Currently obsessing over the chic and sophisticated look of open shelves in lieu of upper cabinets in the kitchen. What keeps me from ripping the doors off my own cabinets is the possibility of dusty dishes and what I know would be an obsessive need to keep the crockery stacked to "photo op" perfection. And yet, the look is just so completely appealing! What are your thoughts on this pressing matter?
Images via: ElleDecor;ApartmentTherapy;------------------------------------------------------------ PS. In the words of one of my favorite designers...you'd be mad not to check out my nifty-gifty stocking stuffer ideas over at Pawleys Island Posh today! Follow my blog with bloglovin
so easy and chic to find everything and have what you need handy!
ReplyDeleteI love the first one..Its beautiful:) Hope you are having a lovely Thursday
ReplyDeleteKisses
The plus side is you would be forced to stay organized and to buy pretty dishes! I like the last kitchen the best! xo
ReplyDeleteI love the look of open cabinets, but they would stress me out too much - lol! But they would force one to be very organized and streamlined. Can't wait to hear what you decide!
ReplyDeleteIt's easy though I wonder if it would get dusty!
ReplyDeletelove the look and they would keep one honest.
ReplyDeletei think it works when the dishes or crockery are used daily so no dust bunnies have chance to settle in.
pve
i feel your pain... i think you either have to have massively deep storage capabilities on either your cabinets, or island... that way, you can put it somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteI am with you, the dust would drive me insane! Yet, if you had a really nice set of dishes (which I have no doubt that you do), and some smashing accent pieces, I think it would look fab! Just invest in lots of Swiffers! XX!
ReplyDeleteOK, I love the first picture. But look at the second one you posted. She needs some storage bad! All that stuff crammed/stacked in the corner would make me crazy! So, I love the idea, but just not that practical for me.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of my countertop saga: I put in countertops a couple of years of ago and was dying for a thick slab of limestone. I wanted it soooo bad. But when I did the research and saw how it would stain (they used the word patina) and how much I love to cook (with red wine I might add), I decided it was not for me. I chose honed granite in black and I love it (it looks like slate, but is ultra-durable). M.
Thanks for the inspiration...I'm just about to rip out my kitchen and am compiling love shots and these all fit the bill! I am wrestling with the same thing- I ADORE the look but wonder if I have too much ugly to justify so much open. My other option is glass cupboards with wallpaper lining but there's just something so chic about those open shelves- I'm of no help because I can't decide either.
ReplyDeleteI love them but not all the dust and grease that accumulates over everything!
ReplyDeleteLove all these kitchens - especially the last!! I recently wrote briefly about my husband's and my differing opinions on open shelves. I adore them and he doesn't get it. When I posted photos of my old house, you could see I had open shelves above the side sink (and they were btw cabinets that I took he door off of). If they are items you use frequently, they never have the opportunity to get dusty!! so one big vote here FOR!!
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to have open shelving in my kitchen...thinking about adding some :)
ReplyDelete<3 Cara
Lilac and Grey
You are showing "MY' kitchen.....
ReplyDeleteSue, wannna come over for my first give away??? And read the interview with Emily Anderson?
xoxo
Love the look, but I'd have to say against. Mostly for the reasons you pointed out. They are impossible to keep COMPLETELY clean ALL the time even if you cook alot and are not obsessed with styling the dishes! Dust and whatever is else is floating in the air(got pets?)will land on your dishes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if due to a very specific style or very tight budget, I would install them if a client requested. They are just not for me. It drives me nuts when the utensils I use, almost daily, by my cooktop get dusty and I have to rinse them before cooking!
Have you considered glass fronts on all or even some of the doors? It gives the open shelf feel without all the other issues. When we remodeled our kitchen, I added one wall of leaded glass upper cabinets and I just love it!
The look is great if, as you say, your life reads like a page out of the Photoshop handbook.
ReplyDeleteI for one, no I'd be constantly fidgeting with dish vignettes, trying to get it to look oh-so-accidentally chic ;)
It's your fab life, have fun with it!
Alcira
nerochronicles.com
I could have pulled off the look when I was younger and living in my first place-you know, when everything matched and I didn't have overflowing cabinets. With two children who never neatly stack anything, I don't think it would work for me.
ReplyDeleteI do love the look though!
Beautiful but I don't think I could keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteI adore the look...actually have a post for later saved on open shelving. Such a warm and welcoming feel, but definitely harder to keep!!
ReplyDeleteI love how everything is open & laid out so clean & beautifully!! =)
ReplyDeleteMelanie's Randomness
I would adore a mix of the two!
ReplyDeleteI'm so the wrong one to ask - I do both. I have everything tucked away in cabinets to feed my OCD side but I craved the other so I now also keep a stack of vintage white plates and platters on my cooktop.
ReplyDeleteIt's a gorgeous look, but I could not be trusted to keep those shelves straightened up. HA!
ReplyDeleteI am DYING to rip the doors off of my upper cabinets as well. I posted an image of a kitchen on my blog earlier this week and I can't stop staring at it and contemplating how I can get away with it. It's driving me MAD! :)
ReplyDeleteOpen cabinets are so pretty but what a commitment to keep it all tidy! xoxo
ReplyDeleteJust redid my kitchen with ALL open shelving... http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2010/11/before-after-pictures-historic-house-by.html
ReplyDeleteSo convenient. I love it.
