We’ve mentioned having a backsplash + open shelving + range hood idea a few times without much elaboration, so here’s the full monty explanation: we basically want to create a counter to ceiling accent wall of backsplash tile with open shelves and a range hood going on. This Sarah Richardson kitchen is especially appealing to us when it comes to the tile choice (we love white subway tile, but we’re thinking we might do something a little less white since our cabinets will be going white and we don’t want to completely whitewash the whole room).
Now I will read your mind in a move I like to call “David Blaine-ing” you. You are thinking the following things:
- What type of tile are you going to use?
- What type of range hood?
- What color will your shelves be?
- Will they be floating or have brackets?
- Won’t open shelves get dusty and full of grease?
Allow me to address those questions below:
- Not sure yet
- Not sure yet
- Not sure yet, but most likely white like the cabinets
- Not sure yet, but for the moment we’re leaning towards floating
- We’ve asked friends who have them and their short answer is no, but it’s just one of those to-each-his-own things. Allow me to elaborate:
We’re not going to have open shelving everywhere and zero cabinetry with doors. We’ll have plenty of base cabinets and some closed uppers to stash not-so-pretty stuff out of sight. As for the one eight foot wall that we’re excited to smack with a range hood, some open-shelving, and counter to ceiling tile, we did a little “research” before committing. We know two different couples who both have one wall of open shelves above their stove with a range hood… and they both love it. When we asked them if they got greasy or covered with steam they both looked at us weirdly and said “we have a range hood.” Apparently up-to-date range hoods have better suction than over-the-stove microwaves (which we should know since we had one in the last house but never actually stopped to think about it). So if you use them when you cook they should suck up the steam and grease and all that stuff without any issues of it somehow migrating up and to the left or right around the hood and mysteriously landing on the cabinets.
We also asked about dust. Again they had similarly no-biggie answers. One couple said they use their shelves to store items they use so frequently that they don’t have time to sit around getting dusty (ex: plates are used and washed and then stashed back up there and used again in rapid succession – so they don’t sit for weeks on end without getting touched thereby becoming furry). The other couple said they just like the look more than they hate dusting, so they don’t mind wiping things down with a duster every few weeks for the trade off of a light open look and easy-access to items that aren’t tucked away behind closed doors.
Then we headed over to Layla’s blog since she has open cabinets and read what she had to say about them. Here’s a big post all about it, but this quote at the end pretty much summed up her take: “Think you can’t have open cabinets because it’s too dusty where you live? It’s dusty in Alabama too! (cough, cough) We use the dishes in our open cabinets every day though, so they usually don’t have time to grow sweaters. If something does happen to collect a little dust, we just give it a quick rinse before we use it.”
And because we’re complete weirdos who don’t know when to stop, we also heard from readers who have open shelving in their kitchens and this is what they had to say:
- “We installed open shelving last September and I don’t regret it one bit. I only get up there and dust about once a month and I just crank up the music and make the most of it. In fact, we’re working on building a third row of shelves because I have so much pretty stuff to put out!” – Betsie
- “We have three cats and some open shelving. Hasn’t been a problem.” – Caroline
- “I have open shelving by default, but I’ve come to like it. It shows off how your dishes match your kitchen, and keeps you accountable to only having what you NEED.” – Carrie
- “I only have open shelving in the kitchen and love it. It doesn’t get as dusty/greasy as you might imagine. I love being able to display all the nice kitchen things I have. I have a separate space for the not so nice stuff. “- Debe
- “I have open shelving with regularly used items and closed cabinets with rarely used items and the rarely used items in the cabinets are the ones that get the most dusty and need a rinse before use. So it’s not like cabinets keep things that sit around from getting dusty!”
All of a sudden this post is sounding like an infomercial, huh? Before you know it I’ll be trying to show you just how much water my Super Shammy can hold (picture my head on that dude’s body trying to sell you an amazing liquid holding cloth).
But really the point of sharing our “research” on the subject of open shelving isn’t to convert anyone (we just babble about the choices that we make along the way, DIY-diary-style). So if it’s not your thing, it’s not your thing. I’m sure there are folks out there who hate their open shelving, we just happened to hear from a ton of people who had nothing but great things to say. In the end, when it came down to figuring out what we wanted to do with our kitchen, we just had to… do what we wanted! Haha. So some open shelving and some closed upper cabinets fit the bill. But we hereby solemnly vow to keep it real with you guys. If after a month of use (or a day or a year) we start to hate the choice of open shelving (or anything else for that matter) of course we’ll tell you! And we’ll share whatever we decide to do to change things. Oh and when we make any final decisions about the backsplash tile and the range hood we’ll definitely spill those beans.
