Open shelving in the kitchen...

[FollowingAmirage]

I am sure this has been asked before and I know that some ppl really dislike them but love the idea and want to give these a try! Planning to use scaffolding boards so if I need to get rid off I won’t feel too bad! My question is for those who have such shelves: are they deep enough for large plates etc? I think the average width is 22 cm? Or can you get wider scaffolding boards...

I had some custom made - they are quite a bit wider than 22cm. You will love open shelves, OP - they are the absolute best!

Don't they get covered in that oily dust that is really hard to clean away? My kitchen cupboards get that on the top and I don't do much frying, apart from frying an onion etc as the first stage in making spag bol

My kitchen designer warned against them. I went with them anyway and I regret it! Not practical unless you have lots of alternative storage, tricky to clean, and hardly ever look like the super stylish way i envisaged!

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Planning to use them for plates etc and other stuff that we use everyday. Not trying to be stylish...I am just one of those short ppl who just can’t see what’s inside the wall cabinets so hoping the open shelving will help (regular user of stepping stool which was meant for the little one) 😅...

They look lovely on Instagram but the reality of keeping them clean, and kitchen dust is glued on with grease, is a nightmare.

I have an 8kea step stool that I kick around for wall cupboards.

I could not be bothered with having to repeat wash to keep dust off. Plus my cats, one Bengal who loves to climb, would probably climb up and knock crockery off.

Try and stick them away from the cooking area if you can....I had a few, the ones near cooker were a PITA, the others ok.

But you do have to spend hours carefully curating plates and labels for colour coding issues :)

I keep my crockery in a big drawer, in holders from IKEA. Much easier than up in a cupboard or on a shelf, when you're short.

Open shelves look amazing on Instagram and design sites, but in real life they very often look utter shit. Unless they are meticulously organised, they just look messy.

Cupboards with lovely closed doors make you feel like the tidy person you always wanted to be.

They look lovely on Instagram but the reality of keeping them clean, and kitchen dust is glued on with grease, is a nightmare

That doesn't happen to mine. Truly.

I had open shelves in my last kitchen and loved them.Wall cupboards wouldn't have worked as the small windows were over a foot deep and light would have been blocked.Melamine or glass shelves are easy to clean.
On top of cupboards I always put some loose wallpaper on them and change yearly,no grease.

I love our scaffold board shelves. The plates, glasses etc don't get dirty because they're in constant use. So nothing is sitting there long enough to gather anything.

We also have a fan we use when cooking.

I find it easier to keep on top of clutter because there's nowhere for it to hide.

Yes, that’s the other thing, with wall cupboards I tend to shove everything in there so it’s out of sight and the mess just piles up. My next question is extractor fan: we have a recirculating one atm which is completely useless and it just gather grease...any good recommendations? Contemplating to get a ceiling extractor hood as looks great, but are they any good?

I had some made with bits of leftover solid laminate worktop to fit an awkward space under the stairs and round a supporting pillar. I love them. Everything in regular use so not grubby.

dust
sticky, greasy kitchen dust.

Measure your plates to decide how deep you need. We have scaffold boards for bits and bobs but pretty sure they would not fit our dinner plates.

If you must use scaffold boards (I did but only in an odd corner) then I favour matt varnish over oiling them, so they are more wipeable. But laminate does sound a better idea. Oiling is ok in areas that you wipe daily but I prefer something more scrubbable in places you are not going to clean that often. The plates will be fine out but the shelves themselves will still need cleaning.

If you are redoing your kitchen I would do away with wall cabinets and shelves completely and have a lot of undercounter drawers as these are great for crockery storage.

I saw someone with scaffolding boards on a facebook group, she said that they had warped?

I love open shelves in a kitchen I think it really adds character, put things you use frequently on them to avoid the dust issue and make sure you don’t just use them for random crap. I love this picture.

I've done it, my suggestions are:
Not right next to the hob - one clear unit away will substantially reduce sticky dust. I had one shelf that literally had one sticky end and one clean one.
Make sure you have an extractor fan (This can be wall or ceiling mounted if you don't want a cooker hood, check building regs).
Shelf to have a smooth surface easily wiped with CIF when you do want to clean it (not scaffold board I suggest).
Use them for either -

• frequently used utensils or storage jars that are often washed - measuring jug, cheese grater etc.
• display items like fancy cake tins or casserole dishes that are not often used then you just wash them on the rare occasion you get them down. Also be very strict on your curated collection of plates, glasses etc so it's impossible to look messy. Make them 25cm deep for plates.

Oh, thank you all for the tips. Not me your list is super helpful! I am really not a big fun of extractor hoods, an extractor fan sounds link a good idea. We will have 2 windows plus French doors that we can open to get rid of smells (obviously need a plan B during the winter months!)...