Kelly
Open shelving for me; it has to be open. So much more accessible, and much more incentive not to stockpile things I'll never use. With closed cupboards underneath, of course, for saucepans and secret supplies of biscuits.
ReplyDeleteSue I took the doors off of one of my Moms cupboards to repair it and we liked it so well we left the doors off. No problem keeping it straight, afterall dishes are usually pretty simple to keep in order. I have two glass front doors and I love the open look. I added mirror on the back wall of the cupboard to further reflect the light it is almost window-like. I say go for it Or start out with just one area to see if you like it!! Good luck ,Kathysue
ReplyDeleteI love this! So chic looking.
ReplyDeletexo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com
I love the look of these photos - but I love it when everything is neat and put away....so I think I'll be sticking with my cabinets!! xoxo
ReplyDeletei feel the same way, i think it looks really pretty but I know I would be ocd about keeping the plates in line, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say hello and say thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm very happy to have stumbled upon yours. I'm torn between open shelves v. closed shelves. I tell my clients to go with one bank of open for things that are more display items anyways. Whether they're in a cupboard and on an open shelf, you'll have to rinse of the dust anyway! A tout a l'heure!
ReplyDeleteOpen shelving is not a problem at all, I promise!! The dishes you use all the time will stay nice and clean. Do it!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of strong suggestions to do open shelves in one area of my kitchen - where we will have a sink on the wall. My designer and architect liked the idea, my kitchen designer had seen the inside of my cabinets and knew that I would not be able to deal with open shelves anywhere (not the neat and tidy type) - either in the pantry or the kitchen. I need things behind doors!
ReplyDeleteI am noticing marble these days. Wish I could find a beautiful soft patterned marble like the one in one of these pictures!
Although I also love this look I could never pull it off... where would I hide my corporate swag mugs/ spices/ old mismatched plates.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post, and completely understand your dilemma. I remain on the fence, because I can't let go of the beauty of an organized, airy kitchen without upper cabinets, but I understand the need for dust control and a way to "hide the mess". So interesting to stumble upon this today, since I just posted my own thoughts on "topless" kitchens. Check out my blog for more kitchen photos (that might make your decision even harder)! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree - bring on the open shelves in the kitchen! It feels so welcoming and cosy. Very much like the kitchen in It's Complicated! Hope you are well, Sue!
ReplyDeleteEverything else in my house gets covered in dust... so what if the dishes do too? Oh well, I love the look.
ReplyDeletecheers
Susan
I adore this look and Im always envious when people can pull it off. My inside cabinets look more like a topsy turvy pile of porcelain about to topple!
ReplyDeleteMy open cabinets are the best part of my new kitchen! Seriously, I would do it all over again. It's so convenient to see, use and put away everything. plus, it looks great! Like your beautiful photos, I have all white dishes and after a couple of moves, I have eliminated things I don't use.
ReplyDeleteI love that first kitchen too! That island is the best.
ReplyDeletexo,
cristin
Hi Sue! Well, since I can't stand my kitchen cabinets, you better believe I've thought to just jump in that pond many a times. We all know the cons, but here's a positive: It will keep your clutter, sentiments and resourcefulness honest. You will have exactly what you love and what you need since open shelving is a true commitment to a look and lifestyle. THAT I am all for....right after I spend a fortune on hot looking dishes, for my hot dishes :) XO, Kelly
ReplyDeleteI love the look but could only do it in a 2nd home or somewhere where I didn't have alot of dishes. I would drive myself crazy keeping them perfect.
ReplyDeleteI did open shelving on top and bottom of the counter on one wall in my kitchen. It looked fantastic with all-white dinnerware which I used daily. The bottom shelf held my stainless steel cookware. The counter had my cookbooks and clear canisters of flour, sugar, etc. I loved it and miss it since I've moved...so easily accessible and pretty. Kitchens can be so bland and utilitarian with all that cabinetry otherwise. As for stress, there never was any: all you have to do is organize it once...you're never going to have every single dish dirty and then wonder where it all goes. Occasionally I dusted and I always rinsed off rarely used dishes before using them (like the tea pot). I secretly enjoyed this chore...just more time spent enjoying the pretty display wall. Good luck with your decision!
ReplyDeleteI love the open shelving, I think that it gives a kitchen that much more character. Also, things are more accessible
ReplyDeleteOpen shelves are stunning but I've had some problems with them myself. A designer friend helped me artfully stack up all of my "fancy dishes" on open shelves and I loved it for the first week. Then things started getting dusty and I was always Swiffering. Then I had to use one of the platters and couldn't remember how the composition went together. Then I dropped some dog food which bounced and pinged everywhere, lots of it ending up in my fancy dishes. Solution: I bought a china cabinet, with doors. :)
ReplyDeletethese are great! maybe you could have a little of both?
ReplyDeleteI really like this looks but also haven't taken the plunge. I'm thinking of taking the doors off of a few cupboards. I think what stops me is that my display might not be so perfectly organized!
ReplyDeleteAwesome inspirational images...I'm redoing my kitchen soon and these will help a ton!
ReplyDelete