Pssssst- This morning I’m over on BabyCenter keeping you posted (as promised) when it comes to how our house is changing thanks to Clara. Let’s just say we’re adding storage galore for all those toys and blocks and books and balls…
Megan says
Amazing picture! Hah.
The shelving looks great and I think the dust thing can depend on the area. In the area we live in California, as soon as the slightest wind picks up, the entire house is covered in dust (it’s like soot from all the fires). It’s partly my fault for leaving all the windows open year round… I just love fresh air:) I imagine if you lived in a different area, it would just be normal dusting which isn’t a big deal for a great look! Good luck.
Lauren says
So, I can’t *not* weigh in here because we just did a kitchen remodel about a year or so ago (I honestly can’t remember how long it’s been) and exchanged cabinets for open shelving in both the kitchen and a pantry/hallway we created. You can see my kitchen here: http://www.stillpluslife.com/bluerainroom/2011/06/come-and-see-the-kitchen-what-it-is.html
I have a couple things to say. The folks who sold us our cabinets (which ended up being only the lower cabinets and one glass fronted for wine glasses & such) tried to push back HARD against the open shelves (partly for #5 you mention above). We were really glad we held firm. Turns out, I’d been collecting pictures of open shelves in kitchens for literally decades. Funny to look back on that kind of thing.
Anyhoo. I can weigh in with our opinions on #4 & #5 in your list. For #4, we chose brackets because the floaters would have looked a bit insubstantial without brackets. I was resistant at first, but now I don’t even really see them. For #5, the stuff we use every day does not get dusty at all. The shelves themselves do somewhat, but all shelves do, I suppose. I put platters and whatnot on the top shelf, and because those things aren’t pulled out as often, they do get dustier. But seriously? I wouldn’t use those without washing them anyway. I even think someone else said this above.
So that’s my 2 cents! I’m glad you’re going for it. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not happy we did!
Oh, and not that you’re considering this, but we loved our backsplash tile so much that we imbedded some pieces in the concrete counters in our pantry/hall. You can see that in the same post I link to. xo
YoungHouseLove says
Such a pretty kitchen! Love those concrete counters!
xo,
s
Lucy says
We have white subway tile and white cabinets (and carrara white countertops) and it looks great. When you put color on the other walls, like you guys have done, that really warms up the space. We also have open shelving and we love it. It is so much easier to access everything and the stuff we use regularly does not get dusty. It also allows you to add pops of color to the room since you are worried about too much white.
Jodi says
Am I the only one who noticed the first few pictures all had the same green water/tonic bottles on either the shelves or counter. So, the question is…will you sport the bottles as well? The bottle does go with Sue :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- of course! Pellegrino bottles were always in the corner of our first kitchen (they remind me of my mom).
xo,
s
Dawn says
Great kitchen inspiration! We have Brazilian cherry floors and are planning a re-model next year – I want something that will make the floors show their beauty. I’m liking the idea of white cabinets along with tile up to the ceiling. We have so little wall space that we might as well just tile it all. It will be great to show my hubby these pics so he has some idea what I’m talking about.
Ciera @ Rose & Thistle says
Oooh I love this idea. Could totally picture those pale green subway tiles in your house, seems like your sort of color! But whatever tiles you choose I’m sure it’ll look fab.
Brieanne Fazio says
Love the tile with open shelves plan! My husband built open shelves for our kitchen this summer (we still have regular cabinets too) and we keep the dishes we use everyday on them and I love it. Super convenient and they look great too ;)
Lane says
We put some shelves up in our kitchen to hold my Fireking bowls. We have hardly any cupboards in our apartment, and the shelves made the bowls way more accessible. Sadly I didn’t feel they were keeping clean enough and felt the need to rinse or wipe them out each time I used them. We have two cats and a dog and pet hair is our biggest housekeeping challenge. So I put the bowls back into the cupboard and put my vintage mixer on the shelf instead. We also have vintage green and yellow tile counters and back splash that goes up the wall quite a ways, and if we don’t keep on those they grab the pet hair too. I bet a white tile would help hide that a bit more. I love the examples you posted!
