Open Shelving vs. Traditional Cabinets: Which Is Right for Your Kitchen?

Before remodeling your kitchen, there are numerous decisions that you’ll need to make, including what storage solution you’ll use. In most kitchens, you’ll find upper cabinets, which provide a number of benefits, but many homeowners decide against this classic approach and instead install open shelving.

Both kitchen cabinets and open shelving have their pros and cons, which can make it a little tricky to decide which is right for you. Here is a comparison of the benefits of open shelving vs. the advantages of kitchen cabinets that should help you choose your kitchen storage solution.

Plusses and Minuses of Kitchen Cabinets

Because kitchen cabinets are the traditional choice for kitchen storage, we’ll start by examining the advantages of this option. First and foremost, cabinets provide ample storage and an uncluttered appearance because you can easily use cabinets to hide smaller kitchen appliances.

Another benefit of traditional cabinets is that they make it easier to create a cohesive, minimalist look in your kitchen, which is important for many homeowners. You’ll be able to choose the color, finish, and hardware of your cabinet to create the exact look that you want.

Of course, there are also some drawbacks to kitchen cabinets that you should consider. First, cabinets take up a good amount of wall space, and in smaller kitchens, this may leave your room feeling cramped. Second, depending on the material and style you want for your cabinets, they can end up being expensive.

Pros and Cons of Open Shelving

Now that you know more about the strengths and weaknesses of kitchen cabinets, we can look at some of the benefits of open shelving. The biggest benefit of open shelving is that it makes your kitchen feel a lot more open and inviting. So, in a smaller kitchen, installing open shelves makes it feel like the room is larger than it really is.

Open shelving is also beneficial if you have items in your kitchen that you use with regularity. With open shelves, you can easily grab your go-to ingredients or kitchen utensils. You can also use your open shelves to put any decorative items in your kitchen on display.

Open shelving also has a few minor disadvantages. Because all of your items will be on display, it can cause your kitchen to look a bit busy or cluttered. Open shelves also require more maintenance than cabinets because you’ll need to dust the shelves regularly to keep them looking spick-and-span.

Choose Your Storage Option

After learning about the benefits of open shelving and the advantages of kitchen cabinets, you should be able to choose the storage option that’s right for your home. Whether you decide on cabinets, open shelving, or a combination of the two, the team at Kitchen Solvers is ready and waiting to help you with your remodeling project.

Helping homeowners design their perfect kitchen is our passion. Whether you have a few small tweaks in mind or you want to fully remodel your kitchen, we can help make your project easy, effective, and fun. Get started on your project today by visiting a Kitchen Solvers location to consult with one of our design experts.

Be sure to check out Shelves in the Kitchen: Yes or No? and Why Custom Kitchen Cabinets Are a Great Choice for more information on the pros and cons of open shelving versus traditional cabinets.

Back

SIGN UP FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM KITCHEN SOLVERS