4 Beautiful Open Kitchen Shelving Ideas

Standard kitchen wall cabinets have solid doors, for the primary reason of hiding the contents inside. Some cabinets skirt convention and have opaque glass doors, permitting a fuzzy view of stored contents. Open shelves are in another category entirely: no doors, no smoked glass, no barriers whatsoever. 

If you're looking for a built-in, training-wheel kitchen setup to help ensure that you stay organized, then open shelving might be a good idea.

Turn Shelving Into an Open Pantry

If you have a spare wall in your kitchen but no pantry, this solution is ideal. Open shelving works best when it's only partially about design and more about function. This project will help you keep a more organized pantry, and the visibility will help you know exactly how much you have left of certain dry goods. 

Add Open Shelving Above the Sink

In most traditional kitchen layouts, there is a shorter cabinet placed above the sink. To create a more airy feel, remove that cabinet and opt for a couple of well-placed shelves instead. This area is an ideal storage space for dish soaps and anything you don't mind being exposed to humidity from the sink. Many houseplants will thrive in this location. 

Use Open Shelving to Create a Coffee Bar

If you wake up every morning in need of a cup of coffee, consider using open shelving to create a coffee bar in your kitchen. This project can be as simple as adding a couple of shelves above the coffee pot or as elaborate as the setup shown here.

Alternate Open Shelving With Hanging Storage

In many instances, open shelving surrounds a range hood evenly on both sides so the entire look feels symmetrical and balanced. However, consider switching up your kitchen storage by instead opposing some open shelving with hanging storage.