Karen L. says
Love your plans and the open shelving idea. :) A thought for the future, after you do the sanding, painting phase is to get the ductwork in your home professionally cleaned out—-the dust is significantly reduced making dusting much more infrequent. We did it in our last two homes and I can’t believe the difference it makes! (Amazing the stuff that can make its way into the ducts; don’t think too long about it though, it may give you the heebies….ha.)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! I always wondered if that made a difference!
xo,
s
Jamie says
I’m sure you’ve thought of this already but if you wanted to use the white subway tile, you could go for subtle contrast with a soft gray grout. I did that for my kitchen backsplash and love it. I also have a yellow (close to grellow) kitchen and it looks great! Grey would also tie into your office and future dining room walls when you take the plunge and cut that hole in your wall ;) Just a thought. I’m sure whatever you decide will look faboo!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, that’s always a fun alternative too!
xo,
s
amymargaretc says
Love love love the open shelving. When I lived in a condo, I had one open shelf and loved it. I never found the items we placed on there became dusty… unless my roomie was secretly dusting all the time. Hmm…
Also, I am super excited for you guys to tackle your wall demo… because that is exactly what I want to do in my kitchen. (but I’m terrified) I’ll let you guys go first…hehe.
Emily says
We have open shelving on one wall. 3 shelves on each side of a window and we love it. our base cabinets are white and we stained the open shelving a dark mocha color to make them pop with our white dishes. We havent had any problems as far as them getting abnormally dusty. Most of the items are things we use very often and I am a clean freak about the kitchen anyways so its no skin off my back to wipe them down every so often! Definately worth it to us!
Krys72599 says
I have a couple of open shelves in my lake house – and we’re only there on the weekends. They get a little dusty, more so when the house is closed up than when we’re there every week. I think just the constant living keeps the dust from settling too much! When we convert that kitchen to a full time one instead of a weekend one, I’ll add some closed cabinets, but I’ll be sure to keep a couple of open ones – I love them!!!
seriouslysassymama says
How exciting getting to redo your kitchen. I love subway tile, and especially taking it to the ceiling.
heather says
I love open shelving, but it’s been nixed for our home. We live (literally) across the street from an active sandpit. You wouldn’t know it because it’s set back a ways, but it’s there and it definitely requires extra cleaning.
Also, if anyone likes The Lettered Cottage herb nesting boxes, they are from Farmhousewares.com. I’ve been looking at buying them for over a year (and I’m about to pull the trigger…so maybe it takes me a while to make decisions), so I immediately recognized them.
Leanne says
OMG! you are such a wierdo! I hate that Vince dude! what happened to him anyway???
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not sure. I used to love playing the remixed Slap Chop video though. On repeat. I knew all the words.
xo,
s
Jo @ Jo In the Kitchen says
That photo is hilarious!!
I absolutely love the look of open shelving and cabinets. Can’t wait to see what end up doing!
Marilena says
My husband and I fell in love with a white marble herringbone floor. In my opinion classic. At 13.00 a tile, it wasn’t happening. We went to our discount tile store, HD also carries them, and got your basic 12 x 12 marble tile at just over 3.00 each- don’t remember how much we paid exactly at this point but it was around that figure. My husband borrowed a good tile machine got 4 tiles out of each one. When you break it down it comes out to about 1.00 or less a tile. The floor came out spectacular. I’d equate it to one you might see in Restoration Hardware’s bathroom layouts. You can’t even buy ugly tile for that price!
YoungHouseLove says
Such a smart idea!
xo,
s
janie says
What I’ve realised with my glass fronted cabinets is that anything higher than the bottom shelf can only be seen from below or from the side. And dust falls downward. Therefore so long as you have the stuff you use all the time on the bottom shelf (being a shorty, do you have any choice in that?), it doesn’t matter how cruddy the top stuff gets, no-one will ever know.
You just need to make sure you dust before the guests arrive when you’re entertaining.
We have no backsplash on our drinks area bench, I think it makes it look more like a buffet/butler’s pantry.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- good point! I’m such a shorty I doubt I’ll see any dust!
xo,
s
Olga says
LOL. I couldn’t stop laughing. at work. once I looked at those hairy shamwow arms. hahahahahah.
Shanna says
I’ve been thinking of the same thing for my kitchen! so weird! I think you guys are our Virginia Twin (we are in Illinois have an 8mo old son – Thatcher and a wiener dog named Beauregard). Sarah Richardson’s cottage Kitchen is my inspiration as well and I have that exact same photo on my pinterest board. Anyway, I have a larger kitchen with 9 foot ceilings and have a huge space above our very standard Lowes cabinets. Thermafoil cabinets to boot that sound like swishy pants when i clean them. The gap has been driving me crazy since we moved in and i thought instead of chotchkie-ing up the space above the cabinets, that adding tile the whole way up would add some much needed interest to that area. AND we have a built in desk that I am wanting to get rid of and adding another lower, but i dont need any more uppers, so I was going to put a couple shelves above to display my serveware collection. Cant wait to see more on your Kitchen makeover!
