, do you remember this article: All White, Timeless or Trendy? It got a lot of feedback, you all certainly have opinions to share, I loved it !!
I thought it fun to run a series of these throughout the summer and take polls so you can all weigh in with your opinion. This week’s topic is open shelving in kitchens. I tend to be old school when it comes to cabinetry, I love a lot of glass fronts and traditional upper cabinets with doors, but no doubt you’ve noticed how many designers have been using floating or open shelving in kitchens, restaurant style. You can’t deny when decorated with pretty dishes and accessories, they look amazing, and they do seem to make kitchens feel bigger and brighter.
I wonder about practicality, and would love to hear your thoughts. What happens when there’s a gap when using the dishes, cups or accessories? I don’t live with open shelves in my kitchen (except for one small cookbook and display shelf, seen here) because I know myself, I am not this meticulous or organized. How often do you need to clean them, and what’s the secret to maintaining the look?
This version seems a bit more practical. Here cookbooks, baskets, platters and pitchers help to fill the void, while the daily use items appear on only the bottom shelves.
via Pinterest
I die over this look and love that paneled backsplash, but petite little me would need a footstool all day long to reach those lovelies on the upper shelves.
Leave it to Martha to make perfection look easy.
Love the pops of color and mixed arrangement here.
I find it difficult to concentrate while I’m staring at this backsplash. What were we talking about? Oh yes, open shelving. Pretty!
Here’s a more narrow display of open shelving in stainless steel. I really admire the dramatic contrast between the dark glossy backsplash (to the ceiling!) and white countertops.
This is a favorite look of mine, white with wood countertops. Those plates and glasses though, do they serve the purpose of looking pretty or do they get used? I must know.
Better Homes & Gardens
Gorgeous dark cabinetry and shelving here, styled with white plates and accessories, design by Jeff Lewis.
A rustic wood version, loving the gray and yellow combo.
With all this inspiration, are you ready to vote? These polls are not meant to discourage anyone from embracing their own style and taste. I’m convinced the best homes are the ones filled with the homeowner’s personality, and originality is to be celebrated, so let’s keep it fun.
There are two polls and your vote is anonymous, instant results as the votes come in.
(If viewing in a reader, visit the page to place your vote)
Poll#1: Open Shelving in Kitchens, is it timeless or trendy?
Poll #2: What’s your preference?
Any other design trends you’d like to see in this ‘Timeless or Trendy’ series? Sunburst mirrors? Stenciled walls? Decorating with pallets? Let’s hear your suggestions! Got something to say about open shelving in kitchens? Spill it.
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Tags: open shelving, timeless or trendy
I love my restaurant style open shelving- nearly everyone who’s posted is right- it can be dusty and it needs to be organized to work but that doesn’t mean it can’t be functional. Proper planning can make it practical- namely downsizing and some hidden storage.
Most people have too much in general but especially in the kitchen. I only kept what we really need and the mismatchy stuff (cereal bowls or sippy cups) store under the island- bakeware & foodstuff in lower cabinets.
When we reno’d the kitchen we wanted it to have an open look- removing the upper cabinets made it look brighter and spacey and it is not visually cluttered at all. But it does lends itself more to certain styles like modern or rustic- a traditional kitchen may not rock the look as well. Nor does it work for those who love to gadgets or can’t give up a lot of stuff even if they don’t use it regularly.
In my case the wine glasses do get dusty because they aren’t used enough. But I found that they got dusty in my cabinet too and I still had to wash them before using. Now I will run them thru the dishwasher every couple of wks b\c they’re on display. But it’s only 8 glasses and 3 decorative items that I need to wipe down- everything else is used frequently or in closed storage.
Too busy-looking for me; I’ve got a headache just looking at the pictures. And any “design” idea that causes more work is so not a winner in my book.
i have 3 open shelves in my kitchen- we’ve been here almost 2 years, and i still love them. i keep them pretty well filled unless we have a large group for dinner. then i just prop a platter or large bowl in the empty space to look pretty! the only items that get dusty are the casserole dish, less used pitcher and stack of pretty vintage snack plates that i only use on occasion. they just rinse before use & i’m ready to go! i love the shelves, but it’s like any other design feature… i like it & others don’t & that’s fine! : )
My problem is – I foster kittens! They’d make short work of this “open” shelving concept and turn it into “everything on the floor” shelving. I imagine those with kids might feel similarly.
