Open shelving in the kitchen

C

caroln

Senior Member
Location
Kentucky
A lot of people like open shelving in the kitchen, and I think it looks nice as well. But I could never have it in my kitchen. Unless I use something every day, I'd have to wash everything before I used it every time due to dust and that thin layer of grease that seems to fly everywhere.

Some things I see on HGTV all the time look beautiful but just don't seem practical.
 

No, don't like it. We watch a lot of remodeling shows on HGTV and always comment about how impractical open shelving is. Also, if we knocked back a shot every time someone mentioned "Modern Farmhouse" we would be plastered in no time. :ROFLMAO:
 
I do not like them.

The little kitchen in our cabin up in the hills has shelves instead of cupboards, but there's just enough plates, glasses and cups for 4 people, and they're all stacked and lined up so it doesn't look cluttered. Pots and pans hang on a rack, knives stick to a magnetic strip, the teapot's on the stove and there's a relatively large drawer for everything else.

That's the only place where shelves instead of cupboards is tolerable, imo.
 
Before I moved here I used mainly cast iron cookware and if I left it out it would get covered with dust. Since I was out in the country and had animals, flies were a thing.....a big thing. Also mice. Mice get onto open shelves and nothing is safe. Those hanging pot racks have always looked attractive to me but I would never want them in my kitchen. I figure people who have them don't cook much.
 
caroln said:
A lot of people like open shelving in the kitchen, and I think it looks nice as well. But I could never have it in my kitchen. Unless I use something every day, I'd have to wash everything before I used it every time due to dust and that thin layer of grease that seems to fly everywhere.

Some things I see on HGTV all the time look beautiful but just don't seem practical.
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So right on! It may be stylish, but not practical.
 
I built this while we put in a kitchen in the old tavern building we refurbished to live in. That was 15 years ago. We have a cat that does occasionally get up there. Not good. We sometimes have to wash the dishes. The top shelf is for storing rarely used stuff. We don't keep many dishes there so we rotate most of them in about a week. It has worked fine, and the dishes are far from the stove so no grease.

shelf.jpg
 
katlupe said:
Before I moved here I used mainly cast iron cookware and if I left it out it would get covered with dust. Since I was out in the country and had animals, flies were a thing.....a big thing. Also mice. Mice get onto open shelves and nothing is safe. Those hanging pot racks have always looked attractive to me but I would never want them in my kitchen. I figure people who have them don't cook much.
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That's what I'm guessing. They get the open shelves, fill them with beautiful matching sets of dishes, stemware and casserole sets, maybe in a pattern to go with that modern farmhouse look @seadoug mentioned -- then go out to eat. You know they're all loaded.

Other things HGTV likes are pedestal sinks in the bathroom with a pretty mirror against the wall above it, leaving zero place to put so much as a toothbrush. My pet dislike are the TVs hung above the fireplace making my neck hurt just to glance. at it.
 
Della said:
Other things HGTV likes are pedestal sinks in the bathroom with a pretty mirror against the wall above it, leaving zero place to put so much as a toothbrush.
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Don't get me started on pedestal sinks. I'm about to replace the one that came in my house. I think they are supposed to be classy, but you need to keep your toothbrush in another room. They aren't that attractive, and unnecessarily useless.
 
I have cats and if I leave a cupboard open to long, my tabby might be in it. So that's a no. I do have one of those silver shelving units for extra storage. I keep bowls upside down. I don't use them much. I just wipe the outside off when I do use them. I don't worry about stuff like that.
 

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