How many sections? What about open cabinets for the glasses, etc. and maybe one section of 'pretty shelves with brackets' for plates and bowls? Have you ever thought of a plate rack or mug hooks to add in some other open storage? I think it looks pretty to have different types of storage, to keep the kitchen less uniform. More cozy country style, at least to me :)

There are 2 sections where we're thinking of doing open shelves. One between the stove and the cleanup sink. Another between the sink and end wall on the right side of the page.

I could have written this myself except I only have just over 2 ft on either side of the window. My husband likes them enclosed but I prefer them open. I think the window will feel to closed in. We are do it yourselfers so I think we are going with open ends. If it proves to be problematic we can change over to the open cab look. Looking forward to hearing what everyone elses thoughts are. Good Luck!

How about the open cabinet, on the right side of the stove and the open shelves with brackets, between the sink and the wall? That way, if you start getting too much oil, etc. from things spattering on the stove, you can add glass doors to that area, but keep the open shelves for plates, above the dishwasher.

Are you putting glass doors on any of the other upper cabinets? Maybe by the prep sink? It might be nice to have some glass in other places, in case you add the glass to the cabinets, between the stove and clean up sink :)

You were posting while I was. I would have mentioned what an awesome kitchen plan. Love all your baking space. How exciting for you.

Thanks, oldhouse1! Glad you like the plan, it's been a challenge to get it this far, so it's good to here that it looks workable. We also are Diy-ers. : )

LL, I wasn't planning on putting glass doors on any of the other cabs, except for the pantry door with a curtain behind it, and it will open toward the working end of the kitchen, too. I think I might be overly challenged trying to stay neat behind glass with the nuts and bolts type of kitchen supplies.

I don't see the point of open shelves in a closed cabinet. It just looks like you watched too many HGTV real estate shows and decided to "update" by unscrewing your cabinet doors. You get all the dust and clutter, with none of the look.

LOL, Marcolo. I unscrewed some doors just last week! But that was so we could do a test run with going "doorless" in our current kitchen before we commit to building some open shelving in our reno.

I have open shelves, but they don't have much on them - only things that are used very regularly (and a few things that are there "for decorative purposes only"). For example, I only keep on shelves 6 plates and 4 bowls, each in 2 different sizes. The rest are in drawers. I really like the way it is so open.

I agree with Marcolo.... if you're starting from scratch, and want open shelves, they should be OPEN shelves. Not just cabinet boxes without doors. I think the open, airy feeling that open shelving provides is hugely diminished by having boxes on the wall.

i think it all depends on the context.

Even with the floorplan shown above, I couldn't come down strong on one side or the other. For me, open shelves have to be really open before I feel I have made them open. I also like the box without any front, in some places. The advantage of boxy sided things hanging on the walls is that they act like a shadow box which hides contents partially until you get close enough to stand in front of it. This is a special effect they use in museums galleries and stores sometimes.

To make open wall shelves seem open and airy, i would use a lot of glass. Here is one that has a support like a cleat, 2"h, that will reach the studs without using a bracket. LJUSDAL http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30140037

Other brackets exist that don't require much space.

Cleats can be used too. Here is one. BRODER Suspension rail http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90117128

So, these points 4 and 5 are no longer as significant to your DH who may love the Ikea options and turn into an ikea fan.
"4.Attaching the cabs to the studs will be easier with the box cabs....
and
"5. There would be no brackets in the way...

To address the points raised in supporting arguments 1,2,3, let's face the fact that lots of real storage is under the countertop. Visible storage above the counter is for show, and for practicality. A few showy items, a few handy items. Not more.

The look is important because it's like a hat or big jewelery; nobody puts on a hat unless they are glad to be seen in it. Cute supports, cleats, brackets are better.

How much openness is up to you. Between two windows a set of really open shelves would make it a focal point. Eyes need to go somewhere. Like jewelery and clothing directing others' eyes more to one area or another, open shelves give you a focal point when you start approaching the kitchen from the farthest point away.

Laughable, I also vote for OPEN shelves. I think if you went with boxes it might look a little like a lineup...

I prefer something in between, like this, but designed to be a bit more suitable for a kitchen--you want it to look like it's supposed to be that way:

This is fake wood from Ikea. I like the style for open shelving but you'd probably not want these proportions for usable kitchen storage. But the general IDEA I like. Make the side supports corbelly curvy swooshy and you can have it all, kinda.

The glory of open shelves next to the window is that the light spreads out more--through the shelves not just around the end boards. If you want airiness you already know which one to choose.