My sad 90’s kitchen here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1092999854239&set=a.1092996254149.2016276.1503820523&type=3
Your Illinois Twin Family here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2489307521058&l=3568055337
My other DIY Projects:
Dining Room:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1242304626765.2037565.1503820523&type=1&l=61dc0096eb
half bath: I used a different stencil from the same site you got yours for your office :)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1497106516653.2066666.1503820523&type=1&l=9ece1698ad
Nursery
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1773480945841.2104081.1503820523&type=1&l=a627c7e2ef
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I love that we have llinois twins! Burger sends his love to Beauregard! We would love to see photos of your kitchen whenever it’s done!
xo,
s
blake says
Just a friendly observation … I noticed you guys often include a “disclaimer” of sorts in your posts. Usually goes something like this: “We know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but we are being more adventerous and true to our personal style, so it’s OK with us if this decision isn’t OK with you.”
I’m sure that the bigger your audience, the more opinions you get about your design choices, which makes you want to clarify that they are personal decisions and you love them. But I think you guys have earned the right to not have to explain that to readers all the time. I think everyone gets it — although we’ll still have the urge to share our opinions here in the comments :)
Anyways, just thought I’d share that thought since I know your blogging goals include shorter posts, and I find that a lot of posts end up heading down that path.
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely know every post could get shorter if we cut stuff out, but we read things through a few times and leave in everything that we want to share – and those explanations about doing what you love with your own house can encourage others to do whatever they want in their own homes (we actually get emails to that effect and it makes us beam). So we like keeping it real and keeping that stuff in there too – it’s all part of the thought process! We’ll probably never be super short bloggers, we have just been trying to keep things at around 1000 words (instead of 2-3K), which we’ve done pretty consistently since our blogiversary! We’re just chatty folks. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura says
I like it!
Ofelia says
I have open shelving, because there are not cabinets in my tiny kitchen (I’m renting). Because I use the dinnerware so often, no time to get greasy or dusty. I would like to have cabinets for those not so pretty dishes.
Amy says
I had open shelving in my kitchen in an old rental in the city. It was so “open” It didn’t even have a drawer or a dishwasher. I hated that kitchen with a passion- it always felt gritty and greasy and I hardly even cooked in there. When I finally moved to an apartment with a dishwasher, I ran EVERYTHING through and I couldn’t believe the difference in the feeling of everything. So I guess I have been forever turned off of open shelving.
I guess I feel that with an investment like a kitchen, I would want to make sure I got it right from a functionality and value perspective. So I would go more mainstream and do glass cabs instead. Obviously you are making your own choices in your new room, and have been trying to go more bold in this house, so I am interested to see how you feel about them down the line! Good luck!
diana says
Did the appliances arrive? Great ideas..
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Love them! Pics of all that stuff tomorrow!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
I am so glad you guys are doing open shelving. I am in the process of buying a house that has a really cramped kitchen. I plan on rearranging appliances and adding open shelving. I can’t wait for you guys to get started on this so I can learn from it :)
Liz says
My husband and I have been dying to put open shelves in our kitchen and have always hesitated because of the dust/grease issue. Happy to hear that it’s not as big of an issue as we thought! I can’t wait to see how your kitchen turns out! YAY! Your kitchen might be just the nudge we need to finally do open shelves as well! Thanks!
Whitney says
So, I’ve been thinking for a while about taking off some of the cabinet doors in our kitchen. I haven’t tried it yet, but is it as easy as just removing the doors or do you need to have some kind of special cabinets? From what I can tell on our cabinets it looks like the hinges are actually on the inside of the actual cabinet, so I don’t think there would even be any holes to fix on the outside…does that make sense?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s usually just that easy. Take off the doors and store them somewhere safe (in case you want to reattach them before selling, etc).
xo,
s
Nikole says
Ditto all of the great things people said about open shelving! The cabinet doors in our current place were in sad shape, so I took the upper doors off and we’ve been living with and loving open shelving for almost 2 years. We haven’t had any real issues with dust, and the open shelving is the ultimate incentive to keep those cabinets clean and organized! It’s worked out so well for us that we plan to keep some open shelving incorporated when we finally reno the kitchen in full.
