What’s Better: Open Shelving or Upper Kitchen Cabinets?

Whether you’re designing a new kitchen or updating an existing one, there are many choices that you’ll need to make. In addition to colours, styles, positioning, and layout, you’ll also need to make choices about individual finishes and other particular items. One choice that you’ll want to make early on in the process is the choice between upper cabinets and open shelving.

There are pros and cons to each option. Here are some important points you’ll want to keep in mind.

What is Open Shelving?

Open shelving is a relatively recent trend, but one that is quickly becoming very popular. This design is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of having cabinets with doors that open and close, there are instead shelves along the walls for storage instead.

An open shelving modern kitchen has a particular look, one that is more minimalistic and that puts a special focus on having additional space and a reduction of clutter (both visual clutter and hidden clutter).

What are Upper Cabinets?

Upper cabinets are what many people think of when they think of a traditional kitchen. There are many different kinds of cabinets, and many different sizes, but what they have in common is that they are box-shaped, attached to the wall, and have doors on their fronts.

Upper kitchen cabinets can be a good choice if you have a lot of items to store or if you have a particular look in mind. Much like with open shelves, upper cabinets lend themselves to certain styles.

Which to Choose?

If you are doing a kitchen remodel and trying to choose between open shelving and upper kitchen cabinets, there are many factors to consider.

Access
Items tend to be easier to access when they’re stored on shelves. You don’t have to open a door, you don’t need to try and remember where you a certain item, and you don’t have to struggle to get what you’re looking for. Everything will be right there, right where you need it, and easy to see and access.

If you place frequently used items like plates, mugs, etc. right where you can reach them, it’s a snap to get whatever you need right when you need it.

Part of the reason why it’s easier to access items from open shelves is because you’ll likely naturally store less on shelves than you would in cabinets. Since everyone who enters your kitchen can see everything you have on the shelves, you’ll naturally be a bit more selective.

Storage
You likely won’t be able to store as many items on open shelves as you would in cabinets. That’s because cabinets are often quite large and many go right up to the ceiling, so you have a lot of places to store things. With shelves, you’ll likely have one or two shelves per wall, and you won’t want to clutter those up with items.

DisplayIf you have dishes, jars, vases, or other items that you’d like to display, choosing open shelves is a good decision. You’ll be able to create an attractive, minimalist design on your shelves that will look great.

However, the counter to this point is that everything you put on the shelves will be on display. Therefore, you won’t have any room for unattractive items and you certainly won’t want any clutter.

Cleaning

There’s a good chance that you’ll need to do more cleaning if you have open shelves than you would if you had cabinets. Dust and grease can build up on your shelves and your items if you’re not careful. However, the possible benefit is that you’ll be more likely to want to clean open shelves than cabinets since you can’t just close the door and hide the mess. This will keep your kitchen much tidier.

If you’re looking for a new kitchen design and want to work with a trusted and experienced team of professionals, please call our showroom at 905-517-1602 or book a consultation online today!

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