The second picture example always makes me think that someone ran out of money and couldn't afford the doors. The first picture to me is a design statement. If you're worried about dishes falling off the end - what about taking the brackets (those in the first pic are a perfect example) and flipping them around and then installing them on the ends of the shelves, almost like bookends.

I like Fori's idea...that's very pretty!

Blfenton makes a good point too. If you flipped the brackets, that would keep the dishes from falling off the shelf and the brackets wouldn't be in the way of the dishes, below :)

The second picture example always makes me think that someone ran out of money and couldn't afford the doors.

I very much agree with the statement. Not only that, the crown moulding is cutting off/overlapping the window trim. This is a newbie design mistake and shows it. They needed to take the crown mouling and window trim into consideration and decided up front how they were going to handle it. The cabinets could have been taller or narrower to account for this....

Wow, great commentary and ideas everyone! How I wish we had an Ikea closer than 230 miles away. I just ordered a catalog, so now I'm wondering what their shipping prices are like (couldn't get their estimator to work for me) and will be watching for the mail. . .

I think maybe I like the swoopy flipped bracket idea if I have to make a compromise on the shelves. . . and the picture from Fori (although I do wonder if I'd lose too much storage with a narrower shelf below) and I completely agree with the airiness and light spreading properties of open shelves.

Any more pics or ideas certainly appreciated. Thanks all!

I got shelf support brackets from Rakks. They are attached directly to the beams in the walls (under the plaster.) They will be inserted into the back of the shelves (although you don't have to do it that way) so that they are completely invisible. (Right now I have wood sitting on top of them while the shelves are being made.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Rakks shelf support brackets

I'm not saying to USE the Ikea one, just consider it for style cues. I'm not sure what size its shelves are but I'm pretty sure you'd want something deeper on the bottom. And I'd have to have some holes and scrollwork cut into the ends, for example. If you're dusting, might as well do some DUSTING! :P

Yeah, I wouldn't use that exact shelf, I just liked how the narrower bottom shelf allowed for the swoop on the sides. . . but I think I need something deeper on the bottom for functionality, too.
Scrollwork. That sounds appealing. Dusting? Isn't that what you do with powdered sugar? : )

Now how about this: Hang the shelves using a floating type system so they're nice and strong, and then use scrolled brackets below just for looks, but not to carry the weight?

I don't think cabinets without doors need to look like you forgot the doors especially if they are not attached to other cabinets with doors and have a nice valance and crown molding. Here are mine...I wanted them to look old fashioned and like separate pieces. I like that they have sides because I will be making full use of them and I don't want to have to worry about things falling off the sides.
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen

Franke has an "Active Kitchen Rail System" which is similar to many Ikea products, but it has been turned into a modular system with a nice high price to get you to understand it's worth a lot.

They all amount to a horizontal strip of steel. A cleat which takes hooks and 45-degree angled edges, or a rail, with grooves in front or on top. One way or another it lets you hang things on them, or lock things onto them so they barely move.

Got cats?

I have open shelves above my sink now and some of my cats will climb in the sides and sashay along them. Aside from the eeew factor -where were those cute little fur-paws five minutes ago? - it also is hair-raising as they wend their way through my crockery until I can get a clean snatch on them and yank them off without pulling down a whole stack of plates!

I finally got fed up and taped cardboard over the ends to see if that kept them out. It did! So my new open shelves will be closed-ended.

I think the thing that makes closed-end shelves look different from cabs with doors yanked off is the absence of any of the residual face frame on intentional closed shelving.

Food, those are very nice and they don't look at all like cabinet boxes without doors. They look intentional. They look like built in shelves which is exactly how they should look!

Laughable, I think that would be fine, but would the spouse like it?

And don't forget about fussy metal shelf brackets. They can be nice and open while still keeping hubby's stuff from falling off the sides. :)

No cats. But the closed end cabs sound like a Purrrfect solution for you, liriodendron! : )

Your open cabs are a pretty solution, itsallaboutthefood. I could even see retrofitting a box cab with the arch and some crown molding and getting a similar effect (as long as the crown didn't run into the window molding as in my example pic above)

Davidrol, that sounds like something DH could possibly even fabricate himself. It's fun to do knock-offs of those types of things.

I don't know what DH will think yet. . . I'll have to ask him later.

CLAFOUTI- Would you mind telling us which bracket system from Rakks you're using? I have spent literally days searching for a way to do floating shelves for a friend's kitchen that can actually take the weight of dishes... this looks promising. I would love to know which ones!
Thank you!
Stacey

I couldn't find my original invoice, but I think it was something like this:
... It was a counter support that goes into the stud. So I should have given the link for the counter supports, not shelf supports

Here is a link that might be useful: Rakks interior mounted counter supports

Thank you!