Kitchen without any wall cabinets

[taybert]

Has anyone done this? I’m quite short and I can’t easily reach things above the bottom shelf (or even at the back of the bottom shelf) in wall cabinets that go above a worktop. We’re having a new kitchen and I’m wondering about having no high wall units at all. We’d have a mixture of deep drawers and cupboards and probably a couple of taller pull out units at one side (which are easier to access because I won’t have to lean over the worktop) Has anyone done this? Practically I think it will work I just wonder if it’ll look like I’ve got a half done kitchen?

Yes done it in a rental we fitted out - it was such a long kitchen there was so much storage in e base units we only put two cupboards at eye level for cups and glasses. We’re just about to do it again for our own build project - just having some shelves with jars on them, nothing else on the walls.

I’m planning on having only base and tall units in my next kitchen. I hope to put some artwork above so it doesn’t look too kitchen-y. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Yes, we've got that. Not a height issue, but because I hate the cramped, dark feeling of worktops under wall units.

It works because we've got enough space for lots of floor units, and two full height larders.

It's quite trendy now to either have no top units or open shelves instead. Can make the kitchen feel airier. If you have enough storage below hang some nice art instead!

I only have base units and a tall cupboard. Have deep drawers and units. Looks sleek , bright and airy. Well I think so

We don't have wall cabinets in our kitchen, however not by choice! The layout / doorways / old fireplace where our stove is / boiler does not allow for them. However, we made use of some dead space by putting some shelves up above doorways / above the sink which has proved useful.

That’s what we did. We’ve a bank of high units, then an L shaped counter with no high cabinets. We did put up two metal open shelves, and it’s lovely. The kitchen feels a lot more open and there’s no stretching up too high for stuff.

DM has this, because she is not very tall. Plenty of storage elsewhere though.

Yep, we've just installed a kitchen which is almost all low units - there's one wall one for glasses, on the end wall. It makes the room feel much bigger too.

We had very few in our last kitchen but put one double wall unit back in for mugs and glasses, just couldn’t get used to them in a drawer. It’s not uncommon to do it but make sure you have all the storage you need.

My friend has a very slim fold out step that stores in a tiny recess so can reach the top of the full height pull out larder shelving

I have no wall cabinets, it's a long gallery kitchen and it makes it feel so much more open. My tall cabinets hold so much, I do not miss them at all.

It's fine of course. But if you do need the cupboard space you can get internal shelving/baskets that pull down so you can bring things down to you as opposed to reaching up.

Thanks all!

Yup also going for no wall cabinets. We've just pulled down all the wall cabinets in our current kitchen and it already feels so much better!

This is my kitchen.

We have this, just finished, although it looks a bit bare. I think we need some tiles and shelves.

It’s fine but do think about what you will do with the empty wall space so it doesn’t look too stark. Most “no wall cabinet” kitchens have at least one open shelf instead, which is fine if you have enough display-worthy stuff for it. Wall lamps look good too.

Also consider whether a wall cupboard or shelf at least might improve the layout practically. We nearly had no wall cupboards as I am also short but in the end we have one wall cupboard for mugs and glasses (and less used china/glass on higher shelves). We could have managed without it but it would have meant putting something in a less convenient/ergonomic position (eg tea mugs would have been a long way from the fridge) so am glad we have it.

We have done it twice, with lots of pull out or wide drawers there was ample storage plus the more you have the more unnecessary crap you keep.

Kitchen much more open and spacious and light without wall cupboards.

We barely have enough storage space, even with a few wall units. I use a small step to reach the wall cupboards.

I’m sure we would have enough storage and I’m conscious of the fact that even in my current kitchen which has only got 4 cupboards and one set of drawers, I have whole shelves full of unused clutter because I can’t reach them easily. I think if they’re there then there’s the temptation to fill them. With the new kitchen I’m really trying to strike the balance between having enough useable storage without having so much that it gets filled with stuff we shouldn’t be keeping, I guess that’s the holy grail!

Quite popular option these days; especially with the more modern styles of furniture. If you have sufficient storage space and the kitchen's well designed, then leaving out the wall units can help to make the room look a lot brighter and more "open".

Yes, I did this in my previous house because the kitchen was small. It made the space look much larger without top cupboards looming at you. I had quite a lot of storage still and it encouraged me not to store loads of crap.