Kitchen Reno--No Upper Cabinets
I love the look of kitchens with no upper or overhead cabinetry. Just seems lighter and less invasive to me…especially in an open plan living scenario. We are about to embark on our parlor floor kitchen reno and was curious if any other Brownstoners made this choice in their homes? How have you found it?…
I love the look of kitchens with no upper or overhead cabinetry. Just seems lighter and less invasive to me…especially in an open plan living scenario. We are about to embark on our parlor floor kitchen reno and was curious if any other Brownstoners made this choice in their homes? How have you found it? Do you regret the decision? Also, my husband was afraid it might detract in terms of resale value, as your average buyer likely wants the traditional layout. Any thoughts are appreciated!
I have a very old fashioned kitchen–no upper cabinets or shelves above the counters. There is a built-in set of shelves with sliding glass doors (to keep contents clean) where I keep everyday plates and bowls, but most of the storage is in the butlers pantry cabinet, the pantry food closet, or some under-counter cabinets. it creates a very distinctive old-world look. I’m a big fan of the idea, especially if you’ve already got an old-fashioned layout on your hands.
Even with a good range ventilation system, if you saute or pan fry a lot, open shelves and the objects on them will be covered with grease in 2 months.
bklnrosie,
I can email a few photos to you. I am nathan@southslopewoodworks.com.
We went for no upper cabinets (in fact, no cabinets at all), and have open shelving only above our counters. I love being able to see my storage jars and to display special plates, etc. We have 2 old skylights in our kitchen and the dust/dirt has not been a problem at all. I do rinse out bowls which have been sitting for months before being used, but stuff that is used regularly is fine. I hate the claustrophobic upper cabinet feeling, but I also hate clutter. We have not had any problems with the shelves getting full of crap – there are some areas for crap to go, and we’ve managed to stick with it.
we’re in the middle of planning our kitchen reno and are most likely doing open shelves on one wall (sink/dw wall) and cabinets on the other wall (stove/micro)
I’ve read a bunch of other forums on the open shelving topic. what some people suggest is to put your everyday dishes there since they’ll always be getting used and wont be out long enough to get dusty…and then just throw the other things in the dw when you’re looking for something to fill it to complete a load. It’s a big commitment to tidyness…i’m up
for the challenge. Just love the way it looks.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Southslope, The image above was just the first one I found that had an example of no open shelving…it is not exactly my what we had in mind for our own reno. We would have an adjacent hutch for glasses and plates, as well as a full height pantry, which I think would make up for lack of uppers..and only one sink. I would love to see more photos if you have them!
The image that you posted appears to be a kosher kitchen (two separate sink basins). Is that what you are going for?
I have made several kitchens in the past couple years with minimal or no upper cabinets, and I love them all. As others have mentioned, try to conceal the appliances- as it makes a kitchen more suitable for entertaining. If it’s done well, you won’t feel like you are hanging out in a kitchen- but rather it will be just like any other space in your house, but with food coming out of seemingly nowhere. I give you a few more images of kitchens with no uppers, but I don’t want to post them here w/o permission.
-southslopewoodworks.com
I have no upper shelves in a house outside the city and I like it, but it’s so much dirtier in the the city; I’m not sure I’d like to deal with that. But shouldn’t impact resale — you can always add cabinets. In fact, if you change your mind you can add them yourself.
Like the look but practicality is difficult at best. Invest in a good range hood or you will be cleaning that oily grease off everything on those shelves.
I have upper cabinets since I don’t have a pantry and I don’t need to be looking at all the junk food that I shouldn’t be eating all the time.