After cabinet doors were removed (Kitchen has since been UPDATED! See the open shelves I have now)
I love open shelves. They aren’t for everyone, but they work for me. My kitchen isn’t my dream yet, but small changes bring a lot of satisfaction. I’d like an all-white kitchen someday, but that will wait. As a quick update when we moved in, I removed several cabinet doors — it took about five minutes.
Taking a few doors off the cabinets broke up the wood tone and put my favorite white dishes on display. It didn’t fix everything I dislike about the kitchen, but seeing those dishes every day makes the room feel more personal. Someday I’ll paint the cabinets, replace counters and backsplash, add new hardware and maybe glass-front doors on some shelves. For now, I’m content to live with the change.
Before we moved in and before cabinet doors were removed
Here’s how the kitchen looked when I first viewed the house. Not much has changed besides the open shelves, but removing doors added interest, charm and personality to the space.
Since I removed the doors, I’ve had lots of questions about open cabinets. I wrote a post on open shelving before, but the same questions keep coming up, so here are answers to the most common ones.
1. Don’t your dishes get grimy from the stove?
No. The dishes on those shelves are everyday dishes — we use and wash most of them daily or weekly. They’re in constant rotation. If the shelves were full of purely decorative pieces, I’d be cleaning constantly, but that’s not the case.
Less-used items are wiped or washed before use, which is the same routine you’d follow with closed cabinets. Anything that rarely gets used can collect dust whether behind a door or not. Washing a dish takes about 30 seconds, so an occasional quick clean before use isn’t a burden.
2. Do you eat out instead of cooking?
No — we cook at home regularly.
the refrigerator chalkboard project
3. Do you have help who washes the dishes every day?
No. We wash our own dishes. Somehow we manage — no maid required.
4. My shelves would never look that organized. How do you keep them neat?
It’s simpler than it looks. A stack of white dishes hardly ever looks messy. I choose dishes in coordinating shades of white so they always work together. That consistency makes styling easy and forgiving. I wouldn’t put unattractive packaged goods on open shelves — those belong behind closed doors.
5. What if family members put things away haphazardly?
My family knows to stack dinner plates together, salad plates together and bowls together. That minimal organization keeps the shelves looking tidy without elaborate staging. I’ve trained them to follow the simple system, so the shelves rarely look chaotic.
6. What should I put on open shelves if I don’t know what to display?
If you’re unsure: stick with white or coordinated everyday dishes, glass or metal baking dishes and baskets. These items always look good. Avoid boxes of crackers, medicine bottles and random plastic containers — they’ll spoil the look. I use baskets on baking shelves to hide less attractive items and place canisters, pans and baking dishes where they remain useful and reasonably tidy.
7. How do you cover the screw holes left behind?
I haven’t bothered. The holes are small and barely noticeable. You can fill them with wood filler if you prefer, but living with a few imperfections hasn’t bothered me.
8. What did you do with the cabinet doors you removed?
I repurposed them as shutters above the fireplace after painting them. Removing the doors gave the kitchen some charm and provided material to solve another decor problem at the same time.
If you want to know about the wall paint, you can find the paint colors in my other posts.
9. I prefer everything behind closed doors. Don’t open shelves stress you out?
Open shelving isn’t for everyone. I like a mix of open and closed storage — not every door removed. Open shelves show everyday life and make it easy to grab what I need. They suit my style because I’m comfortable with a touch of everyday clutter and prefer an authentic, working kitchen look.
If you enjoy a slightly eclectic kitchen and don’t mind seeing items you use regularly, try removing a few doors. You can always put them back on if you decide to repaint or reuse them elsewhere.
Have you tried open cabinets? Are you hesitant to try? What do you have to lose? You can always reinstall doors later or repurpose them as shutters if you change your mind.
And here is how our open cabinet looks today! 🙂
Related kitchen posts:
White kitchens
Kitchens: 5 Take Away Tips
How to have open shelves without daily staging