Bella Daylight says
I used to have open shelving in an appartment I lived in for a couple of months. It was a rented with everything appartment and the dishes were kept on the open shelving and I loved it because they contained the things you use every day and it looked great because the dishes were really pretty :)
I loved it so I suggest you to go ahead and do it! :)
(Besides ours came into existence we were told later simply by unscrewing the cabinet doors)
Jess says
Yay! I love this! We took the doors off all our cabinets and painted the inside of it (vintage orange background with white shelves. The bottom cabinets are turquoise, kinda the shade of a Tiffany’s box) and it’s so fun! Dust really isn’t a big deal (for the reasons you’ve already stated) and everything stays nice and organized because it *has* to. Makes the kitchen more interesting, shows off all your pretty dishes, and, since everything is visible, guests have it pretty easy when they want a drink. The glasses are right in view. Oh, and husbands don’t ask you where this or that is… another perk, haha :). I’ll never have standard kitchen cabinets again. I’m so excited to see where your kitchen is going!
Lisa Riley says
I have been agonizing over redoing my pantry/sink area in my old 1923 home and whether or not to do open shelving or redoing the cabinets. My kitchen is odd, there is a large kitchen area with the fridge and stove with a table area and then a smaller pantry area that has two different style cabinets (one very old and beautiful and the other side was added in the 50’s and is super ugly). This post has made up my mind on open cabinets! Whites shelves with a wallpapered background….I may do before and after pics and send them to you! :) thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so exciting! Definitely send us pics!
xo,
s
Donna says
Sounds like someone could use a trip to Ikea! ( I’m really referring to myself here ). Arm hair really works for you, Sherry.
Tux says
That sham-wow picture! I’m dying!
Cal says
Gorgeous collection of photos… Your website is my guilty pleasure!
Janelle D says
I love the look of open shelving. It makes an art gallery out of ordinary objects. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Heather says
We just renovated our kitchen and plan to add an Ikea Norttop wall shelf for open shelving. I can’t wait to see how it looks! I’m already buying some new darker turquoise mugs and accents to help make it pop!
partyofsix says
Here is a great hood for you (not knowing your budget), but ‘knowing’ you love a good bargain: http://www.prolinerangehoods.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=32_46&products_id=191
It’s $860, down from $1680, plus you get another 10% if you order by the 23rd and can get free shipping….
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the link! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
Really like the espresso-tone shelves on the white tile. Would look so pretty! Although marble subway tile or a sea green/blue glass tile would be pretty as well. Do you have a date in mind for ripping stuff out? Must be getting close as all the pieces start to arrive! So exciting!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re already moving and shaking stuff (details tomorrow) although our last kitchen took us 113 days (and we had a ton of help/contractors) so this one will probably take us a lot longer since we’re DIYing a ton of stuff (and this room’s a lot bigger). Hopefully by early January we’ll be done!
xo,
s
Hilary says
I love the look of open shelving, but sadly, it’s simply impractible and unsanitary. Folks on the market are still looking for cabinet space, and do not view open shelves as such. Therefore, I would never choose to take out cabinets if I didn’t have to. That said, it sure does look good, and I enjoy seeing pictures of it in magazines!
ashlee says
to me, this might be your best.post.ever. i’m SUCH a fan of open shelving/cabinets without doors/glass cabinet doors/etc. seeing the beautiful white dishes never ceases to amaze me. i cannot wait to see what you do with this space.
my problem is that i don’t know how to find balance between the two (open shelving, like, planks of pine with corbels holding them up) vs simply taking doors off my cabinets. i don’t really know if you can do both and make it work, or if you should stick with one style. not you personally, i mean people with kitchens in general. haha. god, i talk a lot.
Ami says
Couldn’t believe when I checked the blog today. Nearly every one of those kitchen pics are in my inspiration file. (That 7th pic is in my all-time-super-favorite category.) I love open shelves. If the layout of my kitchen would work for it I’d have them in a minute. Hurry and get on it will ya? Can’t wait to see!
Sara says
I don’t mean to just throw a negative comment out here, I just wanted to share my experience with you guys…
I have one cabinet with (unintentional) open shelving, I say unintentional because the cabinet door came off in my hand one day (it wasn’t really surprising, and we’ve been planning to redo the kitchen anyway). Anyway, since then, we have decided we won’t go with open shelving when we go for our re-do because the shelving itself is what gets dusty/dirty. It’s funny that everyone usually worries about the dishes getting dirty, but honestly, it’s the dusty/dirty shelf that gets my dirty looks. Pun intended. :)
Amy @ this DIY life says
We went to open shelving because I hated the cabinet doors in our kitchen so much and buying new ones wasn’t in the budget just yet. Now in planning our kitchen reno, we will *definitely* have open shelves. To be honest, I used to like them and now I love, love, love them since I painted the wall behind them green: http://thisdiylife.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/parakeet-and-two-cats/
I totally agree with Carrie, in that it definitely helps you keep only the things that you need. Goodwill has been very happy with our open shelving too ;) It also helps to keep our cabinets organized since they can be see from the front door of the house. The way they are in the blog post is the way they have looked for months now.
