kitchen without overhead cabinets?

[Lalababy]

Hi all - I am redesigning my kitchen and I really like the look of no overhead cupboards. The kitchen has quite a bit of storage and the back wall has full length cupboards so I am not too worried about storage. However, at the moment I have all my condiments/spices in the overhead cupboard either side of the stove (that open upwards). As such - when cooking, I just keep these open and keep selecting/putting back as I go. As such I am worried about how practical it is to get rid of these. On the other hand if I did eliminate the overhead cupboards I could add an additional window - and have a view of the garden...

Does anyone else have a kitchen without overhead cabinets - can you provide me with your ply/minus list.

oops I mean plus/minus list

We don't have any and in previous kitchen had minimal because I'm a short arse and they're not of much use plus make a kitchen look smaller.

See at as an opportunity to stock your kitchen in a different way? We have several sets of wide drawers rather than cupboards. So spices could go in a top drawer near the hob. Alternatively you could wall mount them?

We have a knife rack on the wall which is fab and a few other things.

I love this kind of set up, but strongly recommend that you have only drawers under your worktop. And do make sure your top drawers are shallow. This is where you will keep your cutlery, spices, cling film, cooking utensils, spices (mine are laid out flat so I see all the labels face up) etc. Next drawer down should be deeper for plates, glasses etc. Then bottom drawer v deep for pots and pans etc

Gorgeous - would totally take the extra window.

Yep what Brock says - that is the set up we have (well would have if the kitchen was big enough) but we've managed with what we've got IYSWIM. You get so much more in drawers, we have them instead of a pull out larder too. Only have cupboards where it's not possible to have drawers.

Our kitchen is long galley style and due to the position of the windows we only have an overhead unit on the short wall which has the cooker.

They are fitting it next week so ask me then if I have enough space

We have drawers everywhere, and only one shelf. The old kitchen had loads of open nooks and crannies which just gathered dust so I only want one shelf - any more and stuff will just accumulate on them!

However we only have to cook in the kitchen - utility and eating areas are all separate.

We nearly did but I ended up getting just one for mugs and glasses, above the kettle and crockery. Didn't seem to be any other satisfactory place for these.

Spices etc are all on racks on the inside of the larder cupboard, it's just a couple of steps from the cooker. You can always cut some shelves in your full height cupboards a bit shallower to allow you to do this.

nothing fancy just these

As long as you don't suffer from a bad back ....

I am glad to see that most people seem to like their kitchen without the top cupboards... coz I have seen some amazing pics where they have a long window across the length of the kitchen (almost like a spashback) and I thought that would be awesome.

OnePlan - I don't have a bad back... yet

We have a long narrow kitchen. It is stacked along one wall with floor to ceiling cupboards. The other wall is just a very long work surface with cooker in the middle and sink. The work surface has drawers under where I keep all the frequently used stuff I need while cooking. Spices, baking ingredients, utensils, pans, knives, boards. It works well. Very ergonomic. I can look down on everything as I you open the drawer and grab what I need while cooking.

You need well organised drawers though. Top drawers are very shallow. Just deep enough for knives and spices and chopping boards. Lower drawers are deeper for pans and plastic tubs of ingredients. Without over cupboards the kitchen looks much wider and you don't need under cupboard lights. It is gloss white with black granite and glass splash backs so it makes it look spacious, expensive and modern - when in reality it is really a quite standard kitchen in a low built corridor extension with a sloping roof.

We don't in our uk house. Just a plate rack on the wall, a central island with cupboards and a freestanding pantry - www.facadesofdevon.ltd.uk/PantryCupboards/PantryCupboards.html

We don't have wall units, apart from a plate rack over the sink. We have either swing-out and pull-out floor units, including pull-out larder units either side of the fridge/freezer. It's a much better use of the available floor space, because there's no "dead" space at the back of cupboards.

We have narrow, pull-out, floor units on either side of the cooker that hold the herbs and spices in the top shelf and bottles of oil/vinegar etc in the bottom shelf.

Definitely, if you are relying more on base units, either use drawers or pull-out inner fittings of some kind. More ergonomic and you fit in masses more stuff. I prefer separate pull out interior drawers/baskets to one big mechanism, as then you can pull out the one you need and go right to the back of it.