Open Shelving in the Kitchen: Pros and Cons (Guest Post)

To choose whether to have open shelving or not you should know the advantages and disadvantages of this piece of furniture. It makes every kitchen look vast and most of its glasses, plates, jars and containers with spices are visible and easily accessible. You don't have to open doors and close them many times while you cook and lay the table for dinner. On the other side open shelves gather a lot of dust and become easily filled with dirt. To decide whether you choose to have open shelving in your kitchen here are the pros and cons of having this piece of furniture.

Open shelving makes your kitchen seem larger and wider than it really is. This is especially noticed if the cupboards in this room are darker. The open upper shelves make your kitchen have industrial or European attractiveness which makes it stylish. It will be functional and charming at the same time. Another advantage of the open shelving is the easy access that it offers. You can clearly see what's inside the shelves without having to open, close doors and move items which hide you view. If you arrange and tidy your shelves you can easily find what you look for with less efforts. If you use the glasses, plates and items which you store all the time, you can put them on your open shelves and they won't become dusty. This is a practical way to make your kitchen look great and arrange your things to be at hand and functional.  

If you choose to have this furniture avoid using lower open shelving. The air in the kitchen is filled with dust and it easily lands on the lower shelves, making them dusty and filled with bacteria. So lower shelves aren't really a good idea.  Some people consider arranging of bowls, glasses and dishes on open shelves to be clutter. They may not like the visual impact the open shelving creates. If you like the way they look, arrange your dishes and other things on open shelves. If you think open shelves look cluttered and unattractive, maybe they aren't the best choice for you.

Although open shelves create a lot of cleaning work and if the items arranged on them are not used often, they can easily get filled with dust and grime. Avoid placing open shelves in lower places and near cookers. They will become dusty and filled with grease in no time. You can use open shelves to display your most beautiful dishes and sets with glasses. They can be arranged in a very stylish and functional way. You can hide the dishes and items that you don't like in cupboards with doors. Open shelves need regular cleaning and you could hire someone like EOT W9  to do that for you. They are a great way to expose your exquisite and good-looking sets and access them easily. Place the items you like and frequently use on open shelves. Otherwise they will become dusty and will only take space. Think about functionality and aesthetics when you choose where to place your open shelving and arrange it carefully.

If you are tidy and organized enough you can choose to have open shelving. All your things will be out and make your kitchen look better, if your sets and pictures are arranged well. You will spend more time in cleaning your kitchen especially the items which are put on the open shelves. When arranging your sets and items on your shelves make sure you use only a few colours. As everything is visible on the open shelves this will make your kitchen elegant. If you place items in too many colours and patterns, you risk to make your kitchen look piled and cluttered.