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! Love the pop of color!
xo,
s
Leigh says
Love the open shelving idea!!! I can’t wait to see the progress you guys make. I am so jealous as I am dying for open shelving in my kitchen. All I have to do now is convince the hubs it’s a good idea….
Christine says
oooh, I love open shelving, too, and it is all the rage in chefs’ home kitchens these days. We had them in our last house and I loved the ease of it. But, our kitchen in our new home is on the small side, even though we gutted to the studs and completely renovated. We ordered open shelving on one side of the range hood, but in the end, it canceled out the very sleek, clean lines we were going for and cluttered up the visual appeal. We opted for cabinetry instead – and because it’s a small kitchen it works really well with keeping everything calm. We also went with a gray tile (white grout) with white shaker style cabinets. Our tile was an oversized subway tile – 12″ by 4″. It a very zen kitchen, though I missed my open shelving! We did add a glass front to our diagonal cabinet, so it at least has a teensy look of open shelving. Great deal on your tile, by the way!
shaunna says
Your blog is addicting! It’s feeding my obsession with design. I was wondering if I could submit a before and after pic for you to critique for me.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! We always accept Reader Redesign submissions at [email protected] (we don’t critique them, but we do share some of them in a once a week feature!).
xo,
s
Becky says
Okay…the shamwow picture is just creepy! I decided to scroll down without reading everything since the post was a little long and when I hit that picture all I could think was, What the crap?!? I will definitely read all of your posts without scrolling ahead from now on!
Caroline says
Hmm. As a person who cooks – not, like, as a fanciful hobby, but simply getting dinner on the table every day and making quick breakfasts and occasionally baking a cake – I’m divided on this. Range hoods are awesome, they make frying (whether stir or deep) so much cleaner and gods, who needs a microwave anyway? Anything you can heat in a microwave you can just as easily heat on the stovetop or in the oven, and it will taste better and heat more evenly. Apart from getting a second dish dirty, it’s not even more labor, and it takes just a few minutes longer. And tile all over a kitchen is awesome, hello easy cleanup.
But open shelving? It looks great, don’t get me wrong, and a little shelving – closest to the living area and for display and easy access to cookbooks and pretty dishes for serving or eating – is cool. (And yes, the dust is a non-factor because any dish that isn’t used for a while is going to get dusty, regardless of where it’s stored.) And if I were designing my own kitchen, I’d probably have a mix of 1/3 open shelving to 2/3 upper cabinets or so. But every time I see these modern kitchen designs with virtually nothing but open shelving – particularly immediately adjacent to the stove and oven – I think, wow, this is so reflective of a culture where people don’t actually prepare their own meals. Where do the not-so-pretty but regularly-used kitchen implements go? Measuring cups and cheese graters and tupperware? Spices and oils and vinegars? If the answer is “a lower cabinet” or “the pantry,” then ya don’t cook regularly, because it would either hurt your back from constantly bending over or take you twice as long as necessary to cook a meal because you’re constantly running all over your kitchen. All of these things should be within a fairly easy reach of your stove, IMO.
If a kitchen has few upper cabinets, the most important ones are two narrow ones or one large one as adjacent to the range as possible (for oils and spices and stuff) and the larger one or two roughly in the center of the cooking triangle closer to the sink or fridge or oven (for commonly-used prep utensils like cutting boards and measuring cups). The former is more important than the latter because it’s easier to buy attractive mixing bowls or graters or whatever than it is to keep your foodstuffs in a clean and pretty container.
Just my $.02! I know I wrote a book here and I hope I don’t sound snarky, I’m just a recent home buyer who rejected a lot of houses because their kitchens were pretty or large but impractical. I mean, just looking at these open shelving kitchens, I see enough dinnerware for a small wedding reception but not a single cooking implement. What IS that? It drives me a bit crazy that people are so obsessed with how their kitchen looks (it’s on the bottom of the list of my personal decorating priorities) but don’t at all consider how their kitchen works. Form should follow function!