Kitchen: Open Shelf Roundup
From Julie
An argument against kitchen cabinets: Observe how the open shelves in these kitchens add an offhand, casual note and keep essentials within easy reach.
Below: An English kitchen from Living Etc.
Below: A high shelf provides storage for stacks of white plates. Photo by Colin Streater.
Below: Ione Skye's LA kitchen, featured in Domino.
Below: A house on Long Island by NY firm Deborah Berke & Partners.
Below: A Scandinavian kitchen from Purple Area.
Below: An open kitchen from the portfolio of Daniel Farmer.
Below: A neutral palette in a serene kitchen.
Below: Shelving in a Brooklyn Row House Remodel by Domestic Architecture.
Below: A single, long shelf provides storage above and lighting emanating from below, via Desire to Inspire.
Below: A kitchen from Living Etc. featuring open storage both above and below the counter.
Below: A kitchen from Charlotte Crosland Interiors.
Below: A kitchen featured on Peppermags.
Below: A kitchen by architect Brad Cloepfil of Portland, Oregon, firm Allied Works Architecture featuring a Heath Ceramics tile backsplash.
Below: Minimalist shelving by San Francisco firm Dowling Kimm.
Below: Open shelving and dark-hued pottery in a kitchen via Style Files.
Below: In this kitchen in France by Kate Hume, all storage is out in the open or tucked undercounter.
Below: A kitchen by UK firm Hut Architecture; via Materialicious.
Below: A kitchen in London by Turner Castle.
Below: Open shelving by Plain English Design.
Below: A kitchen in San Francisco by David S. Gast & Associates. 
Below: Even Martha Stewart approves of open shelving; here's a shot of her Skylands kitchen.
Below: Marble shelves add a touch of elegance to this UK kitchen; via Light Locations.
August 20, 2008
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So pretty -- sigh.
I would totally love to do this for our eventual kitchen remodel. My husband, though -- ever the practical one -- is arguing that dishes on open shelves would get covered in dust and cooking grease.
Anyone out there have any firsthand experience with open shelves and the cleanliness issue?
Your husband is right. I scrub the high shelves once a month - dust on the oddball items shows you when it's time to clean. You wipe down the lower shelves as often as you clean the counter tops.
An exterior venting exhaust hood keeps grease down, but there is still a lot of sticky dust to be cleaned up.
Shelves are great for my smaller kitchen - they're at least twelve inches shallower than base cabinets. This allowed me to use a harvest table as an island.
Shelves also allow you to make use of all vertical space - you don't have to contend with a soffit. Some of my tall items fit on the top shelf without a problem.
One problem: I have my favorite glasses and coffee mugs that would never make the pages of Better Homes than Yours. They look goofy & don't match anything, but I still like them.
As we age remembering what we have is at question. Having our items out in the open encourages us to use more that just what was seen. We now use our cooking and serving items. This too we are encouraged to notice what needs to be dusted, cleaned and neat. Keep in mind we also notice the items we are just not in need of as the item(s) are not being used. We love this concept!
I love these ideas. We just built a kitchen but it is extremely small and we have lower cabinets but didn't have room for upper cabinets. So we are planning on installing upper shelves. I am though having trouble finding a 12" in width. All the stores I have been to only carry 10". My plates are large so they hang off the side. Does anyone have suggestions on where I could find the size needed? Thanks again for all the amazing pictures & designers. Awesome site!
Jennifer,
I've found the shelf selection in the organizer aisle limited and limiting. Go to the lumber department and you can find boards in many different woods and widths, including 12". Hope that helps and good luck!
I have an older mobil home I am remodeling and was thinkg of putting open shelves in. I really don't have much room for upper cupboards. How about some stainless steel ones ? Anyone have any good ideas for a mobil home ?
Quick question: want to put shelves made from reclaimed barnwood held up with stainless brackets in my transitional kitchen.
How do I do task lighting? No way to hide the lights under a simple shelf.
do you know what the brackets in your final picture are called? want to find some like them but haven't been able to.
Thanks.
Leslie
I have installed open shelves using stair risers and brush nickle brackets. I stained the wood which was already rounded in a cherry. The wall was the stone tile that looks like little blocks. It turned out beauiful. I cater and cook alot in this semi professional kitchen. No worries, not a problem, unless you are very messy and never use the items on the shelves.
such good questions below that I also have (where to find 11-12" shelves, where to find nice brackets, is the grease buildup an issue around the stove)...hope someone answers them!
You might consider Elfa shelving, which is very practical and pretty easy to install, and comes in varying widths, including 12'. The Container Store (which sells Elfa) also has some floating shelves and bracket systems that you might consider. Ikea also has several selections for brackets or floating shelves. Anthropolgie has some interstingly decorative brackets, but not as large as 12'. Rejuvenation hardware has an 8" nouveau bracket and a 12" art deco-ish bracket. HTH!
For basic form-follows-function brackets, check out supportbrackets.com
where can i find these shelf brackets in the first photo of English kitchen? I hope they have ones that can hold 12' shelf or more. many thanks.