I’m planning on open shelving in my kitchen . . . but it’s a very small space, and I will only put things on those shelves that I use often enough for them to not get dusty. ;o) No staging necessary. The dishes will always be done b/c there won’t be a dishwasher, and there isn’t room on the counter for dirty ones hanging around.
I could never have open shelving for long-term (i.e. pretty-only, or occasional-use) storage. Hello, extra work. I need spaces that conform themselves to the way I live so my time isn’t consumed with serving objects instead of objects serving me!
I had open shelves in a kitchen a few years ago and hated them. I had to get glass jars for all of my dry foods..flour, pasta, etc, and keep all the cans and things under the counter where I had cabinets with doors. Everything had to be dusted at least weekly and washed every other week. That meant climbing up to the highest shelves and taking my stemware down. It was a hassle and a half.
My home was built in the 1950′s and I love it but my kitchen cabinets were plain wood and went to the ceiling. Hated how closed off it made my tiny galley kitchen look so I removed the doors, filled the holes from the screws and painted the insides, outsides and backsplash (beadboard) all the same creamy off white color. All of my plates/dishes are white with clear glasses. I have a few pewter pieces (pitcher and cake stand etc) showing as well… but I love the look. Making my kids put dishes away neatly is not the easiest but it’s worth the 2 minutes to rearrange as it makes my kitchen look 100 times larger now. Would deff recommend it to anyone with a small kitchen.
In my current kitchen, I have a mix of open shelving, closed cabinets, and glass front cabinets. While it works for this room, I would much prefer having a large pantry for all of my dry goods, occasional use items (for me baking dishes/pans would be in that category), and most better china. I would definitely keep the open shelving for often used items. I prefer a clean, spare kitchen and expanses of upper cabinet boxes are just too visually bulky for me, making the kitchen seem too closed-in and cluttered. I also really enjoy the area of the kitchen that needs upper cabinet essentially being turned into a large piece of furniture where the upper cabinets are connected to the counter as a hutch. Massing storage seems more practical for the way I use my kitchen. I really do think that we’re about to see a revolution in kitchen design that will make our kitchens much more practical and attractive. Whatever works best for each of us in our own kitchens will be more important that having the traditional suburban American kitchen.
Uggggh open shelves! Years ago, when I was about 13, I wanted a summer job (so industrious!), so my aunt hired me to be her mother’s helper/light housekeeping person. She had a modern house with lots and lots of open shelving, and one of my jobs was to clean — err, SCRUB — the open shelves.
It. Was. Disgusting.
My aunt and uncle cooked a lot, but didn’t have great ventiliation in the kitchen (this was also about 1985). Every bit of kitchen grease, dust, and general filth landed on the items on the open shelving. It took me 2 days, with rubber gloves and Mr. Clean, to clean the shelves and every item on them. Did I mention that they had 2 full walls of open shelving?
Now, every time I see open shelving…. shudder.
Honestly, the Martha pic is the most ridiculous in my opinion. I literally laughed out loud when I saw it. I’m sure this isn’t really her kitchen otherwise she has a real caffeine addiction going on. Because, honestly, who in their right mind would need 4 espresso makers, and there must be like 30 espresso cups there. Is she running coffee shop out of her home? Sorry for the tangent just had to point out the ridiculousness of it!
While agree the looks can be nice, making it look bigger and more open, my first thought was another spot to collect dust and/or grease. No thanx. If anything, I’d have it for cookbooks and a few decorative items only in a very small area.
Please, oh please, oh please, could you tell me about the backsplash tile in the Alice Lane picture?
i’m an American living in Sweden. Courtesy of the fact that EVERYONE has an IKEA kitchen-this look is soooooo prevalent over here as to be dominant- expected and rather dull- looking for new interpretations, frankly. Over here- on some level this has always been the look in an older home. None of that wall-to-wall walnut cabinets like we are more used to in the States….
I DO have to say, NOT having big old heavy cabinets on walls is soooooo REFRESHING! a combo of both is nice- mixes the textural appearance of the wall and provides visual variation. Keep the open shelving AWAY from places that might get grease accumulation- and it’s not nearly as difficult or challenging as you might think!
I hate the open shelving concept. To much of a dust collector and quite frankly, I don’t want to spend my time cleaning. I have better things to do.
Love the look of open shelving but what if a fly slips in the door as you are going out the door. A single fly drives me up the wall and I’ll lurk for as long as it takes flyswatter in hand until I nail it.
Fabulous post and interesting poll results! I’ve got this linked to my open shelving post as well today, for inspiration.