We did this very thing in our spare room to hold my sewing material and lots of odds and ends of stuff. We added the shelves on the side furthest from the hinges on the door for maximum access. The shelves are held in place by small wooden cleats with 2 screws in each and a couple of finishing nails into the wood shelf. If I ever want to turn it back into a full closet it's just a matter of unscrewing the cleats. We took down the shelf. left the rod there and put 1 shelf just above it on both ends. This holds blankets and bedding for that room on one side and special Christmas decorations on the other end. Then we added 4 more shelves. I would suggest you get your storage boxes first so you can custom fit the shelves. Our shelves are 15" deep by 24" long and I can put 4-- 10' by 15 by 6" inch high stackable clear boxes on each shelf. I suggest you get smaller boxes so they are easier to get in and out and clear so you can see what's in them. On the floor at the bottom I have a large tub that holds material. It works great for me and we can still use most of the rod for guests clothing and a few of ours

We have a pretty good amount of open shelving in our kitchen. I have found it to be very practical. We'll probably move in a few years and so I am already planning my next kitchen in my head. In that one I think I will have closed uppers because the dust does get on my nerves a bit. Our open shelving contains either very often used or hardly ever used things. The glasses and plates etc don't get dusty for that reason, but the shelves themselves do. I usually wait until most of the glasses and plates are in the dishwasher and then move the remaining stacks to dust the shelves. I'd guess I do this every couple of weeks. The open base cabinet that my partner built is something I will definitely want in a future kitchen. It is incredibly practical for the way we live. It makes unloading the dishwasher and setting the table so darn easy, gives me a convenient spot for the toaster oven and microwave off the counter, and it accumulates the least amount of dust of any of the open shelving.

[Edit: I just realized this is an older post, but I'll leave my comment for reference for anyone who may come across this searching on the topic of floating shelving as I was when I found this.} @Madi Larsen, I think your inspiration photo is lovely, but I think what is canceling out your cost is that you're taking what is basically one box with side-opening doors, cutting that box in half, and adding shelving. I'm honestly surprised the quote for your design isn't higher than just for the cabinets alone. If you were replacing an entire box with shelving, then you might see a lower pricing. The most ingenious application I've seen of shelving is to use it in what would otherwise be a blind corner between two solid cabinets on either side of the corner. If you have an area like that anywhere in your design, you might consider using this concept there to save money and open up the space if you want open shelving somewhere.

I can't see any pics but would love to !! Sounds like I have a similar home and I am wanting to know what to do with all